Followers of racing, in particular handicappers and horsepeople, will know the results of Woodbine races for the last couple of weeks have been head-scratching and mind-bending. It tends to happen around the midway point of a long racing season when horses are returning from or going on a break.
The $100,000 Niagara Overnight Stakes at Woodbine was just such a race that offered a confusing series of events and a surprising result.
The field was a stellar one with Horse of the Year Mighty Heart getting back to grass for the first time since his challenging run in the Breeders’ Stakes two years ago, graded stakes-winning main track runner Frosted Over trying the grass for the first time, Woodbine Mile winner Town Cruise making his first start of the year, and the favourite British Royalty, who had a super stint in the US recently with a Grade 2 placing in the Belmont Gold Cup and a recent fourth-place finish to champion Channel Maker.
Frosted Over was one of four entrants in the race for leading trainer Mark Casse.
It was Town Cruise and Daisuke Fukumoto who predictably went to the front of the 1 1/4 mile turf marathon but the 7-year-old Brandon Greer trainee was happy to race out in the 8-path as the horses moved into the backstretch run from around the corner. Dueling with Casse-trained Like the King (who ran 12th in the Kentucky Derby last year), Town Cruise was way out on the course until he made his way closer to Like the King heading into the last turn. The pair were going quickly as it was several lengths back to a patient Mighty Heart and Justin Stein while the others were even further back, with longshot Who’s the Star and Emma-Jayne Wilson trailing.
Into the stretch, Like the King wrestled the lead from a tiring Town Cruise, Mighty Heart chased and from the clouds, Wilson and Who’s the Star, making his first start in a stakes race after winning an optional claiming race in his grass debut on June 19, flew past. The son of Tonalist – Shine Forth by Carson City did it pretty much on his own, too, as Wilson had lost her whip in mid-stretch.
The Mark Casse trainee, at 13-to-1, won by half a length over 38-to-1 Collective Force, trained by Rachel Halden. Like the King was 3/4 of a length back in third and a nose in front of the mare Keyflower (also trained by Casse) with Mighty Heart half a length back in fifth.
British Royalty, Frosted Over and Town Cruise were all well back.
Later it was deemed that the starting gate for the race was in the wrong position (Lane 3 and not Lane 2) and that the race ended up having to be hand timed. From the senior steward’s report:
Race 8, Niagara Stakes, EPT turf, this race will be charted as an about distance of 1 mile and a
¼ with a 0 run up, as the starting gate was set in the lane 3 distance, a hand time of 159.77 will
also be charted.
Who’s the Star is owned by M Racing Group LLC (also owner of Like the King) which is owned by Mickey Gonzalez, formerly of Las Vegas. Gonzalez is a farm owner in Ocala now. He bought Who’s the Star at the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale for $375,000 and the gelding raced in California with trainer John Sadler through this winter, winning his maiden on dirt at Del Mar. He won a dirt race at Tampa Bay Downs in his second start for Casse and then came to Woodbine to win a 1 1/4 mile turf race in 2:03 4/5.
More from Canadian Thoroughbred:
