Corsia Veloce and jockey Fraser Aebly winning the Catch a Glimpse Stakes. (Michael Burns Photo)
Corsia Veloce captures Catch a Glimpse
Corsia Veloce, trained by Josie Carroll, rallied impressively to win the $150,000 Catch a Glimpse Stakes on Saturday’s stakes laden King’s Plate card at Woodbine.
Twist of Sugar surged to the early lead in the 6 ½-furlong test for two-year-old fillies over the E.P. Taylor turf, followed by Nacho Problem, Piper’s Gift, who was supplemented to the race, and Corsia Veloce.
Ahead by 1 ½ lengths after a quarter in :22.67, Twist of Sugar continued to control the tempo and held a length advantage over Nacho Problem through a half in :45.61. Fraser Aebly, aboard Corsia Veloce, ranged up four wide into the turn for home.
Twist of Sugar, along the rail, was enveloped by a host of rivals in early stretch, including Corsia Veloce, who drove to the lead with less than 275 yards to the wire, while Sweet Fusion found a seam in between foes and came with a menacing run. Dyna, the 4-5, choice, looked to track down the leaders with a late outside burst.
At the wire, Corsia Veloce was a 1 ½-length winner in a time of 1:15.69 over firm going. Sweet Fusion was second, a half-length clear of Dyna. On My Time was fourth.
“She broke well out of the gate,” said Aebly. “I ended up following, I think, Johnny V (aboard Nacho Problem), and when we kind of hit the head of lane, I let her tip out and tried to save as much as I could, and she flew home for me.”
The daughter of Practical Joke out of the City Zip mare Beth’s Bling arrived at the Catch a Glimpse off a game neck score in her debut, a 5 ½-furlong main track sprint at Woodbine on July 6.
“She was very precocious from the start, very determined,” said Carroll. “She’s definitely got a mind of her own. And you know, you love that tenacity, even in a young horse. She can be a handful, but it seems that when we get over here, she puts her game face on, and that’s what you need.”
Bred (in Ontario) and owned by Glenn Sikura (Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms) and Mario Serrani, Corsia Veloce, paid $24.90 for the win.
The Catch a Glimpse Stakes is named for Canada’s 2015 Horse of the Year, who won that race at Woodbine before capturing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and five other graded turf stakes. Mark Casse trained the City Zip filly for owners Gary Barber, Michael James Ambler and Windways Farm.
~ Chris Lomon, Woodbine
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She Feels Pretty punched her ticket to the Breeders Cup with jockey John Valazquez aboard in the E.P. Taylor Stakes. (Michael Burns Photo)
She Feels Pretty earns Breeders’ Cup berth in E.P. Taylor
She Feels Pretty punched her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) by holding off a late charge from UK import Diamond Rain in Saturday’s $750,000 Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack.
Sent off as the 2-5 favourite in the 70th edition of the race, She Feels Pretty was ridden to victory by John Velazquez. The four-year-old daughter of Karakontie (JPN) out of the More The Ready mare Summer Sweet topped $2 million in career earnings with the victory. She completed the 1 ¼ miles on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course in 2:00.80 to win the race added this year to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series as an official “Win and You’re In” race this year.
Diamond Rain (GB), the Godolphin homebred trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by William Buick, recovered valiantly after a poor start that saw him get away last in the field of seven. The 2-1 second choice came flying home in the stretch and just missed by a head.
Meanwhile, She Feels Pretty had challenges of her own. Velazquez said the mare was hit from behind up the backstretch “and got really anxious… You can see she got cut through the bandages. She got hit pretty good, but then she got pretty keen.
“So now, I have her covered up, and I’ve got to get in the clear a little bit. From then on it was a wrestling match with her. I didn’t want to move too soon [because] the horse from Europe [Diamond Rain] was really close and really good. I wrestled with [She Feels Pretty] past the 5/16ths pole and then finally put my hands down to let her do her thing.
“The last 16th of a mile, I don’t know what she saw, but she got lost. I thought, ‘Come on, don’t do this to me now. We’re almost there,’ but she got it done.”
In the end it was essentially a two-horse race, with the rest of the field well behind She Feels Pretty and Diamond Rain.
She Feels Pretty paid $2.90 and improved to 3-1-0 in four 2025 starts for owner Lael Stables and trainer Cherie DeVaux. Lael Stables purchased her for $240,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Lifetime, the mare bred by Payson Stud Inc of Kentucky, has earned $2,334,957. She also topped $1 million on the year with the victory. Her seasonal earnings are exactly $1,205,540.
DeVaux said she elected to bring She Feels Pretty to Woodbine because the mare had, “been training so well it just made sense to come here now and run her here instead of waiting a couple of more weeks for the Flower Bowl [at Saratoga].”
The trainer said She Feels Pretty will “most definitely” accept the ticket into the Breeders’ Cup being contested Oct. 31- Nov. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
It was the fourth career Grade 1 victory and fifth graded stakes win for She Feels Pretty, who was making her first start at Woodbine since winning the Grade 1 $503,500 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes in September of 2023.
Normally contested in September, the E.P. Taylor was moved to King’s Plate Day in order to accommodate upgrades to the E.P. Taylor Turf Course set to begin soon.
~ Dave Briggs, for Woodbine
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Simcoe is simply dominant in Bold Venture
Simcoe stormed to the lead early and then powered away down the lane to take the $150,000 Bold Venture (G3), for three-year-olds and up, Saturday at Woodbine.
Simcoe and jockey Rafael Hernandez winning the Bold Venture Stakes. (Michael Burns Photo)
Simcoe dueled briefly with Old Chestnut a few strides out of the gate in the 6 ½-furlong event contested on the Woodbine main track, with the latter backing off to settle into second, Junior Hot Shot in third and Ice Chocolat (BRZ) fourth.
After clocking an opening panel in :22.40, Simcoe, under Rafael Hernandez, widened his advantage to three lengths through a half in :45.01, and then played catch-me-if-you-can heading into the turn for home.
On top by four lengths in early stretch, the Katerina Vassilieva trainee was five lengths clear of his closest pursuer at Robert Geller’s stretch call, as the race was on for second.
Simcoe crossed the wire a 5 ¾-length winner. Victory Achieved rallied to finish second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of I’m A Gambler (IRE). Playmea Tune, a stablemate of Simcoe, was fourth.
The final time was 1:15.42.
It was the first stakes victory for the dark bay son of Uncle Mo out of the Pulpit mare Aurora Lights.
“He’s a consistent horse since the end of last year, and he’s been running huge every single time,” praised Vassilieva. “I did expect a good effort today, maybe not for him to win quite so much, but I knew that it was possible for this horse.
“I just think he gets really confident when he’s on the lead. Rafi made sure he got the lead today, and it seems like when he gets it, he just doesn’t look back.”
A homebred (Ontario) for Chiefswood Stables Limited, the 5-year-old gelding, now 6-4-0 from 18 starts, was runner-up in the Jacques Cartier Stakes (G3) on May 31.
Simcoe, who has a record of 4-4-0 over his past eight engagements, paid $13.10 for the win.
~ Chris Lomon, Woodbine
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Gas Me Up takes King Edward
On Wednesday, trainer Kevin Attard said he was hoping for a big weekend after his barn had gone a bit cold of late. On Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack, Attard won the $1 million King’s Plate with Mansetti and the $200,000 Grade 2 bet365 King Edward Stakes with Gas Me Up in back-to-back races.
Gas Me Up was ridden to victory by Flavien Prat in the one mile race on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course for three-year-olds and older. The five-year-old gelded son of Hard Spun out of the Smart Strike mare Chic Thrill edged Wyoming Bill by three-quarters of a length in 1:33.85 in what was something of a six-horse calvary charge to the wire in the field of nine (after the scratch of #5 Dresden Row).
Sent off at 5-2, Gas Me Up paid $7.40.
“This is a nice horse,” Attard said. “He was a little bit plagued by some issues earlier in his career and now he’s been able to get in a bit of a rhythm and he’s showing his talent.
“We’re glad now that he’s healthy and doing really well… He really has an affinity for this E.P. Taylor course, which is a little sad now that he’s not going to see it again for a while [while it is under construction to make improvements set to begin Aug. 18].”
Off for all of 2023, Gas Me Up is now 2-0-0 in three starts this year and 8-5-3 in 35 lifetime outings for owners Exline-Border Racing LLC, Michael Jawl, Aaron Kennedy and Tom Zwiesler. The gelding was bred by Sam-Son Farm and purchased for $140,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Gas Me Up has now earned $163,694 this year and $279,389 lifetime.
The King Edward is the leading local prep for the Grade 1 $1 million Rogers Woodbine Mile on Sept. 13.
~ Dave Briggs, for Woodbine
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Attard scores natural hat trick in Soaring Free
After winning the King’s Plate with Mansetti and the King Edward with Gas Me Up, trainer Kevin Attard scored a natural hat trick when Two Out Hero won the $150,000 bet365 Soaring Free stakes on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack.
Gas Me Up and jockey Flavien Prat winning the King Edward Stakes. (Michael Burns Photo)
The son of War Front out of the Liam’s Map mare Song River, ridden by Rafael Hernandez, split horses in deep stretch to win the 6 ½-furlong race for two-year-olds contested on the E.P. Taylor Turf in 1:15.91. Two Out Hero defeated front-running Casson by 1 ½ lengths in the field of nine to improve to a perfect two-for-two for owner Gold Square LLC. Two Out Hero now has earnings of $122,556.
For Attard, it was the end of a remarkable day.
“It’s been a fantastic day,” he said. “It’s been a rough month. We had a lot of tough beats. We couldn’t find the winner’s circle. Luckily, today, everything kind of came together for us. The team puts in a lot of work and it’s nice to see them get rewarded, as well. I couldn’t be doing this without them. So, kudos to them and we’re just going to enjoy the rest of the day.”
Attard said he’s high on Two Out Hero, bred by Corser Thoroughbreds and purchased for $240,000 at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“This is a good horse,” Attard said. “I think he’s a very special horse… So far, everything’s gone according to plan and this is another stepping stone. We will take it from here.”
~ Dave Briggs, for Woodbine
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