Curlin’s Voyage, Afleet Katherine Rematched In Woodbine’s Wonder Where

This year's edition of the Canadian Triple Tiara comes to a conclusion when 10 3-year-old Canadian-bred fillies take to the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course in Sunday's $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

Set at the distance of about 1 1/4 miles, the Wonder Where drew sophomore stars Curlin's Voyage, winner of the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser (first jewel in the series), and Afleet Katherine, who was runner-up in the Oaks and runner-up in the second jewel, the Bison City Stakes, on September 12.

A bay daughter of Afleet Alex, Afleet Katherine, trained by Kevin Attard, arrives at the Wonder Where off that silver effort in the Bison City, a 1 1/16-mile test over the Woodbine main track.

Sent off as the 4-5 choice, Afleet Katherine hopped leaving the gate before jockey Justin Stein settled her mid-pack in the eight-horse race. Hustled from the rail and sent two-wide into the final turn, she rallied gamely, but crossed the wire 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Mizzen Beau.

Bred and owned by Terra Racing Stable, the Ontario-bred will now make a return to the grass, the surface in which she contested her first two races.

Both efforts came over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course and both resulted in trips to the winner's circle.

Dismissed at 29-1 in her career bow on July 5, Afleet Katherine rallied impressively to win by a neck at seven furlongs over “firm” going. She followed it up 20 days later with another late burst to win by a head at the same distance and on the same ground.

“She got up in the nick of time both times,” said Attard, who is seeking his first Wonder Where crown. “She's shown she's a decent filly and we've been looking forward to this race for a while now.”

Which one of her wins stood out?

“I think the second race was the more impressive of the two because in that one she looked like she was backing up, going to be out of the picture, just kind of not fire. But she turned it around and won. First time out, I thought she was overlooked. She comes from a decent family and her half-sibling [Amalfi Coast, scheduled to run in Friday's Sweet Briar Too Stakes] had a great year last year. I thought that deserved a little respect, but it is what it is. She's just a big filly and has a little bit of attitude. She was a little immature and green to start, but she's come a long way and developed over time. You look at her record and it speaks for itself.”

The conditioner is also represented by Merveilleux.

A daughter of Paynter, owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, Merveilleux has a record of 2-3-1 from nine starts. She was third in the Woodbine Oaks and sixth in the Queen's Plate.

“I will say she has had three rough trips in a row, and I love her,” said Al Ulwelling. “She looked very comfortable working on grass in her last work. We are going to have her more forwardly placed this race as we feel she will encounter less trouble. From that point on, it's up to her.”

Attard's stakes weekend kicks off on Saturday when Clayton goes postward in the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, final jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown.

The son of Bodemeister, third in the Queen's Plate and second in the Prince of Wales, will look to play spoiler in Mighty Heart's bid to become the first Crown winner since Wando in 2003.

“He's here in the third leg of the series now. I thought he ran a great race in the Prince of Wales and we're hoping he goes one better this time.”

In the Wonder Where, Afleet Katherine will once again face Curlin's Voyage, the chestnut daughter of Curlin who fashions a record of 5-2-1 from 10 starts.

A four-time stakes winner, the Josie Carroll trainee finished fifth to Mighty Heart (also trained by Carroll) in the Queen's Plate on September 12.

Owned by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Windsor Boys Racing, Curlin's Voyage will be testing the turf for the first time under racing terms.

The filly breezed over the Woodbine turf on October 17, travelling five furlongs in 1:03 flat.

Ballrooms of Mars, Beyond Mybudget, Forty Zip, Gun Society, Justleaveitalone and Sansa's Vow and She's a Dream round out the Wonder Where field.

The race is named in honor of the champion filly Wonder Where, Canada's 1959 Horse of the Year and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee.

First post on the 11-race card is 1:10 p.m. The Wonder Where goes as race eight.

Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE $250,000 WONDER WHERE STAKES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 

1 – She's a Dream – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
2 – Justleaveitalone – David Moran – Nicholas Gonzalez
3 – Gun Society – Kazushi Kimura – Roger Attfield
4 – Beyond Mybudget – Jerome Lermyte – Mark Casse
5 – Merveilleux – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
6 – Curlin's Voyage – Patrick Husbands – Josie Carroll
7 – Afleet Katherine – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard
8 – Ballrooms of Mars – Steven Bahen – Catherine Day Phillips
9 – Sansa's Vow – Daisuke Fukumoto – Josie Carroll
10 – Forty Zip – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Shug McGaughey

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Kevin Attard Joins TDN Writers’ Room

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more successful claim in the past decade than Blue Heaven Farm’s Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind). Plucked for $16,000 from Jorge Navarro of all people in February of 2017 at Gulfstream, the now 7-year-old mare has taken trainer Kevin Attard on the ride of a lifetime, and scored her greatest triumph yet with a victory in Saturday’s GI Woodbine Mile S., becoming a multimillionaire in the process. Wednesday, Attard joined the TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to tell he and Starship Jubilee’s rags-to-riches story.

“We were just looking for horses to bring back to Woodbine at the time,” Attard recalled of he and dad Tino Attard’s thought process back in 2017. “At Gulfstream, it’s really tough to claim, you’re always kind of shaking for horses that look legit on paper and have good form to them. So we had gotten out-shook a lot of times with a couple of claims we had put in. She had come across on form like she had some potential, had run some decent enough races, seemed like she was appreciating stretching out a bit. So we took a chance and we were lucky enough to win the shake that day. And the rest is history.”

Now with 19 wins in 38 starts and hardly any duds in her past performances, it’s clear that Starship Jubilee has something special about her. Attard tried to pinpoint what it is that makes the mare so consistent.

“She’s just a very competitive horse,” he said. “Even in the morning, she’s not an easy filly to train in the sense that when she wants to go, you have to have a good exercise rider on her. And Ricardo Pilgrim, who’s been galloping her, has done a great job with her here at Woodbine. So we’ve been fortunate with that. She’s very feisty, has a lot of sass and attitude about her, and is not a typical mare that you can just hug or cuddle up to. She’s got some fire and if you’re not on your toes, she’ll bite you. She could kick you. She’s really a handful when she wants to be, and I think that translates onto the racetrack. She just brings that attitude with her to the track. Whether it’s competing against the fillies and mares or the boys, she’s just ready to lay it down and give her best.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers reacted to the development of the first guilty pleas stemming from March’s FBI indictments and debated the wisdom of restrictive new whip rules. Then, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, they discussed Tiz the Law (Constitution) skipping the GI Preakness S. to train up to the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Starship Jubilee Rolls To 19th Career Victory In ‘Win And You’re In’ Woodbine Mile

Winning for the 19th time in 38 career starts and taking her second Grade 1 stakes for trainer Kevin Attard, Blue Heaven Farm's 7-year-old mare Starship Jubilee proved too good for her seven male rivals, winning Saturday's CAN$1-million Ricoh Woodbine Mile at Woodbine racetrack in Ontario, Canada.

Perfectly ridden by Justin Stein, the Florida-bred daughter of Indy Wind out of Perfectly Wild, by Forest Wildcat, came from just off the pace to win by one length, covering one mile on firm turf in 1:32.06 and running her final quarter mile in 22.62 seconds.

March to the Arch finished second, with his Mark Casse stablemate, 2-1 favorite War of Will, third. They were followed across the finish by a third Casse entry, Olympic Runner, then by Armistice Day, Admiralty Pier, Shirl's Speight and Value Proposition in the field of eight.

Starship Jubilee, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year and Sovereign Award-winning turf female the last three years, paid $13.50 as the fourth choice in the betting.

The Ricoh Woodbine Mile is a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Challenge Series race for the Fanduel Breeders' Cup Mile, to be run Nov. 7 at Keeneland. The win gives Starship Jubilee an automatic fees-paid berth in the race, along with $10,000 toward travel expenses.

Riding the mare for the first time, Stein – atop the Woodbine jockey standings in a tight race with Rafael Hernandez – allowed Starship Jubilee to settle just a few lengths off the pace set by Admiralty Pier through an opening quarter mile in :23.66 and a half in :46.14. Chad Brown-trained Value Proposition was lapped on Admiralty Pier, prompting the pace throughout.

With 3-year-old Shirl's Speight to his inside and 2-1 favorite War of Will to his outside, Stein waited patiently for a seam to open at the top of the long Woodbine stretch after six furlongs in 1:09.12. He allowed Starship Jubilee to drift to the outside and the mare kicked into high gear, overtaking the front runners to win convincingly.

Claimed by Kevin Attard's father, Tino Attard, for just $16,000 from trainer Jorge Navarro at Gulfstream Park in February 2017 in her ninth start, Starship Jubilee won five consecutive races for her new connections, including the G2 Nassau Stakes at G2 Dance Smartly Stakes in 2017. Starship Jubilee added two stakes victories in 2018, including the G2 Canadian Stakes, and won three more in 2019, highlighted by her first G1 in the E.P. Taylor Stakes going 1 1/4 miles at Woodbine.

Starship Jubilee won her first four starts this year, including the G3 Suwannee River Stakes at Gulfstream Park, the G2 Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and the G2 Ballston Spa Stakes at Saratoga before finishing fourth behind Rushing Fall in the G1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 23 in her most recent start.

She won CAN$600,000 for the Woodbine Mile victory and has now surpassed $2 million in career earnings.

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War Of Will Takes On Talented Field In Saturday’s Woodbine Mile

Starship Jubilee, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, will take on a gifted group of seven rivals, including 2-1 morning line favourite War of Will and undefeated three-year-old Shirl's Speight, in Saturday's Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile.

The 24th running of the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, worth $1 million and contested over the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course, has attracted a competitive field of eight hopefuls. With an estimated post time of 5:39 p.m. ET, the race will be showcased on a live broadcast airing on TSN3 & TSN5 in Canada and on NBCSN in the U.S. from 5-6 p.m. ET.

Under the terms of the Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' Challenge Series, the Woodbine Mile winner will be entitled to a fees-paid berth for the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile, to be run on November 7 at Keeneland.

This year's edition of the Mile showcases an intriguing mix of local talents and U.S. headliners.

Starship Jubilee, Canada's 2019 Horse of the Year, will make her 38th career start in the fall turf classic for owner Blue Heaven Farm and trainer Kevin Attard. The bay was claimed for $16,000 on Attard's behalf by his father and fellow trainer, Tino Attard, at Gulfstream in early 2017.

Entered in the 2018 November Breeding Stock Sale at Keeneland, Starship Jubilee failed to meet her $425,000 reserve and was subsequently sold privately to Bonnie Baskin's Blue Heaven Farm.

The 7-year-old daughter of Indy Wind has assembled a career record of 18-5-3, going 3-3-1 from seven starts in 2019 en route to her Sovereign Award recognition, which also includes three straight (2017-19) Champion Female Turf Horse honours.

“I don't think people realize how hard it is to keep a horse consistent,” said Attard. “When you see that consistency – there are always so many things that can go wrong, bad trips, bad luck, horses waking up on race day and not feeling well – bringing their A-game each and every time, it shows you how special it is and how special this horse is.”

In five starts this year, Starship Jubilee, bred in Florida by William Sorren, won her first four starts before finishing fourth in her most recent engagement, the Diana (G1) at Saratoga on August 23.

Attard is hoping a return to the E.P. Taylor course, where she has won six races including back-to-back (2018-19) Canadian Stakes (G2), results in a trip to the winner's circle.

“You can see that she seems like she enjoys winning. She has that desire and she has that feisty attitude in the morning. I think, especially with fillies, that attitude carries over to the afternoon.”

Now, her connections are hoping to add some more hardware to an already impressive haul.

“She's a multiple Sovereign Award winner, which is pretty special in itself. But, to train a Horse of the Year, that's icing on the cake, a huge accomplishment. To look back at the season that she had, winning the E.P. Taylor Stakes, an international race like that, it was a fabulous season, and she's a fabulous mare. They are once-in-a-lifetime horses.”

Attard has enjoyed having a front-row seat to watch her compete.

“When I look at her, she's tiny – definitely not big. She's fierce, she's feisty and she just has this mental approach and attitude… she goes out there and wants to do everything hard and fast. She loves what she does. She's a true competitor – loves to train, loves to run, and enjoys what she does. And we enjoy watching it all.”

Should she win, Starship Jubilee would join Ventura (2009) and Tepin (2016) as the only mares to take the Mile.

Leading jockey Justin Stein picks up the mount on the mare who is approaching the $2 million mark in career earnings.

A Keeneland sale graduate, War of Will is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of War Front out of the Sadler's Wells mare Visions of Clarity (IRE).

Gary Barber's 2019 Preakness Stakes winner heads into Saturday's engagement off a nose win in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1) on July 10.

The Maker's Mark was the fourth graded stakes victory for War of Will and his first on turf.

Last year, War of Will took the Lecomte Stakes (G3) and Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds before his Preakness victory in mid-May. The Preakness came after a troubled seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 4, 2019.

The Woodbine Mile represents his third Woodbine start.

He launched his career with a pair of races at the Toronto oval, including a third in his debut on August 24, 2018.

In his second start, three weeks later, the colt contested the Summer Stakes (G1), finishing second to even-money choice Fog of War.

Now, after two years, the well-travelled bay is back at the place where it all began.

Casse, who won the 2016 Mile with Tepin and the 2017 running with World Approval, is hopeful the third time is the charm for the five-time winner.

“He's coming off that nice win in the Maker's Mark Mile and he's trained as good as I've ever seen him train since that race. We're expecting him to run well. Rafael [Hernandez] is going to ride him. We had got the call for Rafael for the Mile, two or three weeks before March the Arch ran. So, it doesn't have anything to do with him picking one over the other. He had committed to Gary Barber and War of Will before he even rode March the Arch. I don't want anybody to read anything into it – that they think one is better than the other. It has no bearing.”

Lightly-raced Shirl's Speight, denied a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate after developing a cough ahead of the race, will be making his third start in the Mile.

After a brilliant debut on July 4, an eight-length score at seven furlongs on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, Charles Fipke's homebred three-year-old son of Speightstown followed it up with a 2 ¾-length triumph in the main track Marine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine on July 25.

“He missed a work but I kept him galloping and galloping,” noted Attfield. “He had a very good work [Tuesday] morning.”

Shirl's Speight was also being considered for the 145th running of the Preakness on October 3 before the connections decided to keep their budding star at home.

“This [Mile] is still a big step, but it's better than the alternative,” said Attfield. “There was the dirt, the ship, I couldn't send help with him.”

A 5-year-old son of English Channel, Admiralty Pier brings back-to-back second-place efforts into the Mile.

Trained by Barb Minshall, the gelding was a half-length back of Silent Poet in the Connaught Cup (G2) on July 11, before taking the runner-up spot to Mile rival March to the Arch in the King Edward (G2) on August 15.

In his first start of 2020, the Calumet Farm-bred chestnut sprung a 21-1 upset in the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3) on February 8.

Owned by Hoolie Racing Stable and Bruce Lunsford, Admiralty Pier, 5-3-2 from 21 starts, was seventh to El Tormenta in last year's running of the race.

Armistice Day, also from the Minshall barn, will be making his third straight start at Woodbine.

Owned by Bruce Lunsford and Lansdon Robbins, the 4-year-old son of Declaration of War has a 3-2-1 record from five outings at the Toronto oval, including a one-length score in last July's Toronto Cup Stakes.

The chestnut gelding's most recent win came on August 2 at Woodbine, a 1 ¼-length triumph in a 1 1/16 mile main track race that was originally scheduled for the grass.

Live Oak Plantation homebred March to the Arch, also trained by Casse, took the one-mile turf King Edward on August 15.

Under Rafael Hernandez, the 5-year-old gelded son of Arch notched a 2 ¼-length win in the Grade 2 stakes event, the seventh win in 23 starts for the Florida-bred bay.

“I was extremely impressed with his last win,” said Casse. “More importantly, he's come back and trained very well. Patrick [Husbands] is going to ride him. We've had tremendous success with Patrick over the years and he's also had great success for Live Oak. It was a perfect match.”

Casse's third Mile entrant comes in the form of hard-knocking Olympic Runner, who recently earned silver against multiple stakes champion Pink Lloyd in both the Bold Venture (G3) and Vigil (G3).

A 4-year-old son of Gio Ponti, the Gary Barber-owned gelding has a record of 3-3-2 from 12 career starts.

Last year, Olympic Runner, bred by Eutrophia Farm, won the King Corrie Stakes, at Woodbine. In his last eight starts, the Kentucky-bred has two wins, three seconds and two thirds.

“He's a horse that's just become better and better,” praised Casse. “We just feel like the mile will suit him well, but he still has to prove he fits in the caliber of March the Arch and War of the Will. He's doing well.”

Daisuke Fukumoto, who teamed to win the Queen's Plate with Mighty Heart on September 12, gets the call.

Value Proposition, a 4-year-old son of Dansili, will try the Canadian green scene for the first time.

Trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Racing Stables, the dark bay heads into the Mile off a third-place showing in the Poker (G3) on July 4 at Belmont.

Bred by Meon Valley Stud, Value Proposition is 3-0-1 from five career starts.

The lucrative Ricoh Woodbine Mile program will also feature the $125,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3), the $135,000 Woodbine Cares Stakes, and the $135,000 Ontario Racing Stakes. Breeders' Cup Challenge Series action will continue on Sunday with the $250,000 Summer Stakes (G1) and $250,000 Natalma Stakes (G1).

First race post time on Saturday is set for 1:10 p.m. For more information, visit Woodbine.com.

$1 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile (Grade 1)

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer – Morning Line

1 – March to the Arch – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse – 5-2

2 – Armistice Day – David Moran – Barbara Minshall – 20-1

3 – Shirl's Speight – Kazushi Kimura – Roger Attfield – 8-1

4 – Starship Jubilee – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard – 4-1

5 – Olympic Runner – Daisuke Fukumoto – Mark Casse – 15-1

6 – Admiralty Pier – Steven Bahen – Barbara Minshall – 10-1

7 – Value Proposition – Luis Contreras – Chad Brown – 6-1

8 – War of Will – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse – 2-1

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