Justin Stein picked up his 1000th career win when he guided Battle Castle to a 1 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s opening race at Woodbine.
Battle Castle, a two-year-old daughter of Marcavelly trained and part-owned by Denyse McClachrie in a partnership that includes Shale Wagman and Gayle Bosscher, made her first career start a special one as Stein sent the feisty bay to the lead in the six furlong ‘Poly’ sprint and stayed on strong down the lane to fend off the onrushing Marsala.
“Th horse was so game,” said Stein. “When that horse (Marsala) came to her and she wouldn’t let her go by, I knew we were going to win.”
Stein, who resides in Caledon with his wife Renee and their four sons Owen, 10, Jeremy 8, Elias 4, and Gavin, 2, was pleased to reach the milestone score in his 11th year of riding.
“I’m very thankful to all of the trainers and owners that have supported me over the years. Winning a thousand races has always been a goal of mine and it’s nice to reach that landmark. Hopefully I can keep on riding for another 10 years and reach 2000 wins,” he said.
It was the 32nd win of the meet for Stein who is currently eighth in the jockey standings.
Born in New Westminster, B.C., the 35-year-old Stein began his riding career at Hastings Park in 2004 notching his first win on August 28 aboard claimer Mayne Stating.
In 2005, his first full season of riding, Stein became an instant hit with west coast fans and bettors posting a meet-leading 148 wins, a Hastings Park record for an apprentice. The breakthrough campaign included victories in the Grade 3 British Columbia Breeders’ Cup Oaks and the Grade 3 Ballerina Breeders’ Cup Stakes with Monashee.
At the completion of the 2005 Hastings meet, Stein moved his tack to Woodbine where he made a strong impression on horsemen during the final weeks of the Toronto oval’s meet, winning 13 of his 97 tries.
Stein elected to ride full time at Woodbine in 2006, finishing fourth in the rider standings with 109 wins, and has been a fixture near the top of the table ever since.
In 2012, Stein won his first Canadian Classic, racing gate-to-wire with Canyon Farms’ homebred Strait of Dover to take the $1-million Queen’s Plate for trainer Dan Vella. He added a second classic score earlier this meet when filly Academic, trained by Reade Baker for Bear Stables Ltd., won the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser, in track record time. Stein and Academic have since traveled to Northlands Park in Edmonton where they stormed home victorious in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby.
The veteran rider is associated with a number of other notable horses include Alpha Bettor, Phil’s Dream and Stormy Lord.
Stein guided Alpha Bettor to victories in the Grade 2 Eclipse, Grade 3 Seagram Cup and Grade 2 Autumn Stakes in 2013, securing the Alphabet Soup chestnut, trained by Vella for Bulldog Racing, the title of Canada’s champion older horse of 2013.
An incredible 2013 campaign for Stein also included a score in the Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes with Paul Buttigieg’s homebred Phil’s Dream. Stein piloted Phil’s Dream to victories in seven of 10 starts that year as the Philanthropist gelding earned honours as Canada’s champion sprinter.
Stein will forever be associated with Stormy Lord as the jockey adopted the fan favourite last year and built a barn for the millionaire chestnut in the front yard of his Caledon home. Stein and Stormy Lord teamed up to win four races, including a pair of stakes wins in 2011 taking the $250,000 PTHA President’s Cup at Parx Racetrack in Philadelphia and the Labeeb Stakes at Woodbine.
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