After debuting in the Muskoka Stakes, Academic closed out her 2-year old campaign with a runner-up finish going two turns in just her third career start.
“That race was really, really good because she wasn’t ready to do that,” Baker said.
Yet, despite her talent, the Woodbine Oaks wasn’t immediately on the radar for Academic. Baker and owner Danny Dion of Bear Stables opted not to nominate her to the Oaks in February. Then, Academic was scratched at the gate ahead of what was to be her first start of the year on May 2.
“I would have had an earlier indication of what I was doing with her, but she has a very different temperament,” Baker said. “She was scratched at the gate one day and I think I’ve only had two or three of those in my career. That kind of backed us away. Danny doesn’t like early nominations. Over the years, most of them haven’t worked out, so we don’t bother with that.”
Everything appeared to come together when Academic entered the starting gate on May 15, however. She broke her maiden going two turns on the lead in that start, and after the performance, Baker and Dion opted to supplement Academic to the Woodbine Oaks at a cost of $12,500. The filly went on to pay back her connections in spades when she wired the Oaks field at odds of 66-1, setting a new track record in the process.
“She was such a huge price off of that maiden win, and I guess part of it was she was ignored on the lead,” Baker said.
The earnings from Oaks paid for Academic’s entry fee into the Queen’s Plate three weeks later, but the filly got caught up in a pace duel with Sweet Grass Creek that saw both horses fade to the back of the pack as they entered the far turn.
Academic would bounce back from her Queen’s Plate disappointment, however, beating males in two consecutive races in Western Canada with trainer Tim Rycroft. Academic trounced the field by eight lengths in the Grade 3 Northlands Derby in August, and followed that up by overcoming a troubled trip to win the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at Hastings in September.
To close out her 2015 campaign, Academic travelled back east and re-joined Baker’s barn at Woodbine where she finished second in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes. The veteran conditioner felt he shouldn’t have run her in that spot.
“That was my fault,” he said. “I shouldn’t have run her back. She was over the top and she had done a lot of travelling. That’s an awful lot for a horse to take. I probably cost her Horse of the Year that way.”
Academic’s campaign earned her the 3-year old filly championship, and she was also second in the voting for Canadian Horse of the Year.
“She wants to win,” said Baker. “She has that will to succeed every time.”
