With the CTHS Ontario yearling sale only 18 days away, the graded stakes victory by SECRET RESERVE at Woodbine on August 13 was quite an advertisement. Trainer Mike Mattine and owners Stacey Van Vamp and Carlo d’Amato picked out the son of Giant Gizmo – Smart Suzie by Smart Strike from the 2019 sale for just $9,000 and Saturday, the 4-year-old won his first graded stakes race and third stakes race overall. Ridden by Eswan Flores, the dark bay threaded between horses late to win the $181,100 Bold Venture Stakes (G3) over a tough group of sprinters.
Sent off at 10-to-1 in the 13 horse field, Secret Reserve began from the rail post and settled well in the middle of a strung-out field over a Tapeta surface that had been playing slowly all week. With 3-year-old (and favourite) Nobals, winner of the Woodstock Stakes in May, streaking along and Roaring Forties pressing him, the pace was strong.
Flores, who joined the Woodbine jockey colony a year ago, sent Secret Reserve after four tiring rivals in front off the turn and in the three path while closers from well off the pace made wide bids. But Flores had the jump on the stretch runners and when champion Avie’s Flatter (Flatter) loomed up strongly in mid-stretch, Secret Reserve had enough to fend him off to win by half a length.
Candy Overload (Reload) rallied to get past Avie’s Flatter for second, completing an Ontario-bred top 3 sweep. The time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:16.19. It was the first Woodbine stakes victory for Flores, who was coming off a 10-day riding suspension for whip infractions.
Secret Reserve was coming off a third-place finish to Masons Gamble, who was also in the Bold Venture, and a seventh place showing in his season debut in the Grade 3 Jacques Cartier.
“Last time, in the Ontario Jockey Club, he was stuck on the rail and just got beat,” noted Mattine. “Today, I told Eswan, at some point, to try and get off the rail and just sit a few lengths out of it, and he rode a perfect race.”
As a 3-year-old, Mattine had Secret Reserve well prepared to grab victories in the Elgin Stakes for sales graduates and the Lake Superior Stakes on turf. He finished up 2021 with a second-place finish in the Lake Ontario Stakes and a sixth in the Steady Growth Stakes.
Bred by Dr. Brian Van Arem, Secret Reserve collected $108,000 for the Bold Venture win, pushing his earnings to over $274,000.
Van Arem also bred Smart Suzie, the unraced dam of Secret Reserve. Smart Suzie is out of Muskrat Suzie, bred by Richard Lister and a half-sister to Cup and Saucer Stakes winner Muskrat Sammy. Smart Suzie has had four other starters, all winners. Race video is below.
One race earlier, Charles Fipke’s very good mare LADY SPEIGHTSPEARE, hammered down to even money, won the Grade 3 Trillium at 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta. It was the first victory around two turns for the 4-year-old who was coming off a gritty dead-heat win in the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes on turf on July 2.
The champion 2-year-old filly in Canada in 2020, Lady Speightspeare, was making only her second start on Tapeta, her first being a big win in the Grade 2 Bessarabian Stakes in November. She had not won since then until her Nassau dead-heat with Crystal Cliffs.
Trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield and ridden by her regular rider Emma-Jayne Wilson, Lady Speightspeare had been working strongly on Tapeta for the Trillium and post-race Attfield said the Tapeta is likely her favourite surface.
After tracking the slow pace set by invader Lovely Ride, Lady Speightspeare moved to the lead three furlongs from home and drew off to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Dreaming of Drew, who won the Belle Mahone Stakes and Long Branch Stakes earlier this year. The time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:45.75. Dreaming of Drew held second over a fast-closing Kate’s Kingdome, who had a wide rally, Talbeyah and a troubled Lake Lucerne.
The victory by Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown – Lady Shakespeare by Theatrical ( Ire)) also brought to mind the late Noel Hickey who passed away this week at the age of 94. Hickey’s Irish Acres Farm bred and raced Lady Speightspeare’s third dam, Lady Shirl, a multiple Grade 1 winner who went on to produce millionaires Perfect Shirl and Shakespeare.
More from Saturday
What a year trainer Beverly Chubb is having. The trainer sent out another longshot winner on Saturday as the 5-year-old stallion GRAND ALLIANCE led all the way to win a maiden $15,000 claiming race on turf at five furlongs at 20-to-1 under jockey Steve Jadoo. Grand Alliance, by Carpe Diem, had two workouts showing a month apart and had not raced since December.
Chubb has 8 wins in 2022, matching her 2021 total, and it is the most wins she has had in a season since she won 10 in 1997.
Jennifer Andrews’ MUCHOKOVA scored a nice win on the grass in race 3 for $25,00 claiming. It was the 6-year-old’s second start of 2022 and first for new trainer Nigel Burke. The gelding was ridden well by Jeff Alderson. Andrews owns Devonleigh Farm and she bred the son of Mucho Macho Man.
MILLIE GIRL, an Ontario-bred by Hard Spun, is now 2-for-2 in her career as she came off her maiden win to take an allowance race at seven furlongs on turf in race 4. Bred by Sean Fitzhenry and owned by Braconcrest Stable and Kingfield Racing Stable, the Catherine Day Phillips trainee was ridden by Declan Carroll.
Race 5 was a nifty maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies, but for the third time in the afternoon, a horse had to be scratched at the gate. Beginner TAG TEAM, a $400,000 Curlin filly, was 3-to-5 when she was scratched following horses that got loose in races 1 and 2.
The winner of the juvenile race was Mark Casse’s Whichwaze, a Virginia-bred by Cross Traffic. Owned by Casse, the filly was ridden by Patrick Husbands. Casse’s Quintessential racing Florida LLC came right back and won race 6 with Race for Pinks.
Brandon Greer had a great week with two first-time starter full brothers. After his own Quiet Intent (Frac Daddy – Extra Quiet by Silent Name (Jpn)) won his debut last week, QUIET SUNDAY rolled to an impressive debut win on the inner turf Saturday for owners Lynn Kelman and Janet Ward. Greer also bred Quiet Sunday, a grey 3-year-old.
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