Cairo Consort, a 2-year-old daughter of Cairo Prince-Absolutely Awesome, will face seven rookie rivals in the Grade 1 $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes, Saturday at Woodbine.
The one-mile Natalma is part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” series with the winner receiving a fees-paid berth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland on November 4.
Cairo Consort, conditioned by Nathan Squires for owner William B. Thompson Jr., brings a two-race win streak into her latest engagement.
On July 23, the grey, bred in Kentucky by Frankfort Park Farm, broke her maiden in what was her third start, maintaining a 1 ½-length lead at the stretch call for the milestone win at 6 ½ panels on the E.P. Taylor.
One race later, on August 20, she was back in the winner’s circle, this time in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes. Under Antonio Gallardo, who will be in the irons on Saturday, Cairo Consort rallied to hold a half-length advantage at the stretch call, going on to notch a 2 ½-length triumph in another 6 ½-furlong sprint over the E.P. Taylor.
“She is a laid-back filly, but always gives her heart when the gate opens,” said Squires. “It’s a joy to watch her run. She’s run extremely well in those past two races.”
Cairo Consort took to the Toronto oval Tapeta on May 28 for her career bow, a 5-furlong dash that resulted in a fourth-place finish. One race later, on July 2, she was fourth, 2 ½ lengths back of winner Wickenheiser, whom she’ll meet again in the Natalma.
Squires knew early on that he had a talented pupil in his barn.
“She is all that we expected and more,” he said of the $95,000 purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. “But you never know until they run. It doesn’t matter what they show you in the mornings, you don’t exactly know what they are and how good they are until they run. But I always had high expectations of her from the time she was a yearling. She was high on the list for Mr. Thompson and myself and we’re very lucky to have her.”
A former assistant to the late Laurie Silvera, Squires put in plenty of homework ahead of the sale. He was even more impressed once he saw the filly in person and after he heard what others had to say.
“She’s very athletic looking and that was one of many things that I learned, the conformation of a horse, from Laurie. He would take me around and made sure I learned, and I wanted to learn. I wasn’t just interested in the training part and the pedigrees. I wanted to know about the conformation, what you could live with and what you couldn’t live with. He pointed out a lot of things to me, which I use when I go to the sales. And she is a perfect example of that. I do a lot of research and remember what Laurie taught me, which really helps me. When I saw her, she just stood out.”
A video of Cairo Consort, well before her first race, caught Squires’ attention.
“I tell this story and I’m pretty certain not everyone believes me. She was training at Big Easy in Ocala in December, and the couple who run the farm, Bobby and Trish, they do a fantastic job. They sent me videos of her being broke, running around in a small field, and getting prepared for her eventual racing career. One day, they sent me a video of her running in a field and there was a low-lying branch. Bobby stopped her under the tree and broke off the branch – it wasn’t a twig, a good-sized branch – and it made a big sound. But she just stood there like an old pony. Most horses, even older Thoroughbreds, it would have scared them. But not her. She’s always had that same demeanor. She’s fearless.”
Kevin Attard will be represented by the trio of Courtly Ro, Last Call, and Wickenheiser.
Courtly Ro, a daughter of Cairo Prince-Victoire, finished third in her career bow and followed it up with a maiden-breaking performance on August 20.
“She’s very nice,” said Attard. “We’ve always been very excited about her. With the extra distance, that should actually help her out as well.”
“Last Call is a maiden, who ran very well first time out,” continued Attard, of the daughter of English Channel-Over Served, owned by X-Men Racing 2 LLC and SF Racing LLC. “She should get better with a little age and distance. She’s doing really well so we’re going to give her a chance.”
The conditioner, who notched his first Queen’s Plate win with Moira this August, completes his Natalma ‘tri’ with Wickenheiser, a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid-Game (FR).
Owned by Clay Scherer, Al and Bill Ulwelling, and Partner, the bay was bred in Ontario by Sean Fitzhenry.
“She won her first race and she’s bred to run all day long,” noted Attard. “She was a little disappointing [fifth] in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes, but I’m just hoping the shorter distance [6 ½ furlong] compromised her. Stretching out to a mile should benefit her greatly.”
Mark Casse, who has a record seven Natalma crowns to his name, will send out Adora and Star Candy.
First race post time on Saturday is set for 1:10 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
$500,000 JOHNNIE WALKER NATALMA (Grade 1) – Race 10
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Cairo Consort – Antonio Gallardo – Nathan Squires
2 – Collecting Flatter – Justin Stein – Josie Carroll
3 – G Laurie – Manuel Franco – Graham Motion
4 – Last Call – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
5 – Adora – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
6 – Wickenheiser – Luis Contreras – Kevin Attard
7 – Courtly Ro – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard
8 – Star Candy – Declan Carroll – Mark Casse
Chris Lomon, Woodbine Communications / @WoodbineComms
Philip My Dear springs into Grade 1 Pattison Summer
TORONTO, September 15, 2022 – Seven first-year stars, including Kevin Attard trainee Philip My Dear, take their talents to the E.P. Taylor Turf Course in Saturday’s Grade 1 $500,000 Pattison Summer Stakes, part of a stakes-stacked Saturday at Woodbine.
The one-mile Summer is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, “Win and You’re In” event. Up for grabs is a fees-paid date in the one-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (accompanied by a $1 million purse), to be run on November 4 at Keeneland.
Attard, who won the 2001 edition with El Soprano, will look to unbeaten Philip My Dear to add another Summer title to his resume.
Rajendra Maharajh, the man behind Raroma Stables, paid $100,000 (U.S.) for the son of Silent Name (JPN)-Involuntary at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“We had to go a little high for him, but that’s how the sale was,” said Maharajh. “But I’m glad we got him. Art Fisher, my very good friend in Ocala, he selected both [2-year-old filly] Courtly Ro and Philip My Dear. He also selected [2021 Woodbine Oaks winner] Munnyfor Ro, so we are doing quite well with his selections.”
After two wins in as many starts, the dark bay has lived up to his price tag, putting together a pair of pleasing performances, including an out-of-the-clouds rally to take the 6 ½-furlong Soaring Free Stakes on August 20.
Sent off as the even-money choice, Philip My Dear, under leading Woodbine rider Kazushi Kimura, weaved through traffic to notch a three-quarter length score in a time of 1:16.31 over a firm E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
One race earlier, on July 3, the Ontario-bred (Adena Springs) split horses down the lane to earn a 1 ½-length win in the 6-furlong race, also on the E.P. Taylor.
“He definitely makes it thrilling, that’s for sure,” said Attard. “Both races were very similar. Last time, I didn’t think he was going to get up there in time, but he managed to split horses and Kazushi got him there just in the nick of time. He’s a very nice horse and hasn’t done anything wrong to this point. We hope that trend continues.”
Mysterious Night (IRE), a Godolphin homebred, has won 2 of 5 races including th Group 3 Francois Boutin in his most recent start at Deauville,
The son of Dark Angel (IRE)-Mistrusting (IRE) will have William Buick in the irons once again.
“He travelled well,” said Appleby, who paired with Godolphin to win the 2021 Summer with Albahr (GB). “He takes a nice, progressive profile into the race. He has adapted well so far to his surroundings.”
Mark Casse will send out Ninetyfour Expos and Stayhonor Goodside in the Summer, a race he has won on four occasions.
The Hall of Fame conditioner netted the natural hat trick from 2013-15, starting with My Conquestadory, followed by Conquest Typhoon and Conquest Daddyo. He also won with Gretzky the Great in 2020.
First race post time on Saturday is set for 1:10 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
-edited press release
$500,000 PATTISON SUMMER (Grade 1) – Race 7
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Mysterious Night (IRE) – William Buick – Charles Appleby
2 – Ninetyfour Expos – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
3 – Appraise (IRE) – Manuel Franco – Chad Brown
4 – Chiseler – Patrick Husbands – Barbara Minshall
5 – Sammy Stone – Declan Carroll – Catherine Day Phillips
6 – Philip My Dear – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard
7 – Stayhonor Goodside – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
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