Corduroy Road Set to Take on Woodstock Stakes at Woodbine

Corduroy Road, bred and owned by Frank Di Giulio Jr., makes his added-money debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Woodstock Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack.

A three-year-old son of Souper Speedy, Corduroy Road, trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Robert Tiller, gets his first start of 2019 after a two-for-two freshman campaign.

After breaking his maiden first time out at six panels on October 20 at Woodbine, the bay gelding doubled up with another impressive effort on November 30, also at six furlongs on the Toronto oval Tapeta.

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In the latter, again under Sheena Ryan, Corduroy Road opened up down the lane en route to a convincing 3 1/2-length triumph.

Which of the two wins impressed Tiller the most?

“I thought both races were really good,” he said. “I thought he ran very well on both occasions. I would have liked to have gotten another 5/8ths work into him, but he’s going into the race in good order, so we’ll see what happens.”

Corduroy Road’s connections are hoping to see him step up his game as he steps up in competition.

“He’s doing well,” offered Tiller. “Hopefully he’ll run well and we can go on from there, perhaps looking at the Queenston.”

Set for Sunday, May 19, the $125,000 Queenston Stakes is a key prep ahead of the $1 million Queen’s Plate, slated for Saturday, June 29 at Canada’s Showplace of Racing.

Tiller and Di Giulio are certainly no strangers to Queenston success. Thirty years ago, they won with Domasca Dan. In 2001, the aptly-named Win City took all the spoils.

On Saturday, they’ll look to add another stakes crown to their impressive list of lifetime scores, with a horse who showcases a strong personality.

“Actually, I’m pretty laid-back, but I can be on the bit too,” quipped Tiller. “And so can he. But he’s a happy horse. He ran well last fall, so hopefully this serves as a good prep for the Queenston for him. We’ll see what happens.”

Last year, Mark Casse trainee Curlin’s Honor took the 120th running of the Woodstock in a sizzling 1:08.05. The Florida-bred paid $6.30 for the win.

The Woodstock is slated as race eight on Saturday’s 10-race card. First post time is 1 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

$100,000 Woodstock Stakes
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1. Souper Success (S) – Jesse Campbell – Michael De Paulo
2. All American Hero – Jerome Lermyte – Mark Casse
3. Hesathriller (S) – Kazushi Kimura – John Ross
4. Corduroy Road (S) – Sheena Ryan – Robert Tiller
5. Tiz Breathtaking (S) – David Moran – Michael Doyle
6. The Boss Factor – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
7. Yes I Am Free – Eurico Rosa Da Silva – Mark Casse
8. Powell – Rafael Hernandez – Michael Stidham
9. Keon – Gary Boulanger – Don MacRae