Gary Barber’s exciting colt MY BOY PRINCE (Cairo Prince – Hoping Not Hoping by Silent Name (Jpn)) coasted to a handy win in the 86th Cup & Saucer Stakes at Woodbine on October 14, the seventh time trainer Mark Casse has won the $250,000 race for Canadian-bred two-year-olds.
Under jockey Sahin Cibaci, My Boy Prince, at odds of just 1-to-5, easily made the lead early in the ‘about’ 1 1/16 mile race on ‘good’ turf despite a bobbling break, went slow on the pace and then took off in the stretch. The fractions and final time were :24.34, :49.08, 1:13.88, 1:36.98 and 1:43.30.
The rails were out around the E.P. Taylor turf course and thus it was the first time a race was run on the surface at the ‘about’ 1 1/16 miles.
Sangreal Investments LLC’s Ontario-bred ARASHI (Karakontie (Jpn) – Don’t Tell Lous by Guillaume Tell (Ire)) finished second, coming off a maiden win in which he was placed first through disqualification and maiden KING ROSSO (Vino Rosso – Catch the Fire, by Kitten’s Joy), owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling and bred by Tan Hyka, landed third.
My Boy Prince, a six-length maiden winner and 14-length winner of the Simcoe Stakes, finished a solid second in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes on Sept. 16.
Bred by Murray Smith, My Boy Prince was the sale topper in Canada in 2022 at $115,000, selling at the CTHS Ontario sale. His second dam DELRAY BEACH is in the catalogue for next week’s CTHS Mixed Sale.
The grey colt is three-for-five in his career with earnings of $339,638.
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A pair of graded stakes races on the Tapeta for fillies and mares were won by mares by Hard Spun.
MILLIE GIRL is the latest Ontario-bred to win a graded stakes race. The five-year-old from the mare Mendocino Beano by Smart Strike had a late burst under Rafael Hernandez to take the $150,000 Ontario Matron (G3), also for fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up.
Millie Girl, bred by Sean Fitzhenry, is trained by Catherine Day Phillips, who also co-owns (through her Kingfield Racing Stable, Ltd.) with Braconcrest Inc. and Apricot Valley Thoroughbreds. This was the mare’s fourth win and first stakes win after finishing third in both the Royal North Stakes (G2) and the Nassau Stakes (G2) and second in last month’s Seaway Stakes (G3).
From post 8 in the 1 1/16-mile Tapeta Grade 3, Millie girl broke in the centre of the field. With Angelou in the lead, the field reached the opening quarter in :24.53.
Angelou continued to lead with Tamarama (GB) following closely behind with Souper Hoity Toity and Il Malocchio battling for third. The field made it to the half in :48.87. Millie Girl was third last.
Millie Girl started to make ground around the turn, moving up to fourth behind Angelo in first, Mouffy in second, and Il Malocchio in third. Down the stretch, Millie Girl flew past the leaders on the outside, winning by a nose at the wire. Angelou was second, Il Malochio third, and Mouffy fourth.
The final time was 1:35.75. 1:41.96 for 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta.
“I thought when she got into the clear she would run them down but they weren’t coming back to her very quickly and I thought uh-oh, we might be in trouble here but she still found a way to get there,” remarked trainer Catherine Day Phillips, who never lost confidence in the five-year old mare.
“She’s run very hard, we’ve always believed in her so much and really felt that she deserved to be a stakes winner, and a graded stakes winner now. I’m very happy for her.”
Millie Girl paid $10.70 to win. The dark bay has four wins from nine races. She was purchased at the 2021 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale by Day Phillips for $67,000 as an unraced three-year-old.
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Larry Johnson’s Maryland homebred mare SPUN GLASS upset the Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3) with a strong stretch punch under Luis Contreras. Spun Glass (Hard Spun – Allwewantforxmas by Songandaprayer), trained by Michael Trombetta, achieved her seventh win and first graded stakes win. Spun Glass hasn’t been back to Woodbine since winning an allowance race in October of 2020, and the mare had not won a race since last fall when she won two restricted stakes races on the grass.
After an even break, Hard Edge lead the field with Loyalty in second and Hazelbrook in third; the quarter was reached in :22.54. Spun Glass, with Luis Contreras aboard, was second last.
Spun Glass took the turn from the inside, making her way into fifth. The time at the half was :44.24. Loyalty was first, followed closely by Hazelbrook in second, Ready To Venture (GB) in third and Hard Edge in fourth.
In the final stretch, Spun Glass came through the centre of the field to win. Awesome Treat was second, Loyalty third, and Hazelbrook fourth.
The time was 1:08.64.
Spun Glass paid $57.20 to win. Awesome Treat was 38-to-1 and set up a $529 payoff for a $1 exacta.
-with files from edited Woodbine Communications press release
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