Family and the love of horseracing were prevalent themes following stakes races at Woodbine on the final weekend of November.
A day after Pink Lloyd’s emotional win in his career finale in the Kennedy Road Stakes (G2), the 2-year-old filly MRS. BARBARA put another longtime Canadian racing family front and centre with her stirring win in the Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes, November 28.
Owned by Jim Lawson’s Spruce Stable and bred by his Jim Dandy Stable, the noted racing and breeding stable founded by his father Mel, Mrs. Barbara (who is named for Jim’s mother), powered to a half-length win in the 1 1/16 mile race, putting her name in the hat for Sovereign Award honours.
It was a proud moment for Lawson, Woodbine’s CEO and president, who has continued the family’s love for racing since his father’s passing in 2011. Mel, a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, raced Mrs. Barbara’s second dam, the champion mare Eternal Search, and bred the Mazarine winner’s dam Destroy, a daughter of Housebuster. Destroy was named the Outstanding Broodmare in Canada at the 2010 Sovereign Awards thanks to four stakes-winning foals. Eleven years later, she has produced her fifth top horse.
“It’s a very special moment,” said Lawson following the Mazarine, which was run on a snowy afternoon. “We did name the horse after my mom. It’s always tricky, but this is a superb filly, so it’s very exciting.
“I think back to yesterday actually, and Frank Di Giulio and Pink Lloyd and them asking, ‘What would your dad think of this?’ And I’m sure dad is looking down and is pretty pleased with what his broodmare did. This is a special filly. I love the game and I’m just fortunate to be working at it, and also being in the racing game too… it’s pretty great. Mark and his team did a great job with this filly this year. It’s so fun, it really is.”
The Mazarine had a field of nine fillies and it was Chocolateaddiction who emerged with the lead after an early tussle for pacesetting duties, taking the field through an opening quarter-mile timed in :24.11, as jockey Rafael Hernandez kept Mrs. Barbara, a Kentucky-bred by Bodemeister trained by Mark Casse, tucked in along the rail in fifth spot.
Chocolateaddiction continued to lead the pack, 1 ½-lengths ahead of Kanta after a half in :49.57, as Hernandez kept Mrs. Barbara in prime stalking position, sitting third while enjoying the benefits of a ground-saving inside trip.
Around the turn, Mrs. Barbara was full of run in third and gaining quickly on the leaders at the stretch call as even-money choice Moira, who won her debut in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes in impressive fashion on October 23, came calling to the inside.
The two fillies then went toe-to-toe to the wire, with Mrs. Barbara fending off her rival by a half-length in a time of 1:44.64. Guileful, at 66-1, was third.
The winning Beyer Figure was 75.
“We broke good and we saved ground in the first turn,” said Hernandez, who won all three graded stakes races on the weekend. “Then we ended up behind the speed and turning for home, she did her job. I can feel he [Justin Stein, aboard Moira] was coming on the inside. So, I just moved my horse a little bit so she could see the other horse coming and she kept going.”
It was the second straight triumph and first stakes victory for the dark bay filly who broke her maiden last time out in a 1 1/16-mile race on November 7.
Previously, Mrs. Barbara had a tough trip when fourth in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes behind Wild Beauty and subsequent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf (G1) winner Pizza Bianca. Mrs. Barbara was third in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes in August with a troubled journey.
Mrs. Barbara ends her juvenile season with two wins in six races and earnings over $160,000 (US).
Stay tuned to these pages of CanadianThoroughbred.com for the incredible story of Destroy, now 24-years-old who has a yearling colt by Ransom the Moon and was bred back to Midnight Storm this past spring.
He’s a God
Mark Casse’s Woodbine team swept both graded juvenile stakes on Sunday as the flashy colt GOD OF LOVE came from far back to win the Grey Stakes for owners Gary Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. The chestnut colt is an Ontario-bred by Cupid – No Wonder by Three Wonders and he had won the Cup & Saucer Stakes on very soft grass in his second career race October 10.
Churchtown, a son of Air Force Blue trained by Roger Attfield, was the slight 3-1 choice in the Grey following a super debut win. That gelding grabbed the lead early, holding a one-length advantage over Stowaway who was one-length ahead of Ironstone through an opening quarter-mile reached in :24.42, as God of Love sat ninth of 10 through the opening panel.
It was status quo on the front end after a half-mile in :49.58, as Hernandez and God of Love were still ninth, but well within reach of the frontrunners.
Churchtown was still in front at the stretch call, a half-length in charge, but Hernandez had his chestnut colt in full flight, blowing by their rivals with each stride and setting their sights on the top prize.
At the wire, God of Love was 1 ½-lengths the best. Ontario-bred Ironstone (Mr. Speaker) was second and On Thin Ice was third. The final time was 1:44.20. The winning Beyer Figure was 80.
Sent postward as the 9-2 third choice, God of Love paid $11.60.
The colt was coming off a troubled trip in the Coronation Futurity when he finished fifth behind The Minkster.
“This race was really kind of an obsession for me because it’s kind of rematch from the last one because I got a bad trip last time,” said Hernandez. “So many horses stopped in front of me [last time] I had to take a hold a few times, and he was coming running. Today they told me, ‘Rafi, make sure you’re keeping clear. Let him do his race’. That’s what we did. He came out running. He showed up and played his game.”
God of Love was bred by the late Bill Graham’s Windhaven in Caledon.
Incredibly, the colt was bought for just $9,000 as a yearling by Ocala horseman Jacobo Ordonez, who re-sold him this past spring for $100,000 as a 2-year-old in training at the March Ocala sale to Eclipse Thoroughbreds.
Graham purchased No Wonder for $53,000 in foal to Into Mischief in 2016. That foal, Muskoka Wonder, won the Clarendon Stakes at Woodbine in 2018 but passed away last year at Oaklawn Park. The mare’s 2017 foal, Ri N Ginger, by Lookin at Lucky, was a winner at Fort Erie this year. Purchased by Richard Hogan at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding sale for $25,000 in foal to Good Samaritan, No Wonder has a weanling by Where’s the Ring and was bred to Ami’s Holiday.
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