Woodbine Weekend: Ontario Derby Features Three-Year-Olds

While the country’s top three-year-old PARAMOUNT PRINCE, the King’s Plate winner, enjoys fun in the sun in Ocala with stablemate and top filly ELYSIAN FIELD, some of the other accomplished sophomores are in action this weekend at Woodbine.

In particular, the Ontario Derby (G3) on Saturday, October 21 has lured winners of two of the three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, VELOCITOR, who slogged through the Fort Erie slop to win the Prince of Wales, and TOUCH’N RIDE, who endured a tough stretch battle to win the Breeders’ Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf.

The Ontario Derby is at 1 1/8 miles on the Tapeta and it’s worth $150,000. The race was inaugurated in 1972 as the Colonel R.S. McLaughlin Stakes and was first won by eventual champion Nice Dancer, winner of that year’s Breeders’ Stakes. The Ontario Derby/McLaughlin has been won by some of the great Canadian-bred three-year-olds such as L’Enjoleur, Norcliffe, Frost King

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Jockey KAZUSHI KIMURA has won the last three runnings of the Ontario Derby aboard Ironstone, Frosted Over and Field Pass, and seeks another one on Touch ‘n Ride, a lightly-raced bay gelding by Candy Ride (Arg) who won his maiden on Tapeta with a 91 Beyer Speed Figure before a troubled run in the King’s Plate landed him in fifth place. He won the grueling Breeders’ Stakes over Woodbine Oaks winner Elysian Field after a long stretch battle.

Velocitor, who has improved since adding Lasix and losing the blinkers, was fourth in the King’s Plate before his gritty Wales win when he stayed close to the hot pace. The Kevin Attard-trained gelding by Mor Spirit won the Coronation Futurity at 1 1/8 miles on Tapeta last Nov. 6.

Trainer Mike DePaulo brings back his pair of sophomores, COOL KISS and STANLEY HOUSE, in search of a stakes win for either of them. Cool Kiss was second to Paramount Prince in the Plate Trial, seventh in the Plate and fourth in the Prince of Wales. Stanley House was a good third in the Plate but he wallowed in the Wales when adding blinkers and front bandages.

The Canadian-breds are in tough in the Derby with Kentucky-breds SOUPER BLESSING and fillies FOREVER DIXIE and SOLO ALBUM in the lineup.

Souper Blessing is a lightly-raced colt by Temple City for trainer Mike Trombetta. The colt was third in the Toronto Cup on turf in his most recent race but he has won on the Tapeta. His recent workouts at Woodbine have been very strong, including a 6 furlong move in 1:11.

A filly has never won the Ontario Derby but Ontario Damsel Stakes winner Forever Dixie, by Quality Road, is two-for-three since coming off a long layoff for trainer Mark Casse.

Solo Album, by Curlin, had one of the most impressive stakes wins at Woodbine in 2022 when she won the Selene Stakes (G3) in July, earning a 92 Beyer Figure. But the filly was sent to the Saratoga Oaks on soft turf in August and was far back. She came off a short layoff to be second to Forever Dixie in the Damsel.

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PATCHES O’HOULIHAN is the top sprinter in the land and one of the top three-year-olds. He stepped out of restricted races and won both the Grade 3 Bold Venture and Grade 3 Vigil Stakes over older horses. On Sunday he tries his longest distance yet in the two-turn Overskate which is restricted to Ontario-sired horses. The son of Reload has the rail post and meets seven rivals including Mason’s Gamble, who just won a 7 1/2 furlong turf race and Philip My Dear, who was 4th in the Breeders’ Stakes.

Sunday also has the Eternal Search Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass and the 11-horse field is a mish-mash of gals including Fashionably Fab, who will be making her grass debut, Miss Speedy and Talk to Ya Later.