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Woodbine’s Top Jockeys, Drivers Team Up In Heinz Challenge For Charity

Woodbine Entertainment, in partnership with Kraft-Heinz Canada, today announced the launch of the Heinz Challenge, a six-week series to be contested during Racing Night Live on TSN.

The Heinz Challenge pairs a top Woodbine Racetrack jockey with a top Woodbine Mohawk Park driver to create four teams competing for a $5,000 charitable donation from Woodbine.

Every time one of the participating jockeys or drivers competes during a race aired on Racing Night Live, they have the opportunity to earn points towards their team's challenge score.

All eight participating athletes are ranked among the best in their sport and are well-known personalities at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park. The four competing jockeys are Rafael Hernandez, Kazushi Kimura, Justin Stein and Emma-Jayne Wilson, while the participating drivers are Jody Jamieson, Bob McClure, Doug McNair and Louis-Philippe Roy.

The team with the best 'Points Per Race' average at the end of six weeks will win the challenge. The point system is as follows: 10 points for a win, 5 points for a second-place finish and 2 points for a third-place finish.

(Example: Team A earns 50 points over 10 races: Team A's Points Per Race is 5)

Each member of the winning team will select a charity and Woodbine Entertainment will make a $2,500 donation on their behalf to make up the $5,000 winning prize.

Woodbine Mohawk Park driver James MacDonald was originally scheduled to participate in the Heinz Challenge. MacDonald unfortunately suffered an injury in a racing accident on August 1 and will be unable to participate. Louis-Philippe Roy has been selected to replace MacDonald and the two will split the donation should their team win.

Here are the teams for the Heinz Challenge:

Team E=MC²
Jockey: Emma-Jayne Wilson
Driver: Bob McClure
#TeamEMC2

Team Club DJ
Jockey: Justin Stein
Driver: Doug McNair
#TeamClubDJ

Team Island Boyz
Jockey: Rafael Hernandez
Driver: James MacDonald (unable to participate due to injury)
Driver: Louis-Philippe Roy
#TeamIslandBoyz

Team Double Double
Jockey: Kazushi Kimura
Driver: Jody Jamieson
#TeamDoubleDouble

The Heinz Challenge is the latest feature on the weekly Racing Night Live program on TSN.

Racing Night Live, which airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on TSN, showcases the world-class racing from the Thoroughbreds at Woodbine Racetrack and Standardbreds at Woodbine Mohawk Park over an action-packed two hours.

The Heinz Challenge will run from August 6 to September 10.

Fans can join the conversation, track the leaderboard and cheer on their favourite team through social media by using the hashtag #HeinzChallenge. All eight of the participating athletes can be found on various social media platforms and will be engaging with fans over the course of the six-week event.

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Joy’s Rocket, Forester’s Turn Prove Best In Woodbine Stakes

Team Hanley's undefeated two-year-old filly Joy's Rocket was impressive in her stakes debut at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday, taking off in the $100,000 My Dear Stakes to win by 2 3/4 lengths under Luis Contreras.

Joy's Rocket launched to the lead in the 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta test and clocked fractions of :21.94 and :45.44 while prompted by Rocket Reload. The Steve Asmussen trainee shook off her main rival in the stretch and won her first stakes outing by nearly three lengths in 1:05.10.

Favored Road to Romance pressed three-wide early but settled into stalking position behind the front-runners and then made a bid moving into the stretch to get up for second-place, with Rotary rallying to her outside for third.

Emmeline rounded out the superfecta with Rocket Reload, supplement Queen Rhonda and Silent Mamba completing the run down.

Joy's Rocket was the 8-5 second choice after winning at first asking over Churchill Downs's dirt track in sloppy conditions on June 28. Today, she returned $5.50 to win.

“She was very professional pretty much the whole way. From the beginning of the race to the end, she was so professional and I was very confident with her,” praised Contreras after taking his second My Dear title (his first was with Dream It Is in 2017). “I saw the race at Churchill when she won. It was a muddy track and she just went to the lead. I wasn't too worried because horses with this kind of talent, I think it's easy to adjust to whichever track they go.”

Bred in Florida by Weston Thoroughbreds Training & Sales, the Anthony's Cross-Queenie's Pride filly is now two-for-two to start her career.

Forester's Turn Triumphs in Greenwood
A late decision to enter Forester's Turn in Saturday's $150,000 Greenwood Stakes Presented by Stella Artois at Woodbine proved to be profitable for Hall of Fame trainer Robert Tiller and owner Rolph Davis.

Supplemented to the six-furlong turf event for Ontario-bred 3-year-olds after training well following a recent victory at Woodbine, Forester's Turn put forth a courageous effort to win the afternoon's co-feature.

Forester's Turn and Celebratory waged war on the front-end racing noses apart through a :22.61 first quarter and half-mile in :44.83. They continued to duel into the stretch with the stalkers, Forester's Fortune, 3-5 favorite Artemus Citylimits and Barilko, fanning out wide.

Digging in down the lane, Forester's Turn pulled ahead of Celebratory mid-stretch and then held off Forester's Fortune in the final furlong to prevail by a half-length in 1:07.91.

Artemus Citylimits edged by Celebratory 2 1/2 lengths behind for the show dough while Last American Exit and Barilko completed the order of finish.

Sent postward as the 7-2 second choice, Forester's Turn paid $9.90 to win and combined with Forester's Fortune for an Old Forester exacta worth $48.50.

“He's very game, this horse, and that young fella that rode him, he's very game too,” said Tiller of rising star Kazushi Kimura, who reined home his second stakes winner of the meet. “And he's young. It's a great thing to be young. I wish I was young again, but I'm not.

“This is a nice horse,” added Tiller, who co-owned dam Eff Bee Eye with longtime partner Davis when the mare won the 2014 Nandi Stakes. “At the end of the day, he's got heart. All is well, everything went well.”

The homebred gelding has now won five of his seven career starts and more than $200,000 in earnings.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues on Sunday afternoon with the $100,000 Victoria Stakes headlining an 11-race program that gets underway at 1 p.m.

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Eclipse Apprentice Kimura Wins First Graded Stakes Guiding Lady Grace To Royal North Victory

Lady Grace and jockey Kazushi Kimura just missed the track record, taking the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes in 1:06.90 on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

The six-furlong record for the E.P. Taylor Turf Course is 1:06.88, set by Kasuga on July 7, 2017.

Tracy Farmer's Lady Grace led a Mark Casse exacta worth $131.20 in the $175,000 co-feature for fillies and mares, with 11-1 shot Eyeinthesky and Patrick Husbands finishing a close second.

Making her graded stakes debut, Lady Grace settled off the pace near the back of the pack and staged a late rally between rivals to pull off the mild 6-1 upset and return $14.80 to win.

A third-place finisher in last year's William D. Graham Memorial Stakes at Woodbine, Lady Grace entered the Royal North fresh off a three-length victory in a six-furlong allowance turf sprint three weeks ago.

“Last time winning with her, the filly was such a nice horse,” said Kimura. “I'm not surprised today.”

“Last time I went to the front, but today there were so many speed horses to the front side, I just changed my mind, sat behind, stalking from behind then she came flying today.”

The favorites were on top, led by Sister Peacock through panels of :21.91 and :43.50. Her popular stablemate Summer Sunday, Canada's reigning Champion Female Sprinter, pressed the pace with supplemental entry Gamble's Candy three-wide and Foxy Belle stalking along the rail.

However, the late-closers stole the show. Lady Grace came flying by to prevail by three-quarters of a length with Gary Barber's Eyeinthesky, who closed from mid-pack, edging out Bohemian Bourbon, Charmaine's Mia and Sister Peacock for the runner-up honours.

It was 3 1/4 lengths back to Foxy Belle at the finish, with Summer Sunday and Gamble's Candy rounding out the order.

Bred in Florida by William C. Schettine and Willian B. Haines, the four-year-old Kantharos-Smart Sis filly is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Sis City.

Kimura, who was named Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in both Canada and the U.S. last year, picked up his first graded stakes victory. He was the top turf rider and won a total of 146 races in 2019 to place third in Woodbine's overall jockey standings. While his apprenticeship ended last October, the talented reinsman sits fourth on the leaderboard with 23 wins in a close race through the first 24 race days of the current meet.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues, without spectators, on Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack with post time for the first of nine races set for 1 p.m.

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