Oxley, who owned 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos among other stars, was Woodbine’s (and Canada’s) leading owner in 2012, his first such title since he teamed up with Woodbine’s leading trainer Mark Casse in 2009. That netted him the Sovereign Award as Canada’s Outstanding Owner at the 2012 Sovereign Awards.
Oxley’s horses, a mixture of sales purchases and homebreds, won 10 stakes races in Canada. His two-year-old Canadian-bred colt Uncaptured was named Canada’s Horse of the Year and Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and his Canadian-bred juvenile filly Spring in the Air was also named champion thanks to her win in the Grade I Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland.
Oxley paid $290,000 for Uncaptured at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale and watched him win two graded stakes races at Churchill Downs as well as three Woodbine stakes races. The owner paid $130,000 for Spring in the Air from the 2012 Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Two-Year-Olds in Training sale.
Oxley also raced Sovereign Award nominees Dixie Strike, his three-year-old filly who took the second jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown, the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie and the juvenile colt Dynamic Sky, winner of the Simcoe Stakes.
In total, Oxley’s horses won 28 races and over $2.8 million in Canada in 2012. Oxley also won stakes races with Northern Passion, Prospective, Spirited Miss and Stealcase in 2012.
Oxley raced Gal in a Ruckus in the 1995 Woodbine Oaks and remembers listening to the race from a cruise ship. “My wife (Debby) and I could not come to the race, we were cruising the Mediterranean,” said Oxley, 75. “We managed to talk a radio operator into hooking us up so we could listen to it.”
The Oxleys listened as Gal In a Ruckus went on to win by 3 _ lengths, only to learn an inquiry had been lodged against their star filly. Eventually, the claim of foul was disallowed.
“It was a very long inquiry, felt like I waited 30 minutes on that line,” said Oxley. “I know I spent quite a bit of the winner’s share on that phone bill.”
Oxley had visited Woodbine before he joined forces with Casse and was impressed.
“I remember coming to Woodbine again a few years ago and I just loved it,” said Oxley. “It’s a first-class facility and one of the best places for racing anywhere. The track is safe and the racing program is quite good.”
