Ulwellings Getting Some Good Luck With 3 Wins at Woodbine

What a day for Al and Bill Uwelling and trainer Kevin Attard, who won three races together on the July 31 card at Woodbine.

To say that the Ulwelling team has had some tough luck in the last year would be a slight understatement – recently their star colt Stephen just came off the Queen’s Plate trial – but the stable is rolling now.

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The Ulwellings have invested a great deal of money into the Ontario racing and breeding program in the last couple of years but at the start of 2020 were unable to come to Woodbine to see any of their horses race due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stephen’s win in the Coronation Futurity was a highlight for the stable last season but the winter and spring were a rocky time with family loss and uncertainty when racing would begin in Ontario.

But three gals with nice wins on Saturday have kept a good streak going for the father-and-son team.

ROSEBUD’S HOPE, a $40,000 claim last August, is now 2-for-2 this season as she won a $62,500 claiming race on turf with Rafael Hernandez riding. The Cowboy Cal mare is an 8-time winner in her career.

Their homebred 2-year-old SILVER MAGNETIZED won a $126,800 maiden allowance on the turf, race 5, in her second career start. The Bodemeister filly from Silver Magna by Magna Graduate was ridden by Justin Stein. The Ulwellings bred and raced stakes winner Silver Magna.

FOREST B, an Old Forester filly they bought from the 2020 CTHS sale, won her maiden in race 6 in her season career start with Antonio Gallardo riding. Bred by Paul Buttigieg and Ian Dick, Forest B is out of Ginger B by Bold ‘n Flashy.

The Ulwellings look forward to the Aug. 22 Queen’s Plate when their homebred HADDASSAH is a solid contender for the Canadian classic. They could also start recent maiden winner LENNY K.

The trio of stakes races on Saturday started with the $100,000 Alywow Stakes, a turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies. LADY WAR MACHINE, a fancy maiden winner in her season debut for owner Mark Dodson and trainer Josie Carroll on July 3 took to the turf as her breeding (Street Boss – Native Bombshell by War Front) said she would. Pressing the pace along the side early in the race under Patrick Husbands, Lady War Machine fended off all rivals to win by 3 lengths in 1:15.40. This was the third career race for the $135,000 yearling purchase.

The $125,000 MY DEAR STAKES for 2-year-old fillies had a fascinating collection of young ones, perhaps none more than DIABOLIC (Ire), a maiden winner in May at Gulfstream who had run fast in that win and worked fast on Tapeta for trainer Mark Casse’s team. After some anxious moments in the gate when she became unsettled and then breaking a bit slowly from the rail, Diabolic and jockey Antonio Gallardo moved up the rail on the turn and then waited for a space to angle out before going away to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:014.15. She was a Goffs yearling purchase by D J Stable for $116,000 and is also owned by the Nexus Racing Club. CURLIN CANDY, the first foal of Canadian Horse of the Year Caren and by top sire Curlin, ran well to be second in her career debut.

Colts competed in the VICTORIA STAKES in the next race and impressive debut winner ONE TIMER, in from Chicago for trainer Larry Rivelli for owners Richard Ravin and Patricias Hope LLC ran to his 3-to-5 backing despite another awkward start from the gate. The son of Trappe Shot from Spanish Star (a half-sister to Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston) battled Feelthebeat through quick fractions and then pulled away under E T Baird to win by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:03.33.

Baird said he wasn’t feeling overly confident in the post parade as his young colt was getting “shook up” but once underway, the pair bossed around the field.

Catherine Day Phillips won a pair of races on the afternoon, starting the day with SWILLING, owned by Richard Day’s Kingview Farm. The 5-year-old Discreet Cat mare from Scarlet Begonias by Unbridled’s Song won her maiden under Keveh Nicholls by 2 1/2 lengths in her third start of the season. A granddaughter of Richard Day’s champion filly Van Lear Rose, Swilling was exiting a second-place finish to runaway winner Ballymore Star on July 3. Third in that race was Lady Moonshine, who competes in the Woodbine Oaks on Sunday.

Day Phillips also struck with longshot PUNCH HARD, a 4-year-old Hard Spun gelding who was shrewdly ridden by Shaun Bridgemohan to get to the lead early in the 1 1/8 mile maiden race and then held off all challengers including Collective Force who had some traffic woes. He paid $61 to win.

Punch Hard, owned and bred in Kentucky by Newtown Anner Staud, had missed more than a year of racing before his local debut in which he trailed a big winner, Dolder Grand, and runner-up Collective Force.

In fact, Collective Force, a son of Tiznow, is a Chiefswood Stable homebred colt and a Canadian-bred who would look intriguing in the Queen’s Plate in three weeks. The colt is now Plate nominated, however, and would have to be supplemented for $25,000.

The Mark Casse barn won three races and one of those, an allowance win in a turf sprint by SOUPER MUNNNGS, was vintage Patrick Husbands. The filly was making her first start since September and had been shuffled well back on the rail in a tight group but Husbands worked his way through the field, angled wide and got the jump on a troubled Grey Seal to win.

A whopping $8 million was wagered on the card at Woodbine.