In the midst of a career season, owner and trainer MICHELLE LOVE and partners Big Willow Stables of Bob Craig, and Mentec Mississauga Industrial Equipment (Tom Stringer) celebrated their first stakes win on July 30 at Woodbine with FOOLISH GAMES.
The fleet Foolish Games took early control of the $100,000 Thunder Bay Stakes, the second leg of the Ontario Sire Heritage Series presented by TIP and a 6-furlong dash that was moved to Tapeta from the E.P. Taylor Turf due to rain. Once the daughter of Reload – Jungle Jewel by Horse Greeley and jockey Omar Moreno galloped through modest pace fractions of 23.52 and 46.62, Love knew her filly was going to be tough to beat.
“I told him [Moreno] not to let [trainer] Steve Owens’ horse [Souper Sunday] go because he was going to get an easy lead and probably would have galloped again. As soon as she got that :23 opening quarter, we were already heading here [winner’s circle].”
Foolish Games rolled to a 1 1/4 length win, her third victory in just four career races. She won her career debut on April 29.
Souper Sunday was on a three-race winning streak including the Georgian Bay Stakes, the first in the four race series. But early trouble in the race left her off the pace early and she never recovered and wound up sixth and last. Hot Cargo, owned by Norseman Racing Stave was second at the finish with Anam Cara third. The final time was 1:11.06.
Foolish Games was bred by Joey Gee Thoroughbreds and was purchased by Love, a former Quarter Horse jockey, for $17,000 from the 2021 CTHS Ontario yearling sale. She is a new stakes winner for hot Ontario stallion Reload and the third foal to race and first winner for her dam Jungle Jewel, The dam was unraced and is a half sister to three winners. Third dam Conquistador Blue produced Grade 1 winner Agincourt.
Foolish Games now leads the point standings for the Heritage Series (which offers bonus money for the top 3 point getters):
Foolish Games – 15
Souper Sunday – 11
Flowers n Berries 9
Anam Cara 7
Hot Cargo 7
Souper Sinclair 4
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Touted by some as the best three-year-old male runner in the province, PATCHES O’HOULIHAN blew away four rivals in the Lake Superior Stakes worth $100,000. This was the second leg of the colts and geldings division of the Ontario Sire Heritage Series and the second straight win in the series for the fast homebred owned by Frank DiGiulio, Jr. Yet another top runner by Reload, Patches O’Houlian, named for the main character in the movie ‘Dodgeball,’ won the Lake Huron Stakes at 5 furlongs on turf on July 8 by 1 1/4 lengths but loved the move to the Tapeta for the Lake Superior. He cantered home in front under Daisuke Fukumoto in a sizzling time of 1:09.96.
One Bay Hemingway, a pretty good sophomore who was fourth in the Queenston Stakes to Kaukokaipuu and sixth in the Grade 3 Marine stakes, landed second for Norseman Racing Stable.
Trained by Bob Tiller, Patches O’Houlihan is from the mare Maythefourthbwithu, who was purchased by DiGiulio for $4,000 at the CTHS Ontario sale in 2012. The mare has a two-year-old by Souper Speedy who has been working quickly named May and June.
Now a winner of 5 of 6 races, Patches O’Houlian has earned $169,175. The points for the colts and geldings after two legs of the Heritage Series are:
Patches O’Houlian 20
Poulin in OT 8
One Bay Hemingway 7
Sooner Lunar 5
The next races on the Heritage Series schedule are a pair of 6 1/2 furlong dirt stakes at Fort Erie on September 12.
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It was a big day for the ‘Gov’ as dual Hall of Fame trainer ROGER ATTFIELD sent out two strong debut winners plus a horse he owns himself for a three-bagger on Sunday.
Race 5, Attfield saddled the two-year-old PAINTHETOWNSILVER (Mo Town) for Osprey Stable but for a while it did not look like the gelding was going to agree to go into the gate. Somewhat like his dam Silver Princess, a stakes winner for Osprey and Attfield, who was well known for being a difficult filly to train, Paintthetownsilver was eventually left for last for one more try at loading. Once in the gate with jockey Sahin Civaci, the bay hopped a bit at the start and was immediately in last place. He rolled up the rail early to stalk the pace but then slipped back into the turn. Under a ride, the gelding moved up in the 2 path late on the turn before he angled out and just about blew the turn. Once straight, he charged hard to win by a head in 1:10.84.
In race 9, Attfield sent out the well-regarded three-year-old colt READY SHAKESPEARE (More Than Ready) to an easy win in a 7 furlong maiden special weight. Ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson, Ready Shakespeare won by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:24.65. He is a son of graded stakes winner Lady Shakespeare and a half-brother to champion Lady Speightspeare.
In race 12 on the 14-race card, Attfield’s owner three-year-old gelding, TWOWAYCROSSING, won an off-the-turf $40,000 claiming (optional) race under Sahin Civaci. It was the second win in seven races for the son of English Channel who is King’s Plate nominated.
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