O Canada! Oh Woodbine!
The Canada Day race card Saturday at Woodbine had shades of a King’s Plate day with people dressed up in their red and white, the grandstand and restaurants very busy and betting was strong. More than $10.4 million was bet on the 11 races, five of them graded stakes races, on a very sticky, humid day that featured a huge rainstorm just before the Grade 2 Nassau.
Two of the stakes races were for three-year-olds, the Grade 3 Marine and Selene, with some of the entrants using those races as stepping stones to the King’s Plate (August 20) and Woodbine Oaks (July 23).
The Marine, at 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta, had six Plate eligibles of the eight starters but it was the Chad Brown-trained colt TURF KING (Ire) was made the odds-on choice based on two wins and a third in the quickly-run Jersey Derby on turf at Monmouth. Owned by Allen Wise’s Wise Racing LLC, Turf King and jockey Kazushi Kimura were in the back of the field early in the race, riding the rail while One Bay Hemingway, a Plate eligible, cleared his rivals. Queenston Stakes winner Kaukokaipuu and jockey Rico Walcott, tracked the modest pace on the outside of rivals, 24.11, 48.22 and moved four-wide off the turn to the lead.
Turf King came up the rail and then got into a bumping match with Kaukokaipuu, trained by Ted Holder. The latter was lugging in through the stretch but then, in the final stages of the race, Kimura’s whip came up and hit Kaukokaipuu in the face, causing the grey colt to throw his head. Turf King got the win by half a length and there was no inquiry. The final time of 1:43.21 was good for an 85 Beyer. Kaukokaipuu earned an 84 Beyer, a career best.
Another American invader, Midnight Rising, was third over Stayhonor Goodside who was five lengths back in fourth. Disappointing in the Marine were Simcoe, who was well back of the early pace, and King Corrie Stakes winner Twin City, who faded to seventh.
Turf King is by Kingman (GB) and from the mare Sweet Acclaim (Ire) by Acclamation (GB). The compact bay colt was a $116,834 yearling purchase by Niall Brennan at the 2021 Goffs Orby sale in Ireland. The colt was then bought by Wise for $180,000 from the March Ocala juvenile sale last year.
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Sunday morning, trainer Ted Holder reported that Kaukokaipuu came out of the Marine well and “didn’t seem tired.” Holder trains the son of Mr. Speaker – Grey Pride by Mizzen Mast for Culpepper Island Syndicate and he bought the colt for $10,000 from the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling sale. Kaukokaipuu was bred by Sean Fitzhenry.
SOLO ALBUM all alone in Selene
Sahin Civaci guides Solo Album to victory in the $150,000 Selene Stakes. (Woodbine/ Michael Burns Photo)
The large three-year-old filly SOLO ALBUM, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Gary Barber and Steven Rocco, blew away her rivals in the Selene (G3) under jockey Sahin Civaci. Trained by Mark casse, who won three of the five graded stakes on Saturday, Solo Album was one of two graded winners for Civaci on the day.
Despite racing three and four-wide all the way around and off the pace, Solo Album moved around everyone and won by 6 1/2 lengths in 1:42.65 for a 92 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form.
A daughter of Curlin – Summer Solo by Arch, Solo Album is now two-for-two since adding blinkers. She won her maiden at Woodbine on May 12 in her sixth career start. The filly was a $535,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase.
Robert Marzilli’s filly TITO’S CALLING was along for third in the Selene, half a length behind invading Honor D Lady, who grabbed second.
Tito’s Calling, a homebred by Society’s Chairman – Unstablenthemornin by First Dude earned a career-best 81 Beyer Figure and will head to the Oaks as one of the top contenders.
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