Woodbine Saturday: Trainer Breeda Hayes Wins First Stakes

Female trainers, jockeys and horses dominated Woodbine Mile day, highlighted by the 7-year-old mare STARSHIP JUBILEE brushing off classic winner War of Will and others in the featured race. It was a big day for Breeda Hayes, Sheena Ryan, Gail Cox and Emma-Jayne Wilson.

The day got off to a wild start when first-time starter CREDIT RIVER (More Than Ready) made a last-to-first rush to win the $135,000 Ontario Racing Stakes at 5 furlongs on the inner turf at 41 to 1.

What was incredible about the win, other than the fact the grey 2-year-old colt was last turning for home under Emma-Jayne Wilson and got up to win the short race, is that there were only 6 youngsters in the field including a heavily favoured American Pharoah colt, Amsden, sent north by ace juvenile trainer Wesley Ward.

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But Credit River, owned by Garland Williamson of Hillsburgh, ON flew by the tired speedsters and won handily, becoming the first stakes winner for his trainer Breeda Hayes.

Hayes, who has always had a couple of horses with husband John over the last 20 years, including homebreds from her mare Askeaton, was winning her first race since taking over the small string of horses owned by Williamson.

“This horse has been a professional from day one,” said Hayes. “The maiden race the other day didn’t go so we tried him in this five-furlong race on inner turf. I was a little hesitant to go in here but Garland and Jim Cheadle are supportive of me 100 per cent.”

Credit River is a homebred from the owner’s top mare Like a Gem, who was a multiple stakes winner and produced the top graded stakes mare Hard Not To Like. But the colt was overlooked in the betting as his opposition included 5 winners who all had shown smart speed and talent in their wins.

Credit River was the first winner for Hayes in 2020 from 13 starts, and what a way to get that first win.

The Grade 3 Singspiel Stakes, worth $125,000, saw another upset winner, COUNT AGAIN, trained by Gail Cox for Sam-Son Farms. Just a 2-time winner, the 5-year-old Awesome Again gelding stormed past graded stakes winners Tiz a Slam, Skywire and two shippers from the Graham Motion barn to win the 1 1/4 mile turf race in his 6th career race. He was just 9 to 1 despite finishing second to 50 to 1 longshot Woodbridge in a recent optional claiming race.

Following Starship Jubilee’s surge to victory in the Mile, earning a free ticket into the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), it was time for jockey SHEENA RYAN to do some Emma-Jayne Wilson-type moves.

Riding Mary Biamonte and C. DeMizio’s DIRTY DANGLE (a hockey term for deking out fellow players), Ryan angled her Kentucky-bred filly out and ran down the speed in the 5 furlong Woodbine Cares Stakes at 5 furlongs on turf.

Trained by Ralph Biamonte, the dark grey gal by first year sire Not This Time won her debut in August.

“We always thought she was pretty good,” said Biamonte. “And ‘Sheens’ did an excellent job both times. Today she looked like she got into a little bit of trouble; she kept her composure, moved to the outside, and away she came.”

Ryan, who left riding last year to pursue other vocations, returned to the jock’s room this season.

“Sometimes you just need to step back for your own well-being. Life is a journey, we’re all here just living it,” said Ryan.

More Saturday

Two-year-old fillies in race 5 raced for a $126,800 purse, a 5 furlong maiden turf dash and the buzz horse, BODACIOUS MISS, led all the way to win her debut for owners and breeder Bev Lewis-Owens and Steve Owens. The Bodemeister gal is from he mare Mrs. Donaghy, dam of the Ownes’ family’s top mare London Tower.

Owner John Russell has a nice prospect with SATURDAY GEORGE, a Mineshaft colt bought for $95,000 last October at Fasig Tipton. Second in his debut, Saturday George wired a field of maidens at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf in race 11 under David Moran to win impressively. The colt is trained by Mike DePaulo and was bred by Anderson Farms and John Fielding.

And race 12 was won by jockey ISABELLE WENC who got CHECKERBOARD FLOOR to win a hard-fought finale for trainer Robert Tiller, well done Isabelle.