In very tough conditions, the Woodbine horsepeople and on-track staff, plus its amazing racehorses, put on a 10-race card at Woodbine on December 13, the next-to-last racing day of the 2025 season. It was bitterly cold, breezy and by midway through the race card, horses and riders were kept in the paddock until almost post time.
And a super card of racing went on, highlighted by an easy win by David Rowbotham, Rodney Carpenter and Tony Boogmans’ pride and joy, HURRICANE CLAIR in the La Prevoyante Stakes and an exciting Mandatory Payout/large carryover for the High 5 wager in race 10.
The La Prevoyante, an Ontario-sired race at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares, three-year-olds and upward, had a field of eight. Hurricane Clair, trained by Martin Drexler, was meeting her own kind after four straight outings in graded stakes, extremely tough races, including the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor. It was no surprise that fans and players worldwide bet her with verve down to 4-to-5 before the start. With Eswan Flores riding and with her blinkers off, Hurricane Clair made a strong pre-race appearance, skipped quickly out of the gate and in a blink, was clear.
The race was never in doubt for the bay Silent Name (Jpn) four-year-old as she galloped to a 3 3/4 length win in 1:45.34, a time that was slow, but made so by the wind and cold. It was so cold that Flores, fresh off winning the stake, booked off his final mount of the day in the High 5 Mandatory Payout race.
The steady gal War Painter, by Danish Dynaformer, won the battle for second place for Canuck Racing Club and Secret Load, by Reload, was third for the estate of Paul Buttigieg.
Drexler, who hit the 100 mark in wins in 2025 earlier in the week, said taking the blinkers off Hurricane Clair for the first time in five races was done as a bit of an experiment.
“She was having gate issues which is the reason we put them on in the first place,” said Drexler. “But when she got in behind horses with them on, she got a bit keen.”
Hurricane Clair, who was bred by Helen Bruno’s Bru-Mel Stables and named by Bruno, has been remarkably versatile in her career. Her other four career wins include the 1 1/4 mile Wonder Where Stakes on turf and seven furlong Muskoka Stakes as a two-year-old on Tapeta, her first career start.
She has a record of 20 – 5 – 5 – 2 and earnings of $479,784 (US).
Hurricane Clair is from the mare Hurricane Lorraine, by Weather Warning, a stallion who was trained by Drexler. Hurricane Lorraine won five of 40 races and $263,000 and she has produced one other winner from two other named foals. A half-sister to Hurricane Lorraine, Hurricane Mimi, is the dam of this year’s Plate Trial Stakes winner Sedbury’s Ghost.
Rowbotham and friends, who are from Alberta, bought their top filly at the CTHS Ontario yearling sale in 2022 for $35,000.
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GIVE ME THE BOOTS, at a generous 5-to-1, rode the wind/speed bias to victory in the 10th race, which had some $1.3 million bet into the $269,000 carryover. A shrewd claim for $15,000 by trainer Richie Morden and Rodolfo Diaz Pena, Give Me the Boots and Ryan Munger were the only speed in the sprint and led all the way. Anam Cara, who made a super impressive pre-race appearance, was second over favoured Home for a Rest, Sinclairity and Spirit Bear. The payoff was just over $1,200.
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