Woodbine-based trainer Dale Desruisseaux, who will have a significant string of horses in New York this winter, will look to pick up his first stateside stakes score with Highwaytothemoon in Saturday’s $175,000 Carle Place, a six-furlong inner turf sprint for sophomores, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Owned by Domenic Dilalla, the Ransom the Moon gelding has outperformed expectations this year after stretching out from a neck score versus elders in his seasonal debut traveling 5 1/2-furlongs on Tapeta in April at Woodbine. He subsequently produced a pair of good outings at seven furlongs there when a prominent second in the King Corrie in May ahead of a front-running win in the Queenston versus fellow Canadian-breds in June.
“We didn’t even have him eligible for the Triple Crown up here over the winter because I always thought he was a one-turn horse, but he took us on a ride,” Desruisseaux said.
Desruisseaux gave the versatile bay one more try going long in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown series only to see his charge land a non-threatening seventh in the Prince of Wales over 1 3/16-miles on the Fort Erie dirt.
“I think he was that typical stereotype of a horse that you can get them to go long once,” Desruisseaux said. “He showed us in the second leg that he didn’t want to go that far.
“He had a rough trip in the Plate,” Desruisseaux added. “Turning for home, he got bounced around, and my jock said it took the air out of him. It didn’t give us a true feeling on the race, and that’s why we decided to go onto the next one. He had a good trip in the next leg and didn’t fire turning for home.”
Highwaytothemoon turned back sharply in distance to run a closing second in the 6 1/2-furlong Sophomore on October 10 over the Woodbine Tapeta.
“He was a little further back than I would have liked to see him last time, especially when they weren’t clipping along up front,” Desruisseaux said. “I thought with him closing into that, he ran a really good race, and the jock came back and said, ‘if I go outside, we probably win.’”
Highwaytothemoon, who boasts an 8-4-2-1 record on synthetic, will make just his second start on turf following a prominent fourth in the Listed Algonquin last October at Woodbine. The winner of that event, Cy Fair, exited to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
Desruisseaux said he is not concerned about the rain in the forecast this week.
“If it goes to synthetic, that’s fine. Either way, I think he’ll take it in stride and it’s just a matter of if he’s good enough or not,” Desruisseaux said of Highwaytothemoon, who will exit post 5 in rein to Dylan Davis.
Desruisseaux has done well with a trio of previous stakes starters in New York at Aqueduct Racetrack, including Church and State, who last year tried his luck in the Gio Ponti [5th] and Grade 3 Hill Prince [3rd]. Desruisseaux sent out Piper’s Gift to a fourth-place finish in the Listed Memories of Silver in April at the Big A.
The 40-year-old conditioner said he will have a solid presence at the Belmont Park winter meet, which will be conducted exclusively on Tapeta.
“I’ll be bringing between 15-to-20 horses down. I’ll send the first load down at the end of this month,” Desruisseaux said.
Desruisseaux noted he will be looking to claim horses to bring stateside along with a few promising 2-year-olds that fit the Empire Trillium Series, a 14-race program of stakes races at Belmont Park and Woodbine Racetrack restricted to horses foaled in New York or Canada and worth $3.2 million in total purses.
The Ontario homebred for Hillsbrook Farms is a half-sister to three-time Grade 1-winner Hard Not to Like, who won the 2015 Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga Race Course.
Glorious Gem, out of the Tactical Cat mare Like a Gem, graduated at third asking last out in a one-mile and 70 yard maiden special weight on October 31 over the Woodbine Tapeta.
“She’s a nice filly,” Desruisseaux said. “We’re hoping she can progress and go to that series.”
The December 26 undercard will also feature four named maiden events [two at six furlongs; and two at 1 1/16-miles] restricted to 2-year-olds foaled in Canada or New York, each with a purse of $85,000 with Empire Trillium Series nominees preferred. The named races honor Channel Maker, Overskate, Fanfreluche and the aforementioned Hard Not to Like.
Empire Trillium Series nominations for foals of 2023 and earlier are due by November 20th. For additional details, visit here.
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