The older horse division at Woodbine in 2023 looks like it will be a fascinating group based on powerful efforts by RONDURE and CONGLOMERATE on Sunday, May 7 and TYSON on Saturday.
The third day of the three-day racing week wrapped up a stakes-less weekend and there were just eight races on Sunday, but there were plenty of exciting races with very good horses.
Rondure, who was on the Queen’s Plate trail last year for Borders Racing and trainer Katarina Vassilieva, rolled to a 2 3/4 length win in a 7 furlong allowance race Sunday, stopping the timer in 1:22.17 for the distance. He earned an 89 Beyer Figure. The four-year-old by Oxbow, who won the Grade 3 Marine Stakes last year before landing sixth in the Plate, was coming off a second-place finish in an optional event at Turfway Park at a route distance. Rafael Hernandez let the colt drop off the early pace set by Bohemian Boy and then with a slight move of his hands, allowed Rondure to rally wide and cruise to the win.
And Vassilieva and Hernandez had just left the winner’s circle from the previous race, the 5th, as they combined with Chiefswood Stables’ SIMCOE, who won a maiden special weight at 1 1/16 miles after two outings to begin his career in Florida. Simcoe, a King’s Plate contender, is a son of Uncle Mo from Aurora Lights by Indian Charlie and while he didn’t have the best of journeys, giving away all kinds of ground throughout the race, he gradually got up to win by 3/4 of a length. The time for the race was 1:45.23 for a 71 Beyer Figure.
Also on Sunday, the tall and leggy fellow CONGLOMERATE, under a shrewd ride by Sahin Civaci, avoided all the trouble endured by his rivals to win an allowance/optional route race in a sharp 1:43.58. That earned him an 89 Beyer Figure.
Owned by Frank Meli and trained by Martin Drexler, Conglomerate was scoring his biggest win for that team since he was claimed just over a year ago for $12,500. The six-year-old by Lemon Drop Kid, coming off three strong efforts at Gulfstream Park this winter, was off the slow pace early in the race but stayed wide while graded stakes winner Frosted Over set the pace. In a race that included two Prince of Wales Stakes winners, Haddassah and Duke of Love, plus stakes winner Luckman, Conglomerate rallied past several troubled rivals to win for the 6th time in 19 races.
And Team Drexler now leads all stables at Woodbine after 7 racing dates with 7 wins from 15 starts.
On Saturday, the well-bred Tapit colt TYSON posted a 91 Beyer Speed Figure in a front-running allowance win, his second career start following a maiden win in Florida over a year ago. Owned and bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures, Tyson was well prepared by trainer Josie Carroll and well ridden by Patrick Husbands. The four-year-old could be good enough to join the stakes class for older horses.
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RYAN MUNGER, a leading rider from South Africa, made his first ride at Woodbine a winning one as he got SILENT MIRACLE up for victory in a 7 furlong optional claiming race on Saturday. Munger, who has also been a leading rider in Singapore and has moved to Ontario this year, split horses with the John Mattine-trained Silent Miracle, a three-year-old by Silent Name (Jpn) and pushed him to the wire to win by a head. Silent Miracle is owned and was bred by RCC Stable. Kazushi Kimura was listed to ride but Woodbine’s leading rider was riding in the Kentucky Derby.
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It was a great week for ROSS ARMATA JR, JOSIE and JOSEPH DEPAULO and team as they won two races and watched their super King’s Plate contender STANLEY HOUSE finish a big second to older horse Tyson.
Armata Jr. is currently in charge of the stable of trainer MIKE DEPAULO who is sitting out a suspension and DePaulo’s wife, Josie, and son Joseph also manage the runners.
On Saturday, a day after Tito’s Calling won her season opener, COOL KISS rallied to win an allowance/optional race at 7 furlongs by a neck for Newtop Stable, John Russell and Joseph DePaulo. Adding Lasix for his 3rd start of 2023 following a mixed Florida stint, Cool Kiss (Kantharos) won a frantic finish under Luis Contreras which involved four horses.
Also Saturday, Stanley House earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure for his good try behind Tyson. The son of Army Mule, owned by John and Diana Russell, was coming off his maiden win at Gulfstream Park.
Race 7 – Woodbine, May 6: Troubled trips for many in this race won by Conglomerate.
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