Jockey Patrick Husbands and trainer Mark Casse completed a sweep of the Thanksgiving weekend stakes events at Woodbine as Salute With Honor won the $125,000 Durham Cup (Grade 3) in front-end fashion on Sunday.
Salute With Honor (To Honor and Serve) was followed by a hard-closing Skywire and Rafael Hernandez to complete a Casse exacta in the 1-1/16-mile main track test for horses three years old and up.
The Husbands-Casse duo also clicked in Saturday’s $250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes with Canadian-bred two-year-old Master Spy.
In Sunday’s graded stakes feature, Salute With Honor took command from the quick-leaving Inventing Blame into the first turn approaching the :23.43 quarter mark and clocked a half-mile in :47.36 and three-quarters in 1:11.78 en route to victory.
Skywire, who raced inside near the back of the seven-horse field, maneuvered outside on the final turn and came tearing home to finish second, one length behind his triumphant stablemate. Timeskip, supplemented to the Durham Cup, closed from last to nab the show honours for conditioner Renée Kierans ahead of another Casse trainee, Pioneer Man. Roaring Forties, Armistice Day and Inventing Blame completed the order of finish.
Salute With Honor was not far off Freitag’s track record (1:42.16) as he posted a final time of 1:42.35.
First-time stakes winner Salute With Honor ($6, $3.20, $2.90) was the slight 2-1 favourite over Skywire ($3.10, $2.50), who won the Grade 2 Eclipse on July 4 over the same course and distance, and they combined here for a 3-1 exacta worth $19.10.
“He’s a horse that likes to be forwardly-placed,” noted Husbands of the six-year-old chestnut son of To Honor and Serve. “I don’t touch him, he just does what he’s gotta do. I just be the pilot and relax on his back, and when I asked him, he gave me all he can give me.”
The Live Oak Plantation homebred gelding earned his seventh career win from 19 races and has banked nearly $360,000 from 19 starts.
From the mare Snow Cone, by Cryptoclearance, Salute With Honor raced just three times in 2019 and was offered for a $62,500 claiming price in one of his wins. He has now won two races in a row at Woodbine and sports a five-for-seven record here lifetime.
*The third-place finish in the Durham Cup by Ontario-sired TIMESKIP, bred by Tony and Leslie Russo and from the mare Queen Ofthe Dawn, was another honest-to-goodness run by the 5-year-old who was plucked from the 2016 CTHS Canadian Premier Yearling sale in 2016 for $27,000 by Kierans and partner Ben Wallace. Wallace, who was recently inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame on the Standardbred side as one of the sport’s most successful trainers, entered Thoroughbred racing as an owner a few years ago and Timeskip has been a wonderful story.
Timeskip has blossomed in 2020 with a win, two 2nds and two 3rds, padding his career record to 4-7-10 in 31 races. The hard-trying bay has earned over $300,000 Canadian. The gelding was Kierans’ 30th career winner recently and her career earnings are at about the $1 million mark now.
Kierans, a former amateur rider and longtime simulcast handicapper for Woodbine Entertainment, has maintained a small stable for years and the big effort by Timeskip was her first placing in a graded stakes race.
More Sunday
MALIBU MAMBO, at one time a contender for the Queen’s Plate, came off a layoff to win Sunday in a 1 1/16 mile allowance race for Stronach Stables and trainer Kevin Attard. The Point of Entry colt was fifth in his season debut in June and was put away. He led all the way under Justin Stein to win his return.
Trainer Barbara Minshall continues to unleash impressive 2-year-olds in 2020. Following an exciting win by the filly Designer Ready last week, Minshall sent out yet another Bruce Lunsford beauty, Ontario-bred BRITISH ROYALTY, on Sunday to win a maiden allowance on the Tapeta at 1 1/16 miles under a hand ride. This guy, sold at the dispersal of Richard Lister in February at the Fasig Tipton Winter Mixed sale for $30,000 by Cara Bloodstock, zoomed past 2-year-olds to win in fancy fashion. He is from the mare Queen Martha, by Rahy. A yearling full brother was also sold in that sale and went to Richard Hogan for $12,000.
Queen Martha sold for $16,000 to White Hart but is now owned by Bernard and Karen McCormack.
SABRE FARMS of Alberta won its first race at Woodbine with its homebred THERE’S NO JOE, a Rookie Sensation grey 3-year-old who won his maiden on the grass Sunday in an allowance/optional event. Trained by Dan Vella, There’s No Joe is a nice prospect who was ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson.
Not long after his neighbour Kevin Drew of Chatham won his first race as an owner, owner/breeder Brian Wright won another race recently, this time with SOCIETY’S TIGER, his homebred by his good mare Yes Imatiger. The 4-year-old won a $25,000 claiming race for his 3rd career win for trainer Katerina Vassilieva.
PREFERRED GUEST, owned by Nancy Guest and bred by Billee Steinhoff, Tom Rupert and John Felker in Port Dover, won for the second straight time on turf Sunday. Trained by Mark Casse, this Society’s Chairman filly is 3 for 16 in her career, and is a stakes winner of over $227,000 US.
The bay 4-year-old took advantage of a wild speed battle early in the 7 1/2 furlong inner turf race (race 10, which didn’t seem to have the lights on as darkness fell) and blew by for the win.
Natural Eight Stable won a $25,000 2-year-old maiden race with ONE FLINT, a son of first year sire Flintshire (GB) from the mare One to tap by Pleasant Tap to complete the day. Trained by Bill Tharrenos, the bay 2-year-old colt was another who was far back from a heavy duty pace battle among 3 juveniles and he flew by under Emma-Jayne Wilson. He was bred by Minshall Farms and was a $15,000 Keeneland Sept. yearling purchase in 2019.
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