Toronto, ON – Sam-Son Farms homebred Hotep took an important step forward with a 3 1/4-length score in Saturday’s $112,600 Wando Stakes at Woodbine. Hotep seized command near the eighth-pole and kept well clear of American invader Alcomatch down the stretch. Just Call Me Roger was third. The Mark Frostad-trained son of A.P. Indy is a full-brother to last year’s Queen’s Plate winner Eye of the Leopard.
The Wando score was Hotep’s first career stakes score and signaled to other three-year-olds in the division, including Winterbook favorite Hollinger, that he is on track for this year’s edition of the Queen’s Plate on July 4.
Hotep travelled 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.55 on a blustery afternoon during which runners were challenged by a stiff headwind through the stretch. The 1 1/16-mile tally was the second win of the season for Hotep, who went into the Wando with a pair of off-the-board finishes against graded stakes company at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans.
Jockey Patrick Husbands, who guided Wando to victory in the Canadian Triple Crown, settled Hotep in fourth threw the opening half-mile. He angled the colt into the clear on the outside mid-way down the backstretch, which put him in good striking position for the final three-eights of a mile. “He’s a very hyper horse. I always have to try to keep him as calm as possible,” said Husbands. “I got him to the outside and he relaxed from there. When I asked him, he really didn’t give me the kick. He was a bit flat, a bit lost. But when we straightened out he gave me a nice little kick. It got the job done. He ran a good race.”
Husbands rode Hotep for the first time in the March 27 Louisiana Derby, in which he was 11th. While in Louisiana he said he did get a chance to spend time getting acquainted with the bay. “I was in New Orleans working with him. I got aware of what type of horse he is. I walk him in post parade. From the time he leaves the gates, he wants the lead. I said ‘You’re getting no lead.’ The main object is trying to get him to the Plate and (that means) trying to get him to relax.”
Hotep is now 3-for-7 lifetime with earnings of $151,740.
Hotep returned $4.50, $2.70 and $2.20, combining with Alcomatch ($3, $2.30) for a $10.30 exactor. Just Call Me Roger ($2.80) rounded out a triactor worth $24.
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