Ladies Loom Large in Queen’s Plate

A pair of fillies, including Canada’s reigning champion 2-year-old filly Curlin’s Voyage (Curlin), will take aim at 13 sophomore colts in Saturday’s $1-million Queen’s Plate S., historically the first jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown. The winner of the Aug. 15 Woodbine Oaks, the Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine and Windsor Boys Racing-owned filly is trained by Josie Carroll, who previously won the 10-furlong Classic with another filly–Inglorious in 2011–and with Edenwold in 2006. In this renewal, Carroll will also saddle Belichick (Lemon Drop Kid)  and Mighty Heart (Dramedy).

“We’ve always thought very highly of her after her 2-year-old debut,” said Carroll of Curlin’s Voyage, who won last season’s GIII Mazarine S. and Ontario Lassie S. against Ontario bred fillies. “She’s a very uncomplicated filly and does everything you ask of her.”

Prior to her Oaks victory, Curlin’s Voyage won the seven-furlong Fury S. July 5. and finished runner- up in the June 13 Star Shoot S.

Also representing the fairer sex in the Queen’s Plate, Merveilleux (Paynter), runner up in both the restricted Princess Elizabeth S. and Ontario Lassie S. last season, kicked off 2020 with an allowance score at Woodbine June 21 before finishing fourth in the GIII Selene S. July 25. Most recently, she finished a troubled third in the Woodbine Oaks.

“Honestly, I just think she’s just been a very unfortunate horse this year, racing luck wise,” said trainer Kevin Attard. “Things haven’t quite gone her way. I had high expectations for her in the Oaks. She showed a lot of talent at two and we were really excited to have her. With her, we considered the Plate right from the get-go. The mile and a quarter distance is not going to be an issue for her.

He continued, “She’s just one horse that you’re hoping on that day everything goes right for her and she finally gets a clear run, no obstacles, no hurdles–that way she can prove whether she’s good enough or not and there’s no excuses. She’s doing very well and I’m quite please with her.”

Attard also saddles morningline favorite Clayton (Bodemeister). Campaigned by Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe, the colt is a winner of three of four lifetime starts, including his latest in a Woodbine optional claimer July 18 followed by the nine-furlong Plate Trial S. Aug. 15.

“He’s been special from the get-go,” said Attard. “He was an impressive maiden winner, so once that happened, the bell starts ringing in your head, and you’re saying, ‘Hey, maybe I’ve got a good 3-year-old here.’ He followed it up with a good race first time out this year–didn’t win but had traffic trouble–and I think he learned a lot. That was encouraging. Obviously, he’s won his last two since then and stretched out. He’s doing everything you want him to. Hopefully, he just needs to get a little bit better one more time and maybe he can put everything together.”

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Saturday’s Marine, Selene Stakes Serve As Preps For Woodbine’s Queen’s Plate, Oaks

A pair of Grade 3 events, the $125,000 Marine Stakes and $125,000 Selene Stakes, share the spotlight this Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

A key prep on the road to this year's Queen's Plate (September 12, at Woodbine), the 1 1/16-mile main track Marine, for 3-year-olds, has attracted some noteworthy Canadian-breds hoping for a spot in the Plate starting gate.

Queen's Plate eligibles Dotted Line (18-1 in the Queen's Plate Winterbook), Glorious Tribute (40-1), and Perfect Revenge (40-1) are set to contest to the Marine. 

The 65th running of the Marine will be complemented by the 67th edition of the Selene, a 1 1/16-mile race over the Tapeta for 3-year-old fillies, an important fixture ahead of the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, on August 15. 

Merveilleux (25-1 in the Queen's Plate Winterbook) and Owlette (30-1) are among the Selene notables.  

John Oxley's homebred Lucky Curlin chases his second straight win, this time in the Marine, after a sharp score on June 14 at Woodbine.

The Mark Casse trainee, in his ninth career start and first test on the Toronto oval Tapeta, rallied from fifth at the stretch call of the seven-furlong race to win by a length under Kazushi Kimura.

It was the second win for Kentucky-bred chestnut son of Curlin, who broke his maiden last December at Fair Grounds.

The well-traveled colt, who has raced at Churchill Downs, Saratoga, Keeneland, and Fair Grounds, appears to feel right at home on the Woodbine Tapeta.

Casse hopes the trend continues.

“He's a horse that's disappointed me, to be honest. We were always thinking, 'If he ever gets his act together…' He was a horse early on that we thought was as good as Enforceable. And of course, Enforceable is going to the Kentucky Derby.

“His last race, from a Beyer standpoint, was very good. I wasn't surprised, but it was pleasant. He's been extremely frustrating for us because we've had high hopes for him. There are horses whose abilities are limited. He hasn't been that way. So, we'll see how he handles two turns. I'm still not positive that he isn't a come-from-behind sprinter. But we're going to give it a try.”

Casse's other Marine starter is Untitled, a Florida-bred son of Khozan, owned by Gary Barber and Michael Sebastian.

The bay colt is 2-3-0 in seven starts.

In his first Woodbine appearance, on June 13, Untitled was second to Newstome in the Woodstock Stakes.

“He's kind of a mystery horse,” offered Casse, who won the 2017 Marine with Souper Tapit. “He won very impressively first time out and he's run some good races. I think watching him run… we didn't have the luxury of getting a breeze over the track before his last start. He got up there and we ran him. I didn't think he cared for it that much. In fact, I was thinking about running him on the grass, but there really wasn't a grass race for him. He trained so well afterwards on the synthetic, so we thought we'd give him a try.”

 Other Marine contenders include trainer Barb Minshall's improving Glorious Tribute.

The Ontario-bred son of Congrats has one win and a pair of thirds from seven starts.

“His last race as a two-year-old [a maiden-breaking win at one mile and 70 yards on the Woodbine main track], he got a good trip and we got to stretch him out,” said Minshall. “I thought he ran really well. I took him down south all winter so I knew he was good and fit. I ran him once, on the turf, but the race was just a little too tough at that given time for him. But, I've always liked him.”

Minshall, Canada's champion trainer in 1996, remains a big fan of the dark bay.

“I wanted to make sure he was good and fit because I really had a good feeling that he would get a mile and a quarter [Queen's Plate distance]. He's got a nice stride and a good mind. He's a very laid-back horse. I'm pretty happy where he is right now. He's a big, sound horse, so I figured let's get him in, see how he is, get another race, and hopefully from that step go on to the Plate Trial [August 15] and hopefully we end at the Queen's Plate, and we've got a bit of a shot.”

Sam-Son Farm has the most Marine wins (six) for owners, while Sandy Hawley holds the riding record with five Marine crowns. The most recent horse to notch the Marine-Plate double was Shaman Ghost, who achieved the feat in 2015. Last year's winner, Global Access, went on to earn year-end divisional honours at the Sovereign Awards.

Ten Broeck Farm's Owlette, a bay daughter of Frac Daddy, goes after her fourth Woodbine stakes crown in the Selene.

The Wesley Ward trainee took last year's Shady Well and Victorian Queen, and then added another stakes title to her record with a win in this year's Star Shoot on June 13.  

Merveilleux, owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, seeks her first added-money win in what will be her seventh start. 

The daughter of Paynter lost by a neck to Cool Shadows in last year's Princess Elizabeth and by a head to Curlin's Voyage in the Ontario Lassie.

Owlette and Merveilleux will be tested by five other rivals, including the Casse trio of American Tap, Diamond Sparkles, and Two Sixty.

A Florida-bred daughter of Uncaptured, Two Sixty, owned by Gary Barber, finished fourth in the Star Shoot Stakes.

“She's another one since that race who trained much better after being there for a little while,” noted Casse.

Diamond Sparkles, a Kentucky-bred daughter of War Front, made her North American debut in last year's Grade 1 Natalma Stakes, finishing fourth to Abscond.

The bay's most recent race, seven furlongs on the Woodbine main track on June 13, yielded a second-place finish.

“She came over from Europe, ran pretty good in the Natalma, and then struggled a little bit through the winter,” said Casse, of the filly owned by Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “I thought her last race was good and she's training well. We're going to give her a shot.”

American Tap, bred by Tall Oaks Farm, is also owned by Barber.

Casse and Barber teamed to take the past two runnings of the Selene. Miss Mo Mentum won in 2018, while Power Gal was victorious last year.

A victory by any Casse starter would tie him with Yonnie Starr for the most Selene wins by a trainer, with six.

The Marine is Race 3 on Saturday's 10-race card and the Selene is scheduled as Race 8. First post time is 1 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE $125,000 GRADE 3 MARINE
POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER
1 – Lucky Curlin – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
2 – Glorious Tribute – Leo Salles – Barbara Minshall
3 – Lookinatamiracle – Patrick Husbands – Sandra Dominguez
4 – Dotted Line (S) – Justin Stein – Sid Attard
5 – Perfect Revenge – Daisuke Fukumoto – John Charalambous
6 – Untitled – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse
7 – Shirl's Speight – Rafael Hernandez – Roger Attfield 

FIELD FOR THE $125,000 GRADE 3 SELENE
POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER
1 – Owlette – Luis Contreras – Wesley Ward
2 – Saratoga Vision – Simon Husbands – Alexander Patykewich
3 – Livin in the Six – Justin Stein – Mike De Paulo
4 – Diamond Sparkles (S) – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
5 – American Tap – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
6 – Two Sixty – Emma-Jayne-Wilson – Mark Casse
7 – Merveilleux – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard

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Curlin’s Voyage Remains Early Favorite Among 36 Fillies Eligible For Woodbine Oaks

Woodbine Entertainment released an updated list today of Canadian-bred three-year-old fillies eligible to the 65th running of the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, set for Saturday, Aug. 15.

A total of 36 fillies, including four supplements, have been nominated to the 1 1/8-mile opening leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara following the July 1 sustaining payment deadline.

Sovereign Award winner Curlin's Voyage stamped herself as an early favorite for the mid-August affair following her Fury Stakes triumph on Sunday at Woodbine. The Curlin-Atlantic Voyage filly has won half of her eight career starts, including the Grade 3 Mazarine and Ontario Lassie, while earning nearly $365,000 for breeder Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and co-owner Windsor Boys Racing.

Owlette was impressive in her season's debut, capturing the Star Shoot Stakes over Curlin's Voyage on June 13 for trainer Wesley Ward and Ten Broeck Farm. The daughter of Frac Daddy and Itstartswithadream has finished no worse than second in six career starts while earning just over $300,000 and boasts additional stakes wins in the Shady Well and Victorian Queen.

Other stakes-winning fillies that remain eligible to the Oaks include Princess Elizabeth champion Cool Shadows, a Chiefswood Stables homebred trained by Stuart Simon, and Roger Attfield's South Ocean Stakes winner Gun Society.

The high-profile filly Infinite Patience, co-owned by NHL star Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and breeder William DeCoursey, was a gutsy third in last weekend's Fury after going five-for-five in her freshman campaign at Hastings Racecourse. The Sungold-Montero filly has been supplemented to the Oaks for $2,500 along with Curlin's Tiger, Lasting Union and River of Pearls.

The list of eligibles includes Ann of Cleves, who is a half-sister to 2015 Woodbine Oaks champion Academic. Ricky Griffith trains the Verrazano-Awesome Lass filly for Racing Canada and John Phillip Brown.

NK Racing's contender Sansa's Vow is a full-sister to Tone Broke, winner of two-thirds of last year's Canadian Triple Crown (Prince of Wales and Breeders' Stakes). Unraced at two, the Broken Vow-Mendocino Beano miss broke her maiden when making her second career start in a 1-1/16 mile-turf race on June 21 for trainer Josie Carroll.

Sam-Son Farm, owner and breeder of last year's Oaks champion Desert Ride, has three nominees including Raven's Song. The Medaglia d'Oro-Song of the Lark filly is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes champion Up With the Birds, who was a close runner-up in the Queen's Plate and winner of the Breeders' Stakes during his 2013 Horse of the Year campaign.

Another filly with Triple Crown pedigree is Itskathiesluckyday, trained by Mike Keogh for The Estate of Gustav Schickedanz. Sired by Itsmyluckyday, the maiden filly's dam Half Sister is in fact a half-sister to Triple Crown winner Wando.

Fifty-eight fillies were originally nominated to the 2020 Woodbine Oaks.

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Canadian Champion Curlin’s Voyage Wins Woodbine Oaks Prep In Frantic Finish

Canadian champion filly Curlin's Voyage nosed out 65-1 longshot Justleaveitalone in a photo finish to win the $125,000 Fury Stakes for Canadian-foaled 3-year-old fillies on Sunday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Patrick Husbands guided the Curlin–Atlantic Voyage filly to victory in the seven-furlong stepping-stone to the Triple Tiara, which kicks off with the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser over 1 1/8 miles on August 15.

Trying Woodbine's Tapeta surface for the first time and putting her perfect five-race win streak on the line, Infinite Patience, co-owned by Edmonton Oilers player Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and breeder William DeCoursey, set a pressured pace through panels of :23.74 and :46.59 with the maiden filly Justleaveitalone in hot pursuit.

Curlin's Voyage stalked the top pair along the rail then fanned three-wide on the final turn with fellow Josie Carroll trainee Avie's Samurai joining the fray in a four-across battle down the stretch.

Curlin's Voyage ultimately persevered, edging out Justleaveitalone by a head in a final time of 1:23.91, with Infinite Patience settling for third, one length behind after her gutsy effort. Avie's Samurai finished fourth with Mizzen Beau and Gun Society completing the order of finish.

 “Going down the back, it was a lot of 'cat and mouse' game,” said Husbands, who has won five previous editions of the Fury – all with Mark Casse trainees – including last year's race with Speedy Soul.

“About the three-eighths pole, I had enough of this, I just had to get in gear and get the job done.”

Sent postward as the 6-5 favourite, the winner returned $4.60.

Curlin's Voyage was voted Canada's 2019 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly for her $265,000 juvenile campaign in which she went 3-1-1 in six starts, including a pair of stakes wins over 1-1/16 miles (Grade 3 Mazarine and Ontario Lassie).

Husbands picked up the mount for her final start last year in the Ontario Lassie and also guided her to a runner-up finish in her sophomore debut in the six-furlong Star Shoot Stakes on June 13.

“To me, she's a better filly going two turns and we look forward to her next race,” said the Triple Crown-winning jockey.

Curlin's Voyage is co-owned by breeder Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Windsor Boys Racing. She is eligible to the Oaks as well as The Queen's Plate (September 12), assessed as the 3-1 third choice in the Winterbook.

Carroll, who trained the 2006 Fury champion Gumboots, has won the Queen's Plate twice, with Edenwold (2006) and Inglorious (2011) — also the winner of the Oaks that year.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues, without spectators, on Thursday at the Toronto oval with an eight-race program beginning at 3:45 p.m. Racing Night Live will feature action from Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on TSN1 and TSN3.

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