Rookie and sophomore Canadian Premier Yearling Sale graduates will step into the Woodbine spotlight Sunday afternoon for a superfecta of stakes races totaling $600,000 in purse money.
The annual Canadian Sales Stakes showcases Canadian-bred sale graduates ahead of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s yearling sale (sponsored by OLG), held on Wednesday, August 31 at noon (ET) in the Woodbine Sales Pavilion.
Trainer quotes:
Kevin Attard – “I think these races are a great incentive, to have an opportunity to go to the sale, and to buy a horse with the possibility of running a year or two later in a race with a purse of $200,000. A lot of the times the winner of these races, you didn’t have to spend a lot of money to buy them. It’s a great opportunity for people looking to own a horse, and it also helps the breeders, who at the end of the day, put all the work in to get these horses bred and raised to compete on the racetrack. These races definitely help everyone in our industry.”
Mike Mattine – “It’s good for the breeders here, for the people who buy the horses and for the industry itself.”
Stuart Simon – “It gives us some incentive to buy a horse. At the sale, you’re buying for other races, but it’s a nice incentive to have a shot at a good purse or two as a 2- or 3-year-old.”
$100,000 ALGOMA STAKES – for 3-year-old fillies, foaled in Canada. 7 furlongs on the Tapeta. Race 3
Five fillies, including first-time out winner Chroma, will load into the starting gate for the Algoma. Absolute Jewel, 1-1-0 from five starts, last year’s Muskoka Stakes winner Baksheesh, Ian Black trainee Talk to Ya Later, and Unable, second in the Summer Solstice Cup Stakes at Fort Erie, complete the field.
FIELD FOR THE ALGOMA
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Chroma – Leo Salles – Ravendra Raghunath
2 – Baksheesh (S) – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
3 – Absolute Jewel – Rafael Hernandez – Michael De Paulo
4 – Talk to Ya Later – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Ian Black
5 – Unable – Jason Hoyte – Daryl Hasmatali
$100,000 ELGIN STAKES – for 3-year-old colts & geldings, foaled in Canada. 7 furlongs on the Tapeta. Race 6.
A field of nine will take to the track for the Elgin, including Chairman Bob. The son of Society’s Chairman-Clare’s Bernardine, trained by Kevin Attard and owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, is 2-1-1 from nine starts. The bay gelding, bred by Tim Meeuse and Arika Everatt-Meeuse, contested last year’s Simcoe Stakes as a 2-year-old, finishing third to recent Queen’s Plate fourth-place finisher Ironstone. “He’s a horse we bought two years ago out of the sale,” noted Attard. “He’s been a handy little horse for us. He won early in the year, ran a few fringe races after that, so we’re looking forward to this opportunity, and to go on from there.”
FIELD FOR THE ELGIN
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Love the Game – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Dale Desruisseaux
2 – Midnight Arkle – Leo Salles – Ross Armata, Jr.
3 – Where’s Neal – Justin Stein – Dan Vella
4 – Chairman Bob – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
5 – Big Warden – Kazushi Kimura – John Mattine
6 – Full Screen – Jeffrey Alderson – Julie Belhumeur
7 – Dissectologist – Patrick Husbands – Michelle Love
8 – Giant Teddy – Antonio Gallardo – Julia Carey
9 – Magnificent Mario – Keveh Nicholls – John Mattine
$200,000 SIMCOE STAKES – for 2-year-old colts & geldings, foaled in Canada. 6 ½ furlongs on the Tapeta. Race 7.
Fourteen rookies will line up in the starting gate, a field that includes Mo Tourist, a dark bay son of Tourist-Aunty Mo, who debuted with a fourth-place finish this June for Al and Bill Ulwelling. Mo Tourist was a $120,000 (CDN) purchase at the 2021 CTHS Ontario Canadian Premier Yearling Sale. “We paid decent money for him last year,” started Attard. “He had one start, and then had some 2-year-old issues after, so we had to back off on him a little bit. He’s coming in off a bit of a layoff, but I like the way he’s trained, and he’s matured mentally. I’m excited to see him run.” Mattine will send out One More Brew, a son of Milwaukee Brew-Ok One More, bred by Daniel A. Mooney. “He had one start, going 5/8ths. He broke a little slowly, but he ran on end and galloped out really, really strong, indicating that he would probably get the distance and should improve off that race. He’s doing really well. We’re happy with him, but it’s going to be a tough and competitive race.” The dark bay, who finished third in that debut, is owned by Stacey Van Camp. “It’s a nice purse to run for and we’re hoping he can come up with a big effort,” offered Mattine. Stuart Simon, approaching 850 career wins, will be represented by the pair of Crimson Comet and Twin City. A bay son of Silent Name (JPN)-Sweet Bama Breeze, Crimson Comet debuted on July 10, finishing fourth in a 5-furlong trek over the Tapeta. Owned by Anne and William Scott, the gelding was bred by the Estate of Gustav Schickedanz. “He’s steadily improving,” said Simon. “That first race was probably much too short for what he’s going to do in his career. I had him in to race when it was too hot to run, so we had to cancel the races. I wanted to wait and regroup with him. It was too close to run him when they re-carded the races, so we talked to Mr. Scott and thought we’d take one good shot at the sales stakes. The other Simon entrant, Twin City, finished second in his first start, a 5 ½-furlong sprint over the Woodbine main track. Bred by Frank Di Giulio Jr., the bay son of Klimt-Minnie Apple Is was a $40,000 purchase in 2021. “He ran a good race, his only race so far. It was a nice second and he seems to be an improving horse. He’ll like the distance and to go further. I think he’ll run well.”
FIELD FOR THE SIMCOE
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Gungi – Antonio Gallardo – Darwin Banach
2 – Crimson Comet – Rafael Hernandez – Stuart Simon
3 – Mo Tourist – Slade Jones – Kevin Attard
4 – One More Brew – Patrick Husbands – Mike Mattine
5 – Imperial Star – Eswan Flores – Frank Huarte
6 – Twin City – Gary Boulanger – Stuart Simon
7 – Quiet Vista – Skye Chernetz – Robert Tiller
8 – Cadfael – Steven Bahen – Willie Armata
9 – Gran Spirited – Declan Carroll – Mark Casse
10 – DeSantis – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Barbara Minshall
11 – Wickedblackbullet – Keveh Nicholls – Anthony Pottinger
12 – Housebuilder – Luis Contreras – Bill Tharrenos
13 – Mr. Rudy – Justin Stein – Bill Tharrenos
14 – Give Me My Money – David Moran – Bill Tharrenos
$200,000 MUSKOKA STAKES – for 2-year-old fillies, foaled in Canada. 6 ½ furlongs on the Tapeta. Race 8.
First-time starter Katchy Name is a homebred for Derek Chin. The daughter of Silent Name (JPN)-Super Story has had a steady work tab leading into her debut. The bay filly traveled 4 furlongs in 49:00, breezing, over the Woodbine Tapeta on August 13, and went 5 furlongs, handily, in 1:02.80 on the Toronto oval training track on August 20. “She’s doing well,” said Attard. “Obviously, it’s a tough task to ask of a first-time starter, running for $200,000 against sales horses, but it’s hard to bypass.” Society’s Kat, trained by Mike Mattine, comes into her first stakes test off a strong debut effort, a second-place finish, only a neck back of winner Golden Train. Owned by Carlo D’Amato and Stacey Van Camp, the daughter of Society’s Chairman-Gertie T was bred by Brian Wright. “She ran really well first time,” said Mattine. “She ran a little greenly down the stretch and drifted out a bit, but I’m going to make a change. Hopefully, the blinkers might correct that problem. She’s a nice filly. There are a couple of tough ones in here, so hopefully, she can come up with a good performance that day.” Rifling, a daughter of Reload-Eustacia, missed by a neck in her debut on July 30. Sent off at 6-1, the chestnut filly, bred by Highfield Investment Group Inc. and Curtis Landry, put forth a determined effort that trainer Stuart Simon hopes she can duplicate on Sunday. “She had the one start, and it was a really nice effort. We’re going to make a couple of changes, which are blinkers on and adding Lasix, which I think will help her move forward a little bit again. She should hopefully run well too.” Rifling is owned by Windways Farm, Picture Time Stables, and Highfield Investment Group Inc.
FIELD FOR THE MUSKOKA
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Beyla Be Good – Leo Salles – Sandra Dominguez
2 – Society’s Kat – Eswan Flores – Mike Mattine
3 – Liam’s Awesome – Justin Stein – Evette Chartrand-Hoek
4 – I’m a Bourbon Girl – David Moran – John Staples
5 – Rifling – Luis Contreras – Stuart Simon
6 – Trick and Treat – David Carroll – Gail Cox
7 – Flat Out Angel – Sahin Civaci – Harold Ladouceur
8 – Anam Cara – Patrick Husbands – Sarah Ritchie
9 – Souper Sinclair (S) – Keveh Nicholls – Philip Hall
10 – Sharp Aza Rainbow – Daisuke Fukumoto – Norm McKnight
11 – Centenary – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Barbara Minshall
12 – Katchy Name – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard
First race post time for Sunday’s 10-race card is scheduled for 1.00 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on the races through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
