It was a beautiful day in Toronto. It was Sunday and Woodbine Race Course was hosting three Graded races. HRTV, one of America’s racing networks, was carrying the three races live.
The three races had ‘high quality’ fields. The fact that these races were less than a week before the Breeders’ Cup and may provide pointers to some BC prospects made them extra significant. There was an international cast of horses and jockeys. The turf was firm-the ‘best’ condition in North American racing parlance.
The EP Taylor Stakes was for fillies and mares, three year-olds and up. It was over 2000 metres on the grass. There were ten of them. Mrs Lindsay, a three year-old Pennsylvania-bred filly who had made a mark in France, was the favorite at 14-10. John Murtagh was the rider and the trainer was Francois Rohaut. Murtagh had flown in from England where he had ridden two winners at Newmarket on Saturday. Sealy Hill, the Canada-based daughter of Point Given, had an army of followers. The Aga Khan-owned Four Sins, Mick Kinane up, had a large number of friends.
Essential Edge darted to the top. Four Sins raced second and Mrs Lindsay lay third. Sealy Hill was in mid-division but in striking range of the leading pack. There was not much change in the order. The field was approaching the final turn and Sealy Hill, with a striking piece of acceleration, had moved into the top four. As Essential Edge threw in the towel, Sealy Hill, coming in wide, thundered into the lead. Squeezed between horses, Mrs Lindsay, for a moment or two, was outpaced and Sealy Hill’s advantage widened. With 200 metres to run, Mrs Lindsay, having regained her stride, began her renewed bid as John Murtagh called upon her to do more. The winning post loomed large as Mrs Lindsay devoured ground and passed Sealy Hill to score by half a length. Barancella ran on to be third.
Mrs Lindsay paid $4.80. She earned 263,158 pounds. The time was 2.00.68. It was John Murtagh’s second success in the E P Taylor Stakes. Mrs Lindsay is by Theatrical who is by Nureyev. Her dam is Vole Vole Monamour who is by Woodman.
Mrs Lindsay had won the Prix de Vermeille at Longchamp in her last outing. One of her victims was West Wind, the French Oaks winner. In the Vermeille, Passage Of Time took third and Mrs Lindsay’s win was a clear advertisement to the former’s chances in the BC Filly-Mare Turf.
John Murtagh was ecstatic. “She traveled very well. She is genuine, she is tough and quite special. When Sealy Hill passed us, my filly stayed on though she could not accelerate fast enough. She fought back. She is much improved this season. Trainer Francois has done a very good job with her.”
Trainer Francois Rohaut said, “She’s a top class filly. She likes firm ground and that is what she got today.”
Ask was the favorite in the Pattison Canadian International, a Grade I race over 2400 metres on turf. There were twelve runners. Ask, from the Michael Stoute stable, was coming off an impressive win in the Cumberland Lodge at Ascot on September 30. Ryan Moore was aboard. Quijano a prolific winner in Germany, had his following though coming out of post-12. Andrasch Starke, one of Germany’s top riders, had the call. Cloudy’s Knight, trained by the Chicago-based Frank Kirby, was a winner over the Woodbine course and was the mount of Ramsey Zimmerman who paled in comparison to his more illustrious counterparts.
Sunriver and Cloudy’s Knight were second and third as Marsh Side took them along on a steady but not a fast pace. Ask had one or two beat with 800 metres to go and Quijano was the backmarker. Irish Wells, the mount of Olivier Peslier, was always handy. Turning for home, Cloudy’s Knight forged ahead. Making up a lot of ground on the outside, Ask joined issue. Quijano was making a run and was passing horses in the stretch. As Cloudy’s Knight and Ask raced down the stretch, the former was tenaciously clinging to a slender advantage. Ask was gaining with every stride but his bid fell short by a nose. A length away in third was Quijano.
It was jockey Ramsey Zimmerman’s first Graded win. Cloudy’s Knight returned $38.70. The time for 2400 metres was 2 27.1. The win was worth 526,316 pounds to the connections of Cloudy’s Knight. Cloudy’s Knight is by Lord Avie who is by Lord Gaylord. The dam is Cloudy Spot by Solar City. Cloudy’s Knight is seven years old.
Ramsey Zimmerman was emotional. Choking with emotion, he had difficulty talking and said, “my horse showed a lot of guts. Praise the lord for this day. It set up perfectly. He broke alertly. He ran well throughout. I am grateful that I am representing the US here today.”
The winning trainer Frank Kirby chose his words carefully. “I knew my horse had a big chance. He is a winner over this course and he loves Woodbine. This race was the target all year long. This is a big deal and he beat a tough field.”
Ryan Moore was not without lament. “They went painfully slow. My horse (Ask) moved when I wanted him. He was hanging left late and that may have cost me the race.”
Heros Reward, Javier Catellano up, was an easy winner in the Nearctic (Grade II) stakes over 1200 metres. It was a race for three year-olds and up. There were eight runners.
Smart Enough, the favorite, was disputing the lead with Heros Reward. The latter edged ahead when they turned for home. Heros Reward, with hardly any prompting from jockey Castellano, drew clear as Smart Enough began to weaken. Quietly Mine rallied to be the bridesmaid. Smart Enough managed to save third.
The time was 1.08, a fast time for 1200 metres. The winner paid $15.40. The winning margin was three parts of a length and it was the same margin to the third. Heros Reward earned 131,579 pounds. Heros Reward is by Partner’s Hero who is by Danzig. The dam is Lifes Passage who is by Caveat.
On Monday, in England, Jamie Spencer had four wins in Wolverhampton. Seb Sanders was 4-11 as Monday’s racing began to win the riding title. He drew a blank at Pontefract. Spencer took his tally to 156. Sanders stood at 158. At the end of Monday, you could get 8-11 on Seb Sanders.
Jamie Spencer is unlikely to come to the US for the Breeders’ Cup races. He has said that he will not focus on the riding title next year. It is clear that he wants to give the ‘title race’ his best shot.
New Jersey is having warm weather. It felt like early summer on Monday. Post positions and the fields will be set at a breakfast mid-morning on Tuesday at Monmouth Park.
My wife and I are in New Jersey and are living with a friend about 40 miles from Monmouth Park.
There is a filly named ‘Oprah Winney’ who is a 6-1 proposition in the filly-mare (1200 metres) sprint on Friday. The filly and her trainer were going to be featured in Oprah Winfrey’s TV show Tuesday afternoon.
