Multimillion-Dollar Weekend at Woodbine Racetrack
by Patricia Woo | Oct 18 2010
It was a multimillion-dollar weekend at
Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada, where three
Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races worth a total of $3.5M were contested on Saturday, Oct. 16. The richest of the three, the $2M Gr. 1 Pattison Canadian International, was the highlight of the day, and was run along with the $1M Gr. 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes and the $500,000 Gr. 1 Nearctic Stakes.
In the $2M Gr. 1 Pattison Canadian International, nine horses were on hand to contest the 1 ½ turf test which offered an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Turf. 2-1 Favorite Redwood, with Michael Hills aboard, was slow out of the gate; it was Fifty Proof and Justin Stein going right to the front. Joshua Tree, a 3-year-old colt trained by Aidan O'Brien, raced mid-pack under jockey Colm O'Donoghue, along with Mores Wells, who was ridden by Sebastien Maillot. On the turn for home, Joshua Tree swung four-wide and eventually claimed the lead from Fifty Proof mid-stretch, but his lead was far from safe. Both Mores Wells and Redwood came on strong in the final strides, threatening but not able to overtake Joshua Tree; he managed to hang on for the win by a head. The winning time for the Irish-bred son of Montjeu was 2:32.72. Mores Wells edged out Redwood for second by a nose. Rounding out the order of finish was Al Khali, Fifty Proof, Chinchon, Simmard, Marsh Side and Memorial Maniac.
With the earnings from the Canadian International, Joshua Tree has now earned $1,407,412 for owner Derrick Smith and is 3-1-1 from six career starts.
A similar late rally was employed by 10-1 shot Reggane in the $1M Gr. 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes to win the 1 ¼ mile event and secure a berth to the
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Akarlina, under Thierry Thulliez, set the pace but faded at the eighth-pole; Miss Keller and Javier Castellano took over the lead and held it till deep stretch. But at the same time Miss Keller was making her move, Reggane and Christophe Soumillion were flying along the outside. They quickly made up ground and surged past Miss Keller in the final stages to win by a length. Reggane, a 4-year-old filly by Red Ransom and trained by Alain De Royer-Dupre, completed the race in 2:03.38. Miss Keller, Shalanaya and favorite Contredanse rounded out the top four finishers.
In the $500,000 Gr. 1 Nearctic Stakes, 12 lined up for the chance at a spot in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Fatal Bullet, ridden by Eurico Da Silva, set a quick pace but was stalked closely by the duo of Grand Adventure and Patrick Husbands. Grand Adventure became the new leader with a furlong left to run but his position was short-lived; filly Serious Attitude and jockey Garrett Gomez had advanced from their position off the pace and claimed the lead with a sixteenth left, drawing away for the filly's first win of the year. Trained by Rae Guest, the 4-year-old daughter of Mtoto covered the track in 1:09.37 and the win boosted her career earnings to $659,037 and her record to 12-5-1-0. Grand Adventure and Fatal Bullet rounded out the top three.
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