Boardroom Commanding In Seaway Win At Woodbine

Boardroom, last-out winner of the Grade 3 Whimsical, continued her strong performances over the Tapeta track at Woodbine Racetrack in the Grade 3 Seaway, powering past the leader Toffen on the turn to take the lead and pull away to a seven-length victory.

The 4-year-old filly broke cleanly from the outside, taking up position behind Toffen and Hell N Wild in the early part of the seven-furlong Seaway. On the turn, jockey Luis Contreras took Boardroom four wide, easily finding the front as her stablemate Fiduciary moved with her. Into the stretch, though, Boardroom poured on the speed, drawing away with ease and leaving no room for anyone to challenge her at the finish. Our Secret Agent was second, with graded stakes winner Amalfi Coast third. Golden Vision, Hell N Wild, Fiduciary, and Toffen rounded out the order of finish.

The fractions for the seven furlongs were :23.34, 45.39, and 1:10.24 with a final time for the seven furlongs of 1:22.02. Find this race's chart here.

Boardroom paid $4.40, $2.60, and $2.10. Our Secret Agent paid $3.10 and $2.30. Amalfi Coast paid $2.40.

Bred in Kentucky by Polo Green Stable, Inc., Boardroom is a daughter of Commissioner out of the Rahy mare Money Madness. She is owned by LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Josie Carroll. Consigned by Q Bar J Thoroughbreds, she was sold to Solis and Litt for $475,000 at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sale Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale. With her win in the Seaway, Boardroom has five wins in seven lifetime starts, for career earnings of $283,569.

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Cross Country Pick 5 Pays $6,000 Saturday

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5, featuring action from Saratoga, Woodbine, and Monmouth Park, paid $6,061.25 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $106,967.

Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, commenced the sequence with graded stakes action, as Jolie Olimpica won the $175,000 Grade 2 Nassau for older fillies and mares going one mile on the turf in Race 6. Trained by Josie Carroll and ridden by Luis Contreras, the Brazilian-bred Jolie Olimpica's three-quarters of a length victory in a final time of 1:34.83 paid $5.30 on $2 win wager.

The first of three races at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., came in the second leg, as Luis Saez piloted 10-1 Midnight Worker to a victory by a head over Bourbon Heist in a six-furlong maiden sprint over the main track in Race 6. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Midnight Worker paid $22.20 in hitting the wire in 1:11.92.

Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., also got in on the stakes action, with He'spuregold besting slight favorite Quiberon Bay by one length in the $85,000 Irish War Cry for New Jersey-breds 3-years-old and up going one mile on the turf in Race 9. The Kelly Breen trainee, who posted a final time of 1:35.53, returned $5.40.

Saratoga concluded the last two legs, starting when Sifting Sands topped Never Explain by a head in a 1 1/16-mile allowance optional claiming tilt on the turf in Race 7. Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Manny Franco, the British-bred Sifting Sands won at 28-1, paying $58.

A Brown-trained horse completed the Cross Country Pick 5 when the Irish-bred Rastafara won a one-mile inner turf contest for maidens 3-years-old and up going one mile on the inner turf in Race 8. Ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Rastafara paid $7.10 in notching a final time of 1:36.47.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Jolie Olimpica Takes Nassau Over Firm Turf At Woodbine

Fox Hill Farm's Jolie Olimpica bested a field of a dozen distaffers to take the $175,000 Nassau, a one-mile Grade 2 stakes for fillies and mares four years old and up, featured on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Making her Woodbine debut on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, Jolie Olimpica stalked the pacesetter Honey Cake while racing outside of 2020 Nassau runner-up Another Time through fractions of :23.94, :47.63, and 1:10.69. The Brazilian-bred daughter of Drosselmeyer rallied three-wide on the turn and pulled ahead down the lane en route to victory in 1:34.83 over the 'firm' course.

Jolie Olimpica paid $5.30 to win as the 8-5 favorite as she finished three-quarters of a length ahead of 7-2 second choice Abscond, who closed strongly from the backfield to place. Our Secret Agent rounded out the top three finish order, 2 ½ lengths behind.

“She was so nice and great the whole way,” said winning jockey Luis Contreras. “I was confident every single step of the way and turning for home, it felt like she was just breaking from the gate again.”

Bred by Stud T N T, the classy chestnut mare has finished no worse than third in 10 lifetime starts. A Group 1 winner in Brazil, Jolie Olimpica has earned more than $450,000 in purses and six career victories, including last year's Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes and Grade 3 Las Cienegas at Santa Anita.

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The multiple graded stakes-winning 5-year-old was previously trained by Richard Mandella stateside before joining the stable of Canadian Hall of Famer Josie Carroll this season at Woodbine.

Carroll noted the mare has been ready to run for a long time with the delayed season and opted for the Nassau's one-turn mile to allow her to relax better in the race and make an easier lead.

“What an honour to have these silks,” said Carroll in reference to the white and red colours representing Fox Hill and its late founder Rick Porter. “It was wonderful that Mr. Porter sent this horse here and that his family left her with me with his passing. I'm delighted that she won in his honour in one of the big choices that he made. He's made such great choices and had such great horses over the years that I hope we can carry on his tradition.”

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Enduring Legacy Of Sam-Son Farm Poised For Another Shot At Queen’s Plate

The sight of the red and gold never gets old for Gail Cox.

When Tio Magico shrugged off his rivals down the lane in the $125,000 Queenston Stakes at Woodbine on July 11, the dark bay's trainer was understandably beaming well after the 2 ½-length triumph.

Not just for the impressive effort, not just because the son of Uncle Mo-Magic Broomstick seemed to get his mojo back, and not just because his jockey, Luis Contreras, lavished praise upon the 3-year-old in the winner's circle.

It was all that plus something personally meaningful for Cox, specifically, the iconic colors Contreras wore in the Queenston victory.

“Sam-Son Farm has been so invested in racing, in Canada and around the world,” said Cox. “They've bred so many amazing horses and had so much success. It was heartbreaking when they made that announcement.”

This past October, Sam-Son announced it was dispersing its breeding and racing stock over the following 12 to 18 months.

Founded by Ernie Samuel in 1972 and developed into a world-renowned racing and breeding operation, Sam-Son, after Samuel's death, was headed by Tammy Samuel-Balaz, who led Sam-Son to numerous victories and awards until her own passing in 2008.

Sam-Son has bred and raced 44 Graded stakes winners, including 37 Classic winners and 14 Grade 1 winners. They have received 84 Sovereign Awards and four Eclipse Awards, and laid claim to five Plates: Regal Intention in 1988, Dance Smartly in 1991, Scatter the Gold in 2000, Dancethruthedawn in 2001 and Eye of the Leopard in 2009.

Their long list of champions include the incomparable Dance Smartly, the first Canadian owned and bred horse to win a Breeders' Cup race and who, in her undefeated three-year-old season of 1991, became just the second filly in history to win the Canadian Triple Crown. Other champions include Breeders' Cup winner Chief Bearhart, Eclipse Award winner Sky Classic, Dancethruthedawn, Quiet Resolve, Rainbow's for Life, Ruling Angel, Silken Cat, Soaring Free, Wilderness Song and many more. Sam-Son also bred and raced Grade 1 winner and influential sire Smart Strike, a half-brother to Dance Smartly.

“I would love to see them stay longer,” said Cox. “What they have done for racing is simply amazing. They do everything the right way and always in the best interest of the horse. To be associated with Sam-Son is something I am truly grateful for.”

It's something she was reminded of when Contreras and Tio Magico turned for home and down the lane in the Queenston.

The victory itself was a victory in itself considering Tio Magico had come into the race off a fifth-place performance in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Woodbine on June 19.

Cutting back to seven panels, he broke smartly in the Queenston and took the field through fractions of :23.85 and :46.95 before easily keeping his advantage to record the front-running score.

“Luis and I both felt the same way, that 'Tio' just needed to get out there and run his race,” said Cox. “It seems to be the way he's happiest. He ran so well last year, and I think we just probably messed around with his style a little bit. This is how he wants to run, and I think he'll run a distance like this. His gallop out was huge. So, it was so nice to be able to win like this.”

One of Tio Magico's biggest fans had seemingly endless furlongs of flattery for the horse.

“I just love this guy,” said Contreras. “I think you haven't seen the best of him. He has something that attracts me and makes me feel good.”

Cox hasn't figured out why horse and rider have developed such a strong bond.

All that matters, offered the conditioner, is that there is one.

“Luis just loves him. He always asks about him and he's always talking about him. I don't know why it is, but he loved him right from last year. He breezed him last year and they just seem to have built this wonderful connection.”

Cox was also fond of Tio Magico early on.

After a sixth-place finish to launch his career last September at Woodbine, the Ontario-bred broke his maiden second time out and followed that result with a runner-up effort in the Coronation Futurity Stakes on November 1.

Tio Magico then headed south for the winter where he posted a third and fifth, respectively, in two Gulfstream Park engagements. He was seventh in allowance race at Belmont on May 15 before heading back to Cox's barn on the Woodbine backstretch.

“I'm happy to have him back with me,” said Cox earlier in the year. “He's a lovely horse and he's very nice and relaxed in his stall. He's a big horse and his mind is great. Laid-back in the stall, mostly, he eats and sleeps. He has a ton of talent and he's just starting to grow up now. I expect to see big things from him.”

That hasn't changed.

Whether that means Tio Magico gets a shot at Queen's Plate glory on August 22 isn't a sure bet. Discussions between his connections are ongoing.

Having options, Cox admitted, is a wonderful position to be in.

“He's a great mover and he goes fast just so easily. He's quite an easy horse to deal with. Everybody has to digest this win and then see where we go from there, what the alternatives are, and things like that. Luckily, he's a seasoned racehorse and off that race [Queenston], we can do what we want.”

As for seeing the Sam-Son silks in the 162nd running of the Plate, that would be, Cox admitted, as good as red and gold.

She could have two chances at notching her first win in the “Gallop for the Guineas.” Tidal Forces, a son of Malibu Moon and also a Sam-Son homebred, has a record of 2-0-0 from three starts after finishing fifth in the Queenston.

“We know that's it hard to plan these types of things because plans don't always work out as you want them to. It would be wonderful to be in such a historic race with a horse that represents the very best in Canadian racing. Every time you see those Sam-Son colours, it's hard to put into words, but it's a very special feeling.”

Cox would certainly know.

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