POULIN IN O T made easy work of his six rivals in the $100,000 Frost King Stakes for Ontario-sired 2-year-olds on October 14 at Woodbine, registering his fourth career win and third stakes win.
Owned and bred by Steve Owens, wife Beverly and co-owned by daughter Emma, Poulin in O T was 1-to-2 at the start of the 6 1/2 furlong Tapeta dash under Patrick Husbands. The chestnut gelding by Reload – Town dance by Dance Brightly was in an early speed duel with Half to Reload through 22.92 for the first two furlongs.
By the half mile mark, raced in 45.51, Poulin in O T coasted to a short lead over Half to Reload with Silent Fortune and Gem Quality pursuing a couple of lengths behind the leading pair.
Husbands gave a cue to the speedy gelding and into the stretch Poulin in O T broke away to a clear lead while Silent Fortune, owned by Picture Time Stables and trained by Gail Cox, began his charge.
But Poulin in O T had the race won, getting to the wire in front by 1 1/2 lengths in a sharp 1:16 to collect the $60,000 winner’s purse. Silent Fortune was second at 6-to-1 and he was 9 1/2 lengths ahead of 54-to-1 shot Posturing who was third for Colebrook Farms. Boss Holiday was a troubled fourth.
“From the first time I got him he showed me he had talent and he shows me in every race,” said Husbands. “He’s a natural speed horse and I don’t want to change anything. He enjoys it.”
Steve Owens said, “He’s been an exciting addition to our stable He’s a homebred and he has grown up with us. He’s done everything right since day one.”
The Owens family has bred and raced 10 foals from Town Dance including the similarly precocious speedster Seffeara and turf stakes winner Zazinga.
“It’s tempting to keep going forward with him, there’s a couple of spots he could run near the end of the season but he’s had five starts and four wins and you’d like him to go home and mature over the winter.”
Poulin in O T has won $187,652 from his four win in five races. He also won the Victoria Stakes following his debut win and the Bull Page Stakes on turf.
Leading apprentice in Canada Slade Jones won his first stakes race of his career, nursing the speedy A TOUCH OF RED to a game win in the $100,000 South Ocean Stakes earlier in the Friday card.
A big debut winner for owner and breeder Howard Walton and trained Sid Attard, A Touch of Red and stablemate Ancient Spirit (both by Walton’s stallion Signature Red) were each even-money in the five horse field. The latter was coming off a win in the Victorian Queen Stakes at seven furlongs on the turf, which followed her smart debut win.
A Touch of Red was eager early in the 6 1/2 furlong race on Tapeta. The dark bay had her head turned to the inside as Jones tried to get her to relax. The filly pulled Jones off the rail from her post one, however, and was soon joined by Holiday With Amy who rushed up inside A Touch of Red. Ancient Spirit was three wide and pressing as the field went two furlongs in 22.89.
A Touch of Red came to hand by the quarter-mile marker and dueled with Holiday With Amy while Ancient Spirit tracked in third.
After a half-mile in 45.97, A Touch of Red was still in the battle for the lead while jockey Rafael Hernandez and Ancient Spirit loomed up three wide, looking like they had their mate measured.
The two Walton fillies then locked in a stretch-long battle and while A Touch of Red swapped over to her wrong lead in deep stretch, she simply would not let her stablemate get by. She won by a neck in 1:16.68. Stakes winner Anam Cara was third for Sarah Ritchie.
“It means a lot,” said Jones about his first stakes victory. The son of Jono Jones, a champion rider in Barbados and top rider at Woodbine for many years, said, “She was a little eager, she wanted to go early. I was just trying to get her to relax and keep something for home.”
Hall of Fame trainer Sid Attard, who has trained by Walton’s Norseman Racing Stable for many years and trained Signature Red to multiple stakes wins, said A Touch of Red is a bit better on the Tapeta than Ancient Spirit.
“On the Tapeta I liked this one [A Touch of Red] better, the other filly is much better on the grass. I appreciated [Jones] coming to see me this morning; he said it looked like there was no speed in the race. I told him to do what he wants to do.”
A Touch of Red is the first foal to race of Walton’s stakes winning homebred Generous Touch, who won the Passing Mood, Eternal Search and Ruling Angel Stakes. Generous Touch, a daughter of Philanthropist, is a half-sister to Dotted Line and Signature Spring, both stakes winners for Walton.
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