E. P. Taylor Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Woodbine’s Ladies Of The Lawn Series Returns With Online Auction Supporting Rethink Breast Cancer

Woodbine Entertainment is excited to announce the return of the Ladies of the Lawn Series.

Launched in 2019, Woodbine's Ladies of the Lawn is a points-based bonus series that includes three premier turf races for fillies and mares. The owner of the horse who has accumulated the most points upon the conclusion of the three premier races will receive a $50,000 bonus, while the owner who horse who accumulated the second and third most points will receive a $15,000 and $10,000 bonus respectively.

The Ladies of the Lawn Series begins on Sunday, Aug. 22, with the Dance Smartly Stakes, followed by the Canadian Stakes on Saturday, Sept. 18 and concluding with the E.P. Taylor Stakes on Sunday, Oct. 17. Each race will be contested on the renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

As part of the Ladies of the Lawn series, Woodbine is supporting charity Rethink Breast Cancer. From Aug. 22 to Oct. 17, racing enthusiasts can bid on specially designed pillows created from new saddle towels featuring the Rethink Breast Cancer logo. Proceeds from the online auction will be donated to Rethink Breast Cancer to assist those living with breast cancer.

“At Woodbine, we appreciate the role charities such as Rethink Breast Cancer play in our communities” said Zenia Wadhwani, Director, Corporate Citizenship. “We are excited to launch a fun way for fans to support Rethink Breast Cancer while taking home a unique piece of racing memorabilia.”

The auction is now live and will run until the end of the Ladies of the Lawn series on October 17.

To view and bid on the saddle towel pillows supporting Rethink, please click here.

The inaugural Ladies of the Lawn series was won by the Kevin Attard trained 2019 Canadian Horse of the Year, Starship Jubilee. In 2020, the series was won by Elizabeth Way, trained by Hall of Fame trainer, Roger Attfield.

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‘Emotional’ Goodbye: Starship Jubilee Retired Sound After Losing Rider In Breeders’ Cup

Two-time Grade 1 winner Starship Jubilee, a $16,000 claim in 2017, has officially been retired from racing, according to the Daily Racing Form. The 7-year-old daughter of Indy Wind stumbled at the start of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Saturday at Keeneland, unseating jockey Florent Geroux, but was uninjured after being corralled by an outrider and retires sound.

Claimed in February of 2017 at Gulfstream by Tino Attard, the filly won a trio of allowance races before being transferred to Woodbine. Trained by his son, Kevin Attard, for all of her graded stakes victories, Starship Jubilee began to show her talent over the turf with a win in the 2017 G2 Nassau Stakes in May. In all she won nine graded stakes, including the 2019 G1 E. P. Taylor Stakes and the 2020 G1 Woodbine Mile.

Bred in Florida, Starship Jubilee also won three straight editions of the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Stakes at Gulfstream, from 2018 through 2020. She retires with a record of 19 wins from 38 starts, with earnings of $2,093,069.

“It was really emotional for me to say goodbye to her,” Attard told drf.com. “She obviously meant a lot to me, my family, and my career. Horses like her become part of your family. You look forward to seeing them every morning in the barn. It's going to be hard walking by her stall.”

‘A Good Problem To Have’: Attard Debating Between Two Breeders’ Cup Races For Starship Jubilee

Winner of five of her six starts in 2020, Starship Jubilee is preparing to make the trip south from her Woodbine base to Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The 7-year-old daughter of Indy Wind won the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile over males in her most recent start, and she won the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes over 1 1/4 miles in 2019, so there are several options for her on Nov. 7.

Her trainer, Kevin Attard, is still waiting to decide whether he'll enter Starship Jubilee in the Breeders' Cup Mile or the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, according to the Toronto Sun.

“Obviously we want to give her the best shot of performing her best and (the decision) is going to come down to trying to see who's running where,” Attard told the Sun. “We've got a decent enough idea, but when we watch the pre-entries come out it's going to be a little more clear in that sense. The good thing about my filly is, she's very versatile. She's obviously shown that she can run a mile, she's shown she can run a mile and a quarter and we're lucky enough that the Filly& Mile Turf is 1 3/16ths. And that's within her wheelhouse – a little shorter than the 1 1/4 distance, which I like. But at the same token, she ran such a big race in the Woodbine Ricoh Mile, then you have to consider running her against the boys again one more time. It's a good problem to have.”

Named the Canadian Horse of the Year in 2019, Starship Jubilee was a $16,000 claim three years ago. She has since won a dozen stakes races, including two Grade 1 races, and earned over $2 million. Her record ahead of the Breeders' Cup stands at 19-5-3 from 38 starts, and she's showing no signs of slowing down.

“You don't really expect them to be around at seven (years old),” Attard told the Sun. “It's not really the normal that we see here in racing. But the fact is, she's arguably at her best now. She enjoys what she's doing… Every time you think the chapter's done and the book might be ready to close, she's on to the next chapter. So I'm enjoying the ride and I'm going to keep going with it.”

Etoile Gets The Trip, Earns Grade 1 Status With E.P. Taylor Triumph

Etoile, runner-up as the favorite when invading from New York for trainer Chad Brown in the Aug. 15 Dance Smartly, made amends at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario, on Sunday by taking the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes by a neck under Rafael Hernandez.

Court Return, an improving half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winners Channel Maker and Johnny Bear, closed resolutely on the far outside to finish second in the field of seven for the $600,000 race over 1 1/4 miles of the renowned E.P Taylor turf course.

“It was a good trip,” said Hernandez, who was riding his meet-leading 12th stakes winner. “I called Chad this morning and he told me, 'Raffi, try to get a good trip like last time. Just make sure you clear down the stretch.'

“He told me he'd been working the horse a few times and he put her outside of other horses, and she'd be finishing great.”

Theodora B., who had defeated Etoile by three-quarters of a length in the Dance Smartly over the same course and distance, assumed her preferred position on the front end while carving out fractions of :26.44, :51:03 and 1:15.50 over the 'good' course.

Elizabeth Way prompted the pace from second on the outside with Etoile sitting pretty while in easy striking distance in third on the inside.

Turning for home, Hernandez swung Etoile off the rail and was getting to Theodora B. as the mile went in 1:38.68.

Two lengths in front with a furlong to go, Etoile had enough left to prevail with Court Return ending two lengths to the good of third-place Secret Message.

“I heard that other horse coming late but I wish she was coming closer,” said Hernandez. “It was too far out so my horse couldn't see. That's why I switched the whip to the left, to try to get her out and get her attention. But we did it.”

Rideforthecause, coming off her first stakes win in the 1 1/8 mile Canadian, was unable to mount a serious challenge while another half-length back in fourth.

Theodora B., Pretty Point and Elizabeth Way completed the order of finish. The final time was a solid 2:03.12.

The E.P. Taylor also was the final leg of Woodbine's “Ladies of the Lawn,” a four-race turf stakes series for fillies of mares consisting of the Nassau, Dance Smartly, Canadian and E.P. Taylor Stakes.

Elizabeth Way, the Nassau winner, ended third and fourth in the ensuing legs and finished with 19 points for the top bonus prize of $50,000. Second money of $15,000 went to Etoile with 17 points, and $10,000 for third, to Canadian winner Rideforthecause with 13. Points were awarded on a 10-7-5-3-2 basis for the top five finishers in each stakes with one point earmarked for other also rans.

Starship Jubilee captured the 2019 E.P. Taylor while prevailing as the inaugural “Ladies of the Lawn” champion and went on to be voted Canada's Horse of the Year.

Etoile, a French-bred 4-year-old by Siyouni owned by Peter Brant, Mrs. M. V. Magnier, and Mrs. Paul Shanahan, was recording her first G1 win and first victory of any stripe in just her third start this side of the pond.

In the E.P. Taylor, Etoile returned $7, $3.60 and $3.40 as the co-5-2 second choice with Theodora B.

Court Return, the longest shot on the board at almost 42-1, paid $28.90 and $11 for the place and show and completed a 3-5 exacta worth $205.60.

Secret Message ($5.50) rounded out a 3-5-6 trifecta worth $895 with 3-5-6-1 superfecta coming back at $1,714.85 for $1.

Etoile winning the E.P. Taylor under Rafael Hernandez

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