A highly-competitive renewal of Sunday’s $1 million Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International at Woodbine has attracted 11 hopefuls, headed by Second Step, the morning line choice at 3-1.
In addition to the turf mile and one-half Pattison, one of Canada’s richest thoroughbred races (the other $1 million races are the Queen’s Plate and Ricoh Woodbine Mile), two other turf stakes will be showcased – the Grade 1 $500,000 E.P. Taylor, at one mile and one-quarter for fillies and mares and the Grade 2 $300,000 Nearctic at six furlongs.
The 78th edition of the International will go postward at 5:40 pm ET. TSN5 will provide special live coverage across Canada from 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm ET. This marks the 13th year that Pattison, Canada’s largest outdoor advertising company, has sponsored Woodbine’s turf classic, which rewards the winner with $600,000. All horses carry 126 pounds, except the mare Habibi, at 123 and three-year-old Danish Dynaformer, with 119.
Masai Ujiri, President and General Manager of the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors, was the guest drawmaster when the post-position draw took place Thursday at Woodbine.
Merry Fox Stud’s homebred Second Step (PP4, 3-1), trained by Luca Cumani, won the mile and one-half Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin August 9 at Hoppegarten. The four-year-old Irish-bred gelded son of 2003 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Dalakhani sports a career record of five wins in nine starts.
“He ran very well. Initially we thought he wasn’t going anywhere. He was just plodding along and then all of a sudden (jockey) Jamie (Spencer) picked him up and he came on absolutely flying,” said Emthe Kuhle-Hansen, Travelling Head Lass for Cumani, about his Group 1 win.
Cumani won the 1988 renewal of the International with Infamy, one of six fillies to win the turf classic. He also conditioned two E.P. Taylor winners – Sudden Love in 1988 and Zomaradah in 1998. Andrea Atzeni, who has been aboard Second Step for three of his victories, will ride. Since 1958, when the International became a turf race, Irish-breds have won 13 times, including a trio of victories by Joshua Tree, the last in 2013.
Trainer Sir Michael Stoute and jockey Ryan Moore will team up again, this time with lightly-raced Cannock Chase (PP2, 7-2) a four-year-old Kentucky-bred Group 3-winning son of Lemon Drop Kid. Last year, they won the Pattison with favoured Hillstar. Stoute also took the 1996 International with champion Singspiel, along with two second-place finishes (Shardari in 1986, Ask in 2007) and one third (Daliapour, 2000) while Moore scored aboard Joshua Tree in 2013.
Cannock Chase, a winner in three of only eight starts, comes into the Pattison off an effortless triumph in the Sakhee Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket on September 25 at the same mile and one-half distance as the Grade 1 Pattison.
“He had a good run in his first three (career) races,” said Stoute. “Then he had some niggles in his feet, nothing serious, so we had to put him away (in June of 2014). He won well the other day. Obviously we dropped him in class, it was a listed race. I’m happy with his condition and he just proved that he got a mile and a half. He’s in with a shot.”
Cannock Chase is one of two hopefuls owned by Rabbah Bloodstock. The other is veteran campaigner Sheikhzayedroad (PP3, 6-1), a six-year-old gelded son of Dubawi, who ventured to Woodbine last year and promptly won the Grade 1 Northern Dancer.
The British-bred is trained by David Simcock, who enjoyed a memorable three-race stint at Woodbine last year, not only winning the Northern Dancer, but also the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile with Trade Storm and the Grade 2 Nearctic with Caspar Netscher. Sheikhzayedroad, who is winless in eight starts since his Woodbine victory, will be ridden as usual by Martin Lane.
“We’ve had this race in mind for about three months,” said Simcock. “He’s had a long season but he’s a fresh horse now. His (racing) lines may not be as good as last year but his fourth at Royal Ascot (the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes on June 20) was very good. He ran poor at Newmarket for no apparent reason then we tried him at two miles (at Goodwood). This should be much more up his street. He’s in excellent order. We’re confident he’ll run very well.”
There are four Canadian-breds in the Pattison – Up With the Birds, Kaigun, Interpol and Danish Dynaformer, each trying to become the sixth different Canadian-bred to win the race, the last being Thornfield in 1999. The others were Chief Bearhart (1997), Sky Classic (1991), He’s a Smoothie (1967) and George Royal twice (1965 and 1966).
JMJ Racing Stables’ Interpol (PP9, 8-1), a four-year-old son of English Channel, enters off two consecutive upset stakes wins – as a 21-1 shot in the Sky Classic, August 16 and as a 10-1 outsider in the Northern Dancer on September 13. Aboard for both wins was Emma-Jayne Wilson, who retains the mount on Sunday for Hall of Fame trainer Sid Attard.
Sam-Son Farm’s homebred Up With the Birds (PP5, 10-1), the field’s leading money winner with over $1.5 million, is now trained by Graham Motion, of Better Talk Now, Animal Kingdom and Main Sequence fame. Canada’s 2013 Horse of the Year returns to Woodbine for the first time since winning the Nijinsky Stakes in July of 2014, seeking a third International win for Sam-Son, following Sky Classic (1991) and Chief Bearhart (1997).
The five-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic is winless in four outings in 2015 south of the border, but finished a very respectable fourth to The Pizza Man and Big Blue Kitten in the Arlington Million in August. Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who leads all riders with career purse earnings of over $335 million, will climb aboard Up With the Birds, who is unbeaten in two turf outings at Woodbine, for the first time.
The Mark Casse-trained Kaigun (PP10, 12-1), to be ridden by Patrick Husbands, enters off a close fourth-place finish, two lengths behind Mondialiste in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile on September 13. The five-year-old gelded son of Northern Afleet has earned over $1.1 million for owners Quintessential Racing Florida, Horse’n Around Racing Stable and Gary Barber. Husbands just missed winning the race in 2000 aboard Williams News, finishing a nose behind Mutafaweq. Last year, Kaigun contested several Grade 1 route races, finishing a close fifth to Main Sequence in the United Nations at Monmouth and second to Real Solution in the Manhattan at Belmont.
Roger Attfield, a member of both the Canadian and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, will send out Charles Fipke’s homebred Danish Dynaformer (PP6, 10-1), who was second to Shaman Ghost in the Queen’s Plate, won the Breeders’ Stakes in August, but then was a disappointing sixth to Interpol last out. Eurico Rosa da Silva, who rode Danish Dynaformer in his career debut last November, will be aboard the only three-year-old in the race. Thirteen three-year-olds have won the International since 1958, the latest being Joshua Tree in 2010, while Attfield has three times finished second in the International, the latest with Spice Route in 2008.
Trainer Bill Mott, who won the 1995 International with Lassigny, sends out French-bred Triple Threat (PP7, 10-1), to be ridden by Joel Rosario, who has been second in this race the last two years – with Hyper in 2013 and Big Blue Kitten in 2014.
Owned and bred by Team Valor International and Gary Barber, the five-year-old son of Monsun will be making just his fourth North American start, after campaigning for three seasons in France for trainer Andre Fabre. Triple Threat debuted in June off a nine-month layoff and sparkled when winning the Monmouth Handicap on firm ground. He was subsequently 11th in the Arlington Million, then third to Interpol in the Northern Dancer, both contested on yielding turf.
New Zealand-bred Habibi (PP11, 10-1), owned by Augustin Stable and trained by Mark Frostad, finished a close second, a half-length behind Interpol in the Northern Dancer after winning the Flaming Page Stakes on August 15, both contested at one and one-half miles. The six-year-old daughter of Ekraar will try to become the seventh filly/mare to win since 1958 and the first since longshot Sarah Lynx in 2011. Robby Albarado rides. Frostad trained 1997 International winner Chief Bearhart.
Stepaside Farms’ Power Ped (PP1, 20-1), a five-year-old gelded son of Group 1 winner Powerscourt, is a four-time winner in 23 starts and enters off a second place finish to Da Big Hoss in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup on September 14. Trained by Neil Drysdale, who conditioned Marsh Side, the 29-1 winner of the 2008 International, Power Ped will have Florent Geroux up.
Copper Water Thoroughbred’s Reporting Star (PP8, 20-1), trained by Pat Parente and ridden by Luis Contreras, comes in off a fifth-place finish to Mondialiste in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile last month. The five-year-old Florida-bred son of Circular Quay won the seven furlong Play the King in August and last year finished sixth to Hillstar in the International on the heels of a close third place result to Sheikhzayedroad in the Northern Dancer.
The E.P. Taylor Stakes will go postward as the 8th race at 4:57 pm (ET) and has drawn a field of 12, headed by British-bred three-year-old Group 2 winner Curvy (3-1), a disappointing fifth to Stephanie’s Kitten in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont Park in her North America debut on October 3. The second choice is Sovereign Award winner Strut the Course, a John Unger five-year-old homebred who won the Grade 2 Canadian for trainer Barb Minshall on September 13.
Since 1958, U.S.-breds have captured 27 editions of the International, followed by Irish-breds (13) and British-breds (seven). The stakes record for the mile and one-half over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course is 2:25 3/5 seconds, set by Juddmonte Farms’ Raintrap in 1994.
The largest winning margin still belongs to the incomparable Secretariat, when ‘Big Red’ coasted home by six and one-half lengths in his farewell appearance in 1973. He is also the shortest-priced winner in history, paying $2.40. Favourites have won the International 22 of 57 times (38.6%) since 1958, the latest being Hillstar, at 6-5 in 2014.
The early Pick 4 (races 4-7) will have a guaranteed pool of $300,000, while the late Pick 4 (races 8-11), which includes the E.P. Taylor and Pattison Canadian International, has a $500,000 guaranteed pool.
There’s also an on-line only free-to-enter contest called the Woodbine Million Dollar Megapick, in which entrants (except in the province of Quebec) predict the exact order of finish for the E.P. Taylor Stakes and for the Pattison. If someone predicts the correct first-to-last finish for any one of the two contest races, they’ll be looking at a million dollar payday. If no one predicts the exact order of finish of either race, a consolation prize of $10,000 will be shared among the individuals who get closest to the exact winning order. Visit Woodbineracetrack.com for contest details.
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