Natalma, Summer Winners Head to Breeders' Cup

The two Grade 1 two-year-old stakes races at Woodbine on Woodbine Mile day, the Summer and Natalma, both Win and You’re In events for the Breeders’ Cup, had arguably the most competitive fields on a superb racing day.

The Natalma, at one mile on the EP Taylor turf, had originally eight fillies entered from the Mark Casse barn but Winterberry was scratched in favour of the Summer and Latin Fever (Ire) was scratched from both. With six starters, it was not a surprise to see the Casse team finish 1-2-3 and all three will be entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1 .

AND ONE MORE TIME (Omaha Beach), a maiden winner at Saratoga in her second career start and well bred for the grass, won a fairly rough battle between the three to the wire after the trio led the rest of the field from the outset.

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The winner tracked Nitrogen, a Medaglia D’Oro filly who was second by a neck in her career debut at Woodbine, and Vixen, by Vekoma, who recently won her maiden at Ellis Park. Both Nitrogen and Vixen are Kentucky-breds owned by D.J. Stable.

Nitrogen and jockey John Velazquez, who was in from New York, held a short lead along the inside in the early stretch but was joined by Vixen and And One More Time between fillies. A last push by And One More Time with Rafael Hernandez on board got the win for the Live Oak Plantation filly in 1:33.99 for a 79 Beyer Figure. Sent off as a huge overlay at 16-to-1, And One More Time paid $35.40.

And One More Time is from a wildly-hot female family as her older half-sister, SIMPLY IN FRONT, owned by Ontario’s Colebrook Farms, recently won the $1.7 million Music City Stakes on turf at Kentucky Downs. And One More Times’ dam Complicated, by Blame, also has the very good four-year-old of this year, Honor D Lady, a graded stakes winner of over $700,000 plus turf stakes winner Churchtown.

“She’s quite a story,” said Casse, who was winning his eighth Natalma. “I was at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale last summer with Mrs. Weber [Charlotte, of Live Oak Plantation] and we were bidding on this filly. She would look at me whether to bid and I would say, ‘one more time’. We did that four or five times.”

Weber got the filly for $750,000.

The Summer Stakes was expected to go to Godolphin’s Al Qudra (Ire), the overseas invader for Charlie Appleby, and for a while, it looked as if the dark bay and jockey William Buick were on their way to the win.

The early pace in the Summer was sizzling for the day as Ontario-bred Groot flew through the first half mile in a wild 45.54. That colt and anyone chasing him would soon fade.

The first to make a serious bid was D.J. Stables’ Dream On with Sahin Civaci, who darted up the rail to take a clear lead into the stretch. It was a premature move however, and the colt got tired and began to drift sharply outwards. Al Qudra had rallied into contention as did another British shipper, New Century. The latter had the most momentum under Oisin Murphy to go on to victory over Al Qudra and Dream On in 1:32.80 for a 93 Beyer Figure.

From the first crop of English 2000 Guineas winner Kameko (Kitten’s Joy), New Century won two of four races in England to begin his career and had been second to Al Qudra in the Pat Eddery Stakes. New Century is owned by Qatar Racing and trained by Andrew Balding. The colt earned a free ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Casse said that he would likely enter Dream On in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.