josie carroll | Horse Racing Free Tips

Unbeaten Lady Speightspeare Makes All-Weather Debut in Bessarabian

'TDN Rising Star' Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), three-for-three on turf to start her career, will try all-weather racing for the first time Saturday at Woodbine, going seven furlongs on the Tapeta in the GII Bessarabian S.

A sharp 3 3/4-length frontrunning winner debuting on the local turf last August to earn her 'Rising Star' badge, the Chuck Fipke homebred quickly backed up that distinction with a score in the GI Natalma S. The chestnut was sidelined for nearly a year after that, however, before returning with an optional claiming success in a turf route here Sept. 6. She recently was scratched out of the GIII Rubicon Valley View S. at Keeneland in favor of this spot.

The favorite on the morning line at 2-1 is Gary Barber's Our Secret Agent (Secret Circle), who looks for her second straight graded stakes tally. Breaking her maiden by seven lengths in her local bow last July, she repeated in an allowance a month later, but went winless in her next seven outings while placing in six black-type events. She broke through with the addition of blinkers last out in Woodbine's GIII Hendrie S. Oct. 23, running away to a 3 1/2-length triumph.

Other contenders include Gidgetta (Fast Anna), who moved from Richard Baltas's barn to the Josie Carroll stable following a fast-closing optional claiming win in a Santa Anita turf sprint Oct. 8, and Aug Lutes (Midnight Lute), who's notched four wins and a second in five starts to open her career and upset the Glen Cove S. at 19-1 on the Belmont lawn Oct. 15.

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Mighty Heart, Sir Winston Among Field Of Eight For Sunday’s Autumn Stakes At Woodbine

Eight hopefuls, including multiple graded stakes winner Special Forces, reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Mighty Heart, and 2019 Belmont Stakes champ Sir Winston, are set to contest the Grade 2 $175,000 Autumn Stakes, Sunday at Woodbine.

A 6-year-old son of Candy Ride (ARG) trained by Kevin Attard, who co-owns with Soli Mehta, Special Forces will chase his second Autumn score, having won the 1 1/16-mile Tapeta event for three-year-olds and upward two years ago.

Sporting a record of 6-6-2 from 20 starts, the chestnut, bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall and Carrie and Craig Brogden, has finished in the top three in 12 straight starts and heads into Sunday's race off a win in the Grade 3 Durham Cup on Oct. 10.

Sent off at 6-1, the gelding, under Justin Stein, rallied strongly down the lane to secure a half-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile race stopping the clock in 1:42.36. Sir Winston was second, Halo Again finished third and Mighty Heart was fourth. All four are set to square off in the Autumn.

Claimed by Attard for $40,000 just over three years ago, the Durham Cup was the first trip to the winner's circle for Special Forces since taking the 2019 Autumn.

“I think he's always been a good horse,” said Attard. “Up until he got injured he was running against the best older horses on the grounds at Woodbine and was competing right with them. Any time you have to stop a horse for an extended period of time you always wonder, 'Have they lost a step?' or consider what level they'll be able to come back at. I think he's obviously put that to rest after his last race.”

Attard, three wins shy of 570 for his career, continues to be impressed by his consistent and resilient performer.

“Before we ran him the first time this year, I knew he was good and back to himself. I was eagerly awaiting him getting back to the races. There aren't many times you come back and hook a Belmont winner (Sir Winston, on August 19). We ran a good second. I was happy with the race that my horse ran.”

Special Forces made his debut on May 25, 2017, at Churchill, finishing sixth. He broke his maiden in his seventh start on August 5, 2018 in a maiden optional claiming race at Woodbine.

“He just has a great turn of foot,” raved Attard. “He really closes hard down the lane. He's an exciting horse to watch and a horse we claimed which makes it even more special just to see the improvement in him. He likes to sit at the back of the pack and come with a big run. Those ones are always exciting to watch.”

Are You Kidding Me won consecutive (2015-16) editions of the Autumn. Starting in 1920, Kentucky Derby champion and U.S. Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Exterminator, won the race three straight years.

The Autumn goes as race eight. First post for the 11-race card is 12:55 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$175,000 AUTUMN STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Special Forces – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

2 – Vanzzy – Rafael Hernandez – Michael Pino

3 – Primo Touch (S) – Eswan Flores – Harold Ladouceur

4 – Sir Winston – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse

5 – Faraway Kitten – Luis Contreras – Denyse McClachrie

6 – Halo Again – Shaun Bridgmohan – Steve Asmussen

7 – Embolden – Mauricio Malvaez – Sandra Dominguez

8 – Mighty Heart – Patrick Husbands – Josie Carroll

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Avie’s Flatter Returns to Winner’s Circle In Nearctic Stakes At Woodbine

Avie's Flatter returned to the familiar confines of the winner's circle at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario with a victory in the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes.

In the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile last out, the 5-year-old horse finished ninth behind upset winner Town Cruise, who was also part of the Nearctic field. At the break, Momos grabbed the lead, with Town Cruise and Turned Aside second and third early. Avie's Flatter and Luis Contreras were third entering the race's only turn, going wide into the Woodbine straight.

In the stretch, Avie's Flatter showed no trouble with the yielding turf, building up momentum on the outside of Town Cruise and taking the lead with a furlong to go to win by a half-length. Turned Aside came on late to take second. Olympic Runner passed Momos to take third. Town Cruise, Jolie Olimpica, White Flag, Reconfigure, Admiralty Pier, and Lucky Curlin rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the six-furlong Nearctic was 1:10.52. Find this race's chart here.

Avie's Flatter paid $16.50, $7.30, and $5.60. Turned Aside paid $17.50 and $10.40. Olympic Runner paid $5.20.

Bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm, Avie's Flatter is by Flatter out of the Empire Maker mare Avie's Empire. Owned by Ivan Dalos, the 5-year-old horse is trained by Josie Carroll. With his win in the G2 Nearctic, Avie's Flatter has three wins in five starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of seven wins in 18 starts and career earnings of $932,937.

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Carroll: Any Day Mighty Heart Races Is A Good Day

Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll said she is looking forward to Sunday's Grade 3 $150,000 Durham Cup at Woodbine because any time the much-loved Mighty Heart is in to race is a good day for her and the horse's owner/breeder Larry Cordes.

“We're always excited when he runs,” Carroll said of the horse who sports a career record of 5-2-2 in 13 starts. “He's a horse that goes over and gives you everything he has every time, so you know he's going to go over there and show up.”

Mighty Heart, the one-eyed wonder who stormed to victory in the 2020 Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales en route to Canada's Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Male honors, comes into the Durham Cup off a second-place finish to Tap It to Win on September 11 at Woodbine in the Grade 3 $150,000 Seagram Cup.

Carroll's assessment of that performance?

“I think the horse that won got away with an easy pace and nobody chased him,” she said, adding Mighty Heart, a son of Dramedy-Emma's Bullseye, is primed and ready for the rematch with Tap It to Win in the Durham Cup. “(Mighty Heart is) his happy self. He's in good order.”

The Durham Cup is the third race on a stakes card that also includes the 85th running of the $250,000 Cup & Saucer Stakes (race 8) and the $150,000 Ontario Matron Stakes (Grade 3, race 9).

Mighty Heart has drawn post one in the five-horse Durham Cup field and will be ridden by Patrick Husbands. Tap It to Win, trained by Mark Casse, has post three. Casse also sends out the second richest horse in the field, Sir Winston, from post two. Halo Again (post four) and Special Forces (post five) round out the field.

But there's no doubt that Mighty Heart is the media darling and fan favorite in the group.

“It's a lot of fun and it's wonderful for the owners,” Carroll said. “They've never had a horse like this and they're enjoying every minute of it.”

FIELD FOR THE DURHAM CUP

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Mighty Heart – Patrick Husbands – Josie Carroll

2 – Sir Winston – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse

3 – Tap It to Win – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

4 – Halo Again – Shaun Bridgmohan – Steve Asmussen

5 – Special Forces – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

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The Grade 3 $150,000 Ontario Matron Stakes drew a field of six, including Casse starters Art of Almost (post one, Emma-Jayne Wilson), Crystal Glacier (post two, Kazushi Kimura) and Skygaze (Husbands, post six), winner of the $100,000 Belle Mahone Stakes on September 12 at Woodbine.

Set at 1 1/16-miles on the Tapeta, the race for fillies & mares, three-year-olds and upwards, was first run in 1979.

La Voyageuse took the first two edition for owner Jean-Louis Levesque, trainer Yonnie Star and jockey Paul Souter.

FIELD FOR THE ONTARIO MATRON

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Art of Almost – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

2 – Crystal Glacier – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

3 – Afleet Katherine – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

4 – Saratoga Vision (S) – Rafael Hernandez – Alexander Patykewich

5 – Juxtapose (S) – Gary Boulanger – Steve Owens

6 – Skygaze – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

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