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Ride A Comet Ends Pink Lloyd’s Winning Streak In Kennedy Road

Mark Casse trainees Ride a Comet and Souper Stonehenge swept the Kennedy Road Stakes exacta on Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario, ending the win streak of reigning three-time champion male sprinter Pink Lloyd.

Patrick Husbands engineered the winning trip aboard the 5-2 second choice, Ride a Comet, who is now two-for-two since returning to action last month after a two-year layoff.

Multiple graded stakes winner Silent Poet sprinted out to lead the talented field of seven in the six-furlong Grade 2 stakes with Eskiminzin pressing through fractions of :22.77 and :44.79, while Souper Stonehenge and Dixie's Gamble stalked the pace.

Riding a 10-race win streak, even-money favorite Pink Lloyd raced outside of foes and staged a late rally from the four-path on the turn, but early trailer Ride a Comet gained ground along the rail and shot outside the front-runners in the stretch en route to a 1 1/4-length victory, with Live Oak Plantation's Souper Stonehenge finishing second under Emma-Jayne Wilson.

Owned by breeder My Meadowview Farm and John Oxley, the 5-year-old son of Candy Ride and Appealing Zophie came within one-fifth of a second of Pink Lloyd's track record, winning in 1:08.25.

Ride a Comet paid $6.90 to win and combined with 9-1 shot Souper Stonehenge for a 2-1 exacta worth $50.30 for a $2 ticket. Pink Lloyd was a game third, finishing two lengths behind the runner-up and just ahead of Silent Poet. Eskiminzin, Roaring Forties and Dixie's Gamble completed the field.

“He's my favorite horse of all time…He went a good race, he showed he's all class,” said Husbands, who was aboard for all four of Ride a Comet's Woodbine starts including his impressive two-length comeback victory here on October 16.

“The last time I rode him, it was the first time we sprint and his first time in two years going seven-eighths. And he broke sharp, you know, and I eased him back because it was his first time in a long time so after the race I said to Mark, 'he left there running and I eased him back.' He said 'alright, we're going against Pink Lloyd next start.'

“Pink Lloyd, you have to respect him. He's a legend at Woodbine, and it's a great honor to run against him and try to beat him. When you beat him, you've got to be really happy, but you have to respect him.”

Ride a Comet, who also won the Charlie Barley Stakes over one-mile of turf at Woodbine in 2018 with Husbands and the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby over 1 1/8 miles later that year, now has seven wins from a dozen lifetime starts.

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Heavy Favorite Dreaming Of Drew Wires Princess Elizabeth Field At Woodbine

Odds-on favorite Dreaming of Drew delivered on her pari-mutuel promise with a dreamy performance in the 75th edition of the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes for Canadian-foaled 2-year-old fillies on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

With blinkers added, the Speightster miss set her sights on her first added-money score, leading all the way in 1 1/16-mile main track feature for jockey Patrick Husbands.

Dreaming of Drew set fractions of :24 to the quarter, :48.71 to the half and 1:13.42 to three-quarters with Bodacious Miss and Justin Stein applying pressure on the final turn and Il Malocchio moving into contention from mid-pack under Sahin Civaci.

As Dreaming of Drew turned back Bodacious Miss and floated away from her foes down the stretch, Il Malocchio came through to finish second with the stalking Emmeline and Kazushi Kimura rallying to finish third over Bodacious Miss.

The chestnut filly, who won by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:44.07, concluded her five-race freshman campaign with two wins and two seconds, plus a fourth-place finish when facing Grade 1 company in the Natalma last time out.

Sent postward as the 4-5 favorite, she returned $3.90 to win.

“She's a dream,” said Barb Minshall, who trains the promising youngster for Hoolie Racing Stable. “She's been a great filly for us and I'm really looking forward to the future with her.

“Hopefully, she'll be an Oaks contender next year.”

Among the past Princess Elizabeth winners that have gone on to take the Woodbine Oaks are Nipissing (2012), Roan Inish (2009), Ginger Gold (2001) and Dancethruthedawn (2000).

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Souper Sensational Gives Casse Ninth Glorious Song Stakes Triumph

Live Oak Plantation's 2-year-old filly Souper Sensational kept her record perfect with a stunning score on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, while giving Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse a record ninth Glorious Song Stakes title.

Jockey Patrick Husbands sent the 3-5 favorite to the lead through a first quarter in :22.76 in the seven-furlong main track sprint. Heidi (Daisuke Fukumoto) pressed the pacesetter to the half in :45.78 with Rocket Reload (Justin Stein) looming outside, but Souper Sensational left them all in the dust down the lane as she kicked four lengths clear to score in 1:21.84.

“She's on her game right now and I don't want to disappoint her. I want to ride her like the best horse,” said Husbands of his front-end strategy.

Souper Sensational paid $3.20 to win. Javanica (Emma-Jayne Wilson) won the race for place as she closed along the rail from the back, while another Casse trainee, Right to Freedom (Rafael Hernandez), bested the late-closing Charlie's Penny (Kazushi Kimura) for third prize after stalking the winner throughout.

“I don't want to be smart, but she's one of the best so far I've got on as a 2-year-old,” praised Husbands, who noted he was immediately impressed by the filly in her morning works and was aboard for her 2 1/4-length winning debut on September 26. “All this horse has got is 'green light.' You could do anything with her. She's just a three-year-old in a two-year-old body.”

Bred in Kentucky by Newtownanner Stud, the daughter of Curlin was a $725,000 yearling purchase at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale. She is the third foal out of the Indian Charlie mare Kateri, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Tiz Miz Sue and 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Bulletin.

Casse and Husbands, who is now a seven-time winner of the Glorious Song, have teamed up for five of their wins. Live Oak Plantation has won this event three times in partnership with Casse, starting with Let It Ride Mom (Rafael Hernandez) in 2016 and Souper Charlotte (Eurico Rosa Da Silva) in 2018.

The victory in Saturday's featured event gave Casse his fourth win through the first eight races on the card.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues on Sunday with a stellar stakes program featuring the $600,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes (Grade 1) and the $300,000 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes presented by Pattison (Grade 1). The $250,000 Nearctic (Grade 2) and $100,000 Display complete the stakes line-up. First race post time is set for 1:10 p.m.

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Salute With Honor Complete Weekend Stakes Sweep For Husbands, Casse At Woodbine

Jockey Patrick Husbands and trainer Mark Casse completed a sweep of the Thanksgiving weekend stakes events at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario, as Salute With Honor won the Grade 3, $125,000 Durham Cup in front-end fashion on Sunday.

Salute With Honor was followed by a hard-closing Skywire and Rafael Hernandez to complete a Casse exacta in the 1-1/16-mile main track test for horses three years old and up.

The Husbands-Casse duo also clicked in Saturday's $250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes with Canadian-bred 2-year-old Master Spy.

In Sunday's graded stakes feature, Salute With Honor took command from the quick-leaving Inventing Blame into the first turn approaching the :23.43 quarter mark and clocked a half-mile in :47.36 and three-quarters in 1:11.78 en route to victory.

Skywire, who raced inside near the back of the seven-horse field, maneuvered outside on the final turn and came tearing home to finish second, one length behind his triumphant stablemate. Timeskip closed from last to nab the show honours for conditioner Rene Kierans ahead of another Casse trainee, Pioneer Man. Roaring Forties, Armistice Day and Inventing Blame completed the order of finish.

Salute With Honor was not far off Freitag's track record (1:42.16) as he posted a final time of 1:42.35.

First-time stakes winner Salute With Honor ($6, $3.20, $2.90) was the slight 2-1 favorite over Skywire ($3.10, $2.50), who won the Grade 2 Eclipse on July 4 over the same course and distance, and they combined here for a 3-1 exacta worth $19.10.

“He's a horse that likes to be forwardly-placed,” noted Husbands of the six-year-old chestnut son of To Honor and Serve. “I don't touch him, he just does what he's gotta do. I just be the pilot and relax on his back, and when I asked him, he gave me all he can give me.”

The Live Oak Plantation homebred gelding earned his seventh career win and has banked nearly $360,000 from 19 starts. Salute With Honor has now won two races in a row at Woodbine and sports a five-for-seven record here lifetime.

Husbands has won back-to-back editions of the Durham Cup on two occasions. He first accomplished the feat with the Casse pupil Delegation and the Josie Carroll-conditioned James Street in 2012-2013. Last year, he guided The Great Day to victory for trainer Arnaud Delacour. The veteran jockey and four-time winner Casse earned their first Durham Cup titles together in 2009 courtesy of Pool Play.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues on Thursday at Woodbine, with post time for the nine-race program set for 2:15 p.m. A reminder that the new Friday post time of 4:35 p.m. goes into effect this week and Racing Night Live returns on TSN with coverage from Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park from 7-9 p.m. ET.

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