glorious song stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hicksy, Aubrieta Win Juvenile Stakes At Woodbine Saturday

In stakes action at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday, Hicksy took the $130,000 Display Stakes, while Aubrieta won the $140,250 Glorious Song Stakes.

A bay son of Hootenanny, Hicksy, under Antonio Gallardo, tracked 6-5 choice Ironstone through a quarter in :23.08 and a half in :46.10, before turning up the pressure around the turn for home in the seven-furlong main track race for two-year-old colts and geldings.

The duo slugged it out down the stretch with Hicksy taking over late, going on to notch a three-quarter length win in a time of 1:23.38. Ironstone was second and Optigogo was third.

Trained by Kevin Attard for Lani Bloodstock LLC, the Kentucky-bred colt won his second straight race and notched his first stakes crown in what was his first added-money appearance.

“He was just kind of an unassuming little horse, just kind of a straightforward horse,” recalled owner Donato Lanni. “He just looked real kind and classy. I've been active in Kentucky, but I'm from Canada, from Montreal, and I always wanted to come back here and have some horses to run. I have a lot of friends and family in Toronto and it's just great to come back and hang out with my people.”

After a troubled fourth in his career bow on September 12 at Woodbine, Hicksy broke his maiden on October 3, in a race also contested at the Toronto oval.

“He's come a long way,” praised Attard. “We always thought highly of him. When he came to me from Kentucky, Donato said, 'This horse is really eager, he's been showing promise.' When he got here, he had a few little hiccups, just kind of baby stuff. His first race, we were expecting a little more out of him, but he kind of pulled a shoe off and I think that was a good enough excuse. Obviously, his last start, he put it together with an impressive win.”

Hicksy, bred by Richard Forbush, paid $6.60 for the Display victory.

Aubrieta, bred and owned by Conrad Farms, was back in the winner's circle, this time in the Glorious Song Stakes.

Sent on her way at 6-1 in the seven-furlong main track race for two-year-old fillies, the Mark Casse trainee was content to watch the early leaders duke it out before delivering her knockout punch.

Fulminate and Marie MacKay battled out on the front end, leading the field through opening splits of :22.83 and :45.55. Aubrieta, under patient handling from Patrick Husbands, was positioned fourth, well within striking distance of the top two.

When Husbands gave the Ontario-bred daughter of Speightster her cue, the bay responded willingly and sprinted away from her foes down the stretch, crossing the wire a two-length winner. Howdyoumakeurmoney rallied to secure second, a neck in front of Chocolate Addiction.

The final time was 1:22.85.

Aubrieta, who won her debut on September 11, was second in the Shady Well Stakes on October 8.

“You miss the break and Justin (jockey Stein, aboard Marie MacKay) got everything his way,” said Husbands, of the Shady Well. “But she showed me after the race that she was the best horse in the race. She galloped out like the winner. I called Mark after the race and said, 'Boss, she wanted to win so bad. She still thinks she won.'”

Husbands is confident Aubrieta can stretch out with ease.

“That (two turns) is what she wants to go.”

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Bloodlines Presented By ThoroughbredAuctions.Com: Souper Sensational Extends John Nerud’s Legacy

Becoming the 70th stakes winner for sire Curlin (by Smart Strike), Souper Sensational won the Glorious Song Stakes at Woodbine on Oct. 17 by four lengths. Now unbeaten in two starts, Souper Sensational became the ninth winner of the race for trainer Mark Casse and the seventh winner of the race for jockey Patrick Husbands.

Bred in Kentucky by Newtown Anner Stud, Souper Sensational was sent through Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale at Saratoga in 2019, and for $725,000 the good-looking chestnut filly sold to Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation.

The filly is out of the unraced Indian Charlie mare Kateri, who was purchased by Sallusto and Albina, agent, on behalf of Newtown Anner Stud for $167,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton February mixed sale in Kentucky. The mare was in foal for the first time on a cover to Paynter, sold on Feb. 8, and foaled the next day. Consigned to the Fasig-Tipton November sale, the Paynter foal was an RNA at $155,000, then repeated that experience the next year at the Keeneland September yearling sale for an RNA price of $85,000. That youngster became the gelding Karamojo, who has not won in two starts but is still in training.

The mare's second foal, Hedonistic (Tiznow), experienced a similar situation at the sales, going through the ring at the 2018 Keeneland September and Fasig-Tipton October sales for $275,000 and $175,000, respectively, as an RNA. Then in 2019, Hedonistic sold at the OBS April sale for $420,000 to Red Oak Stable and Newtown Anner. In his only start, the colt ran fourth in a maiden special later that year.

Both in the sales ring and again on the racetrack, Souper Sensational experienced a much different result than her elder siblings. Now a stakes winner and unbeaten racer at two, she will be encouraging buyers and equine evaluators to look kindly upon her subsequent siblings.

In addition to the horses above, Kateri is the dam of a 2020 yearling colt by Maclean's Music and a weanling full sister to Souper Sensational. Most recently, the mare was bred to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Kateri is out of Grade 3 stakes winner Sue's Good News (Woodman) and is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow) and multiple stakes winner Bulletin (City Zip). They trace back to Souper Sensational's fourth dam Mochila (In Reality), a stakes winner who was second in the Grade 1 Ruffian and third in the G1 Beldame.

Mochila was a half-sister to champion Cozzene (Caro), and both were bred by the legendary trainer John Nerud. A winner of the Breeders' Cup Mile as a 5-year-old, Cozzene retired to stud in Kentucky at Gainesway Farm and became an important sire, getting 92 stakes winners.

In addition to Cozzene and Mochila, Nerud bred both Grade 2 winner Movin' Money (Dr. Fager) and her stakes-winning full sister Ivy Road from the Prince John mare Ride the Trails. Nerud acquired Ride the Trails from breeder Joseph Roebling, who bred her from the Sir Gaylord mare Wildwook.

The unraced Ride the Trails was Wildwook's second foal. Her third was Laramie Trail (Swaps), who won the 1975 Gotham and Bay Shore Stakes, then became a useful sire in South America. Wildwook's fifth foal was Western Wind (Gallant Man), who ran third in the 1976 Futurity and in the 1977 Blue Grass Stakes, both Grade 1 races.

When I spoke to John Nerud several years ago about his breeding experiences, he mentioned the acquisition of Ride the Trails.

“Training and racing in New York, you got to know Joe Roebling and his racehorses pretty well,” Nerud declared. “He was a man who was very much a tremendous individual and an unusually perceptive breeder.

“Roebling loved his racehorses, and none of his families was stronger than that one from Portage (War Admiral),” he continued. “She was a full-sister to Blue Peter, who was the top 2-year-old colt [in 1948], and she wasn't a top racehorse herself. But she was a producer.”

Indeed, Portage was the dam of four stakes winners: Rainy Lake (Royal Charger), Pack Trip (My Babu), Black Mountain (Tudor Minstrel), and Wyoming Wildcat (Gallant Man). The mare's daughters, however, have earned Portage even more lasting fame with successive generations of quality that include such as Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen, Preakness winner Timber Country, Dixie Union, and Dubai Millennium.

“There was a lot of ability in this family,” Nerud continued, “and yet the greatest thing about them, from a trainer's point of view, was that you could train weight on them. Most horses, if you train them and really start getting into them, they lighten up. They lose weight, lose strength, and lose speed. But this group of horses love their training and racing. They get stronger with more racing, and they are tough and sound. I love them.”

If Souper Sensational continues this family history, she should have a fascinating career ahead, both on the track and, sometime in the future, at stud.

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Souper Sensational Gives Casse Ninth Glorious Song Stakes Triumph

Live Oak Plantation's 2-year-old filly Souper Sensational kept her record perfect with a stunning score on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, while giving Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse a record ninth Glorious Song Stakes title.

Jockey Patrick Husbands sent the 3-5 favorite to the lead through a first quarter in :22.76 in the seven-furlong main track sprint. Heidi (Daisuke Fukumoto) pressed the pacesetter to the half in :45.78 with Rocket Reload (Justin Stein) looming outside, but Souper Sensational left them all in the dust down the lane as she kicked four lengths clear to score in 1:21.84.

“She's on her game right now and I don't want to disappoint her. I want to ride her like the best horse,” said Husbands of his front-end strategy.

Souper Sensational paid $3.20 to win. Javanica (Emma-Jayne Wilson) won the race for place as she closed along the rail from the back, while another Casse trainee, Right to Freedom (Rafael Hernandez), bested the late-closing Charlie's Penny (Kazushi Kimura) for third prize after stalking the winner throughout.

“I don't want to be smart, but she's one of the best so far I've got on as a 2-year-old,” praised Husbands, who noted he was immediately impressed by the filly in her morning works and was aboard for her 2 1/4-length winning debut on September 26. “All this horse has got is 'green light.' You could do anything with her. She's just a three-year-old in a two-year-old body.”

Bred in Kentucky by Newtownanner Stud, the daughter of Curlin was a $725,000 yearling purchase at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale. She is the third foal out of the Indian Charlie mare Kateri, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Tiz Miz Sue and 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Bulletin.

Casse and Husbands, who is now a seven-time winner of the Glorious Song, have teamed up for five of their wins. Live Oak Plantation has won this event three times in partnership with Casse, starting with Let It Ride Mom (Rafael Hernandez) in 2016 and Souper Charlotte (Eurico Rosa Da Silva) in 2018.

The victory in Saturday's featured event gave Casse his fourth win through the first eight races on the card.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues on Sunday with a stellar stakes program featuring the $600,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes (Grade 1) and the $300,000 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes presented by Pattison (Grade 1). The $250,000 Nearctic (Grade 2) and $100,000 Display complete the stakes line-up. First race post time is set for 1:10 p.m.

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