There were familiar names on top of the leaderboard at the end of Sunday’s huge 13-race season-ending card at Woodbine, a campaign that saw plenty of stellar performances on both the main track and E.P. Taylor Turf Course, including a resounding score by a potential U.S. Horse of the Year.
Mark Casse recorded his sixth straight training title and seventh overall, winning 94 races, after notching a record 119 races in 2011. Casse also led in the purse earnings category, with $6,864,988.
Reade Baker was second on the trainers’ chart with 63 wins. Robert Tiller was third with 48 triumphs.
Luis Contreras collected his second consecutive Woodbine jockey title, recording 195 victories. Last year, he had 210 wins on the meet, falling just short of Mickey Walls’ classic 1991 record of 221 wins in a single meet.
Patrick Husbands was second in the standings with 167 wins, while Eurico Rosa da Silva was third (160 wins).
John Oxley led all owners at Woodbine with $2,534,602 in purse earnings. Bear Stables Ltd. was second with $1,995,141 and had the most wins with 45. Sam-Son Farm was third with $1,765,027.
On the racetrack, it was Wise Dan ($3.10) who turned heads with his brilliant showing in the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Morton Fink’s homebred made it look easy, coasting to victory in the September turf race. He then went on to Breeders’ Cup glory for trainer Charles Lopresti, taking the Mile at Santa Anita in track record time, stamping himself a major contender for U.S. Horse of the Year honours in the process.
Strait of Dover ($9.60, to win) delivered jockey Justin Stein his first Queen’s Plate, taking Canada’s most famous horse race in June. Irish Mission ($20.50) took the Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser, also in June, while finishing a strong second in the Plate. Joshua Tree ($10.70) notched his second triumph in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Pattison Canadian International, having previously won the event in 2010.
Consolidator Joe, Hold That Echo and Gentleman Jackson each had five wins to lead all runners at the 156-day season.
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