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Mighty Heart’s Groom Siobhan Brown ‘Counting Down The Days’ Before Woodbine Meet

Some 1,600 kilometres east of Woodbine in Nova Scotia, Siobhan Brown, groom of 2020 Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales champ Mighty Heart, is preparing to head back to Ontario, more specifically, to Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll's Barn 39 operation.

The native of Cape Breton, NS, who'll start her fourth year working for Carroll, is keeping her mind occupied with a daily dose of Netflix offerings.

Thinking about the five horses she'll have under her care, including one-eyed wonder Mighty Heart, takes up even more of her time.

“I'm going crazy,” said Brown. “I'm counting down the days. I just can't wait to get back. I think about Mighty Heart daily, but I also think about my other horses. It's just so exciting. You wonder what the year is going to bring. Twirling Faith, one of the horses I take care of, she won at Gulfstream on Valentine's Day. I watched the race on TV and I was screaming every step of the way, trying to tell her what to do. That's the way I am with all my horses… I really can't wait to see what the year brings.”

Brown is scheduled to arrive in Toronto around the middle of March, and in accordance with the strict safety protocols put in place by Woodbine, will quarantine for 10 days before getting to work on the backstretch.

When she does return, she'll have some special gifts in tow, including a nearly six-foot plush inchworm.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The recipient of the stuffed toy is the mare Grey Seal, aka, “Gracie,” a strong-willed 6-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast.

“Grey Seal, she needs to have a stuffed toy. She likes to have one with her at all times. But I love all of my horses. Every one of them has their own unique personality. My goal each year is always to have each horse win a race. I want them to have that moment because when a horse wins, it's as though they know they've done well. They are just so proud of themselves. It's nice when they that moment because they deserve that. More importantly, I just want them to know I'm there to take care of them and to make sure they are loved.”

Brown, who received widespread media attention after Mighty Heart's high-profile victories, is looking forward to reestablishing the bond she had with the horses under her care in 2020.

She counts those relationships as amongst the most important ones in her life.

“I've always told people that it's not a career… I just love it. Ironically, I'm not a morning person, but when I pull up to the barn and it's the warmer weather and the car windows are all down, my horses know my car and they come to the gate. You hear that nickering in the morning before it's even light out. It's a beautiful sound. It's so rewarding. Through my own sports, I've experienced the satisfaction of being successful, but it's something so different and so special with horses. Even just watching them breeze or train, it's amazing to see it all unfold and know that you've played a role in it.”

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Orphaned, Bottle-Fed Filly Court Return Headlines Saturday’s Via Borghese Stakes

Ivan Dalos' stakes-winning homebred filly Court Return, beaten a neck in the E. P. Taylor (G1) last time out at Woodbine, will race south of the border for the first time in her career facing eight rivals in Saturday's $100,000 Via Borghese at Gulfstream Park.

The fifth running of the 1 3/16-mile Via Borghese for fillies and mares 3 and up on the grass serves as a supporting stake to the $100,000 Mr. Prospector (G3), which features a lineup led by Grade 1 winners Firenze Fire and Mind Control and defending champion Diamond Oops.

Post time for the first of 11 races is 12:05 p.m.

Trained by Canadian Hall of Famer Josie Carroll, Court Return is a younger half-sister to multiple Grade 1 turf winners Channel Maker and Johnny Bear, both Sovereign Award winners in Canada. The 4-year-old filly has run exclusively at Woodbine, with 10 of her 12 lifetime starts coming on the grass.

Court Return has breezed once on the turf at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, since arriving in South Florida. She is out of the late Horse Chestnut mare In Return, the Sovereign Award winner as Canada's champion broodmare of 2018. The same year, Dalos was voted champion breeder.

“She shipped down very well and seems to be training forwardly,” Carroll said. “We're very excited about her. She is the last foal from that mare. The mare died shortly after giving birth, so [Court Return] was actually orphaned and bottle-raised. Mr. Dalos doesn't have any more out of that mare, so he's counting on her.”

Court Return debuted in September 2018 and needed eight tries to break her maiden, graduating in a maiden optional claimer last November. The daughter of Court Vision became a stakes winner in her second start of 2020, rallying for a 1 ¼-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Eternal Search.

“Mr. Dalos bred this whole family and they all develop late in their careers. I think this is a filly that's just now starting to come into her own,” Carroll said. “I think she was just one that needed to mature. She's just a filly that needed some time and Mr. Dalos was very patient with her.”

Carroll stepped Court Return up to graded company off her stakes victory, and she finished third in the 1 1/8-mile Canadian (G2) Sept. 12 after getting away slowly. Stretched out to 1 ¼ miles for the E. P. Taylor, Court Return was again tardy from the gate but came with a strong rally only to fall just short of winner Etoile.

“I felt really good going into the race. That was certainly her best performance yet,” Carroll said. “I think the rider did a good job of not letting her get out of touch too much with the field, which is a danger with her. Sometimes they let her get too far back. You really sort of have to nudge her to stay in touch with the field, so that when she does make her run she is in a position to get there.”

Two-time Championship Meet leading jockey Luis Saez will get that assignment Saturday from Post 3.

“She gets away slow and that's just her,” Carroll said. “It just takes her a while to get into gear. She's never forwardly placed.”

Christophe Clement won the inaugural Via Borghese with Paige in 2016, and the trainer has Stone Farm homebred Traipsing for this year's edition. The 4-year-old daughter of Grade 1 turf winner Stroll comes back three weeks off a runner-up finish to stablemate Mutamakina after setting the pace in the 1 3/8-mile Long Island (G3) at Aqueduct.

“It's back a little bit quick, but she arrived at Payson Park well and she looks well. I think she's a nice mare,” Clement said. “Because it is a little bit quick we'll monitor her doing the week and as long as she's doing well we plan on running.”

Traipsing will be trying stakes company for the third time in what will be her eighth start; she finished sixth in the 1 1/8-mile Treasure Coast in June at Gulfstream in her stakes debut. Robby Albarado is named to ride from Post 2.

“She's very versatile. You can do whatever you want with her. She can be forward or she can come from out of it,” Clement said. “She's good enough that she can be versatile and she's a very good mover, which makes her even more efficient going longer.”

Gulfstream's 16-time training champion Todd Pletcher entered the pair of Always Shopping and Cap de Creus. Gainesway Stable's Cap de Creus is winless with four seconds in seven career tries at Gulfstream, and ran fourth in last year's Orchid (G3). The 4-year-old Tapit filly was fifth last out in the 1 ½-mile Zagora Oct. 31 at Belmont Park.

Repole Stable's Always Shopping won the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle (G2) on the dirt in 2019, finished off the board in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) and didn't race again for 11 months, returning in April. Three of her last five races have come on the turf, winning the 1 1/16-mile Monroe Sept. 7 at Gulfstream and most recently running second by a head in the 1 ½-mile Dowager (G3) Oct. 18 at Keeneland.

Rounding out the field are 2020 Ginger Punch winner Kelsey's Cross, third to Always Shopping in the Monroe; Great Island, winner of two straight making her stakes debut; Gun Society, second to Court Return in the Eternal Sunshine; Cambeliza and Lady Panda.

The stakes is named after the daughter of Seattle Dancer trained by Angel Penna Jr. who won 11 of 22 starts, including Gulfstream's Suwannee River (G3) and the Hialeah Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap.

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Curlin’s Voyage Retired, Will Be Bred To Tapit

Curlin's Voyage, by leading sire Curlin out of Atlantic Voyage, has been retired, according to an announcement from Hill 'n' Dale Farm Tuesday. The 3-year-old filly was bred and raised by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc.

Raced by John G. Sikura and Windsor Boys Racing and trained by Josie Carroll, Curlin's Voyage compiled an enviable record as a juvenile, being on the board five times in six starts including three wins, a second and a third.

Named Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in Canada, Curlin's Voyage validated her championship form at three with a convincing victory in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks.

She retires with earnings of $536,056 and will be bred to Three-Time Champion Sire Tapit for the 2021 breeding season.

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Canadian HOTY Title Likely To Be Decided Saturday at Woodbine

While the U.S. Horse of the Year race was all but decided when Authentic (Into Mischief) won the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 7, the race for the Canadian title remains wide open entering a Saturday card at Woodbine that will feature the four top contenders for the year-end honor.

The sentimental favorite is the 8-year-old Pink Lloyd (Old Forester), but he will face one of the toughest tests in his career when he goes in the GII Kennedy Road S. A loss could open the door for 3-year-olds Belichick (Lemon Drop Kid) and Mighty Heart (Dramedy), who, combined, swept the Canadian Triple Crown races for trainer Josie Carroll.

Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind), who beat males in the GI Woodbine Mile, may be the best horse who was based at Woodbine this year, but she is not eligible for the Sovereign Awards because she hasn’t met the minimum requirement of having three starts in Canada this year.

The Kennedy Road will be the last start this year for Pink Lloyd, who, at age 8, hasn’t slowed down. He is 4-for-4 on the year and remains one of the most popular horses in recent years in Canada.

“At his age, 99% of the horses take a step back,” said trainer Bob Tiller. “There are horses running in $8,000 claimers that he ran against as a 4-year-old. That he’s still at that level at this age is unbelievable. He’s from outer space. He loves running and is just a very happy horse.”

Pink Lloyd is 26 for 31 lifetime and has not lost a race since 2018, but rarely has he faced the type of field that will line up against him in the six-furlong Kennedy Road. The biggest threat may come from Ride a Comet (Candy Ride {Arg}). Trained by Mark Casse and the winner of the 2018 GII Del Mar Derby, he returned after a 25-month layoff to win a Woodbine allowance Oct. 16.

“Ride a Comet is an extremely, extremely talented horse,” Casse said. “I was very impressed with his first race in over two years. I thought it was a tremendous race. He won with ease. This race is a little shorter than he prefers, but we’ve got to give him a shot. He’s had a couple of injuries along the way, but he’s very healthy now. If he can stay healthy, he will be a horse to be reckoned with throughout North America, not just Woodbine, in 2021.”

Silent Poet (Silent Name {Jpn}) is another Kennedy Road starter who could easily spring the upset. He is 4-for-5 on the year and has won the GII Nearctic S. and the GII Connaught Cup, but has little experience on a synthetic surface. Should he win the Kennedy Road, he may also be in the mix for Horse of the Year.

“This is certainly one of the toughest fields our horse has ever faced,” Tiller said. “There have been two or three other times where it looked like he might be in trouble and he got it done. But this is a tough race, a salty race. There’s no question about that. There are two very good horse in there that he has to beat. (Silent Poet) is a very, very good horse. He’s done all his winning on the turf, but ran respectfully on (Tapeta) when he tried it and I think he’s a better horse now than he was then. I totally respect him. The race for (Ride a Comet) the other day was awesome. I very much respect him.”

Pink Lloyd will carry 128 pounds, two more than Silent Poet and seven more than Ride a Comet.

Mighty Heart, a one-eyed horse, won the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Queens Plate S. and the Prince of Wales S. only to come up well short in the final leg, the Breeders’ S. on the grass. He finished seventh that day, beaten 20 1/4 lengths after getting hooked up in an early pace battle with a 101-1 shot. Carroll has since replaced jockey Daisuke Fukumoto with Woodbine’s second leading rider, Rafael Hernandez. That may help and so, too, could the return to the Tapeta surface. Mighty Heart has run poorly in his two career tries on the grass.

But the Breeders’ S. was not a lost race for Carroll, who won it with the rapidly improving Belichick. Still a maiden entering the 12-furlong race, he won by four lengths. The main question for him Saturday will be the turn back in distance to a mile-and-an eighth for the GIII Ontario Derby.

Both Mighty Heart and Belichick will be facing open company after going through the Canadian Triple Crown races, which are restricted to Canadian-breds.

“It’s a pretty tough race,” Carroll said. “It’s not just the two of them. There are some pretty nice horses in there and it’s a solid race. Both of my horses came out of their last race in really good order so there was no reason not to go on with them.”

The main threats include Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid), a Mike Maker-trained horse who won the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. in his lone try on a synthetic surface and has since won the GIII Transylvania S. Casse will be represented by Lucky Curlin (Curlin), who is coming off a second-place finish in the Toronto Cup S.

“When it comes to Horse of the Year, there are some deserving horses,” Carroll said. “If Mighty Heart were to win this race after winning the two Triple Crown races, I think he’d be a pretty legitimate contender. If Belichick wins, I am not sure the voters would think he had accomplished enough. We’ll see.”

Pink Lloyd was named Canadian Horse of the Year in 2017. Last year, despite going 6-for-6, he was nosed out by Starship Jubilee.

No horse older than six has ever been named Horse of the Year in Canada and if it’s going to happen this year Pink Lloyd will have to turn in one of the best races of his career on Saturday.

“It’s always a tough vote,” Tiller said. “They are all good horses. What happens here this week will decide a lot. Our horse is undefeated as an 8-year-old and is an unbelievably special horse. But I always feel that you have to respect any horse that does great things. Mighty Heart is a very good horse. He certainly deserves to win it. We have to go out there on Saturday and do it. I am very confident that he will run a huge race.”

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