Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Alex
The second week of thoroughbred racing at Woodbine Racetrack in 2011 wrapped up on Sunday and it was another eventful weekend, even with just one stakes race on the card. Let's recap all of the action now with Woodbine Week In Review.
Stakes Recap
Just like opening weekend, there was only one stakes race this past weekend at Woodbine. The 55th running of the $150,000 Star Shoot Stakes was the eighth race on Woodbine's Saturday program and went six furlongs on the main track for three-year-old fillies.
Trainer Wesley Ward was looking to continue his early meet dominance, sending out the favoured Nina Fever, who broke the best out of the gate and took the early lead along the backstretch. She was joined by Third Chance and Caribbean Lady on the front end and the three leaders carried the field into the far turn. As the field turned for home, Nina Fever began to take command of the race, opening up a length lead on Third Chance and Caribbean Lady, who both looked like they were tiring in the stretch. Nina Fever looked to have victory in her grasp but at the last moment it was snatched away by a hard-charging Portside, who began her run at the leaders from last place in the middle of the turn. Portside would pass Nina Fever just strides from the wire to take the victory and Miss Inclined finished third. Trained by Barbara Minshall, Portside provided the upset at 11-1 and paid her loyal backers $24.80. Emma-Jayne Wilson was the winning jockey and captured her second stakes victory of the season. She's the only rider to have won a stakes race this season after capturing the Debut Stakes on Don's Folly last weekend.
Canadian Thoroughbred editor Jennifer Morrison reported on her Thoroughblog that there appeared to be a confrontation between Eurico Rosa Da Silva, who rode Miss Inclined, and Luis Contreras, who rode Caribbean Lady, after the race was over. If you watch the replay below, you can see that Miss Inclined is trying to split horses, but Contreras is hitting Caribbean Lady left-handed, drifting her out into the path of Da Silva and Miss Inclined and causing a bump. The bump forces Da Silva to lose all momentum and his chance of winning the race.
Race Of The Week
This week's race of the week is the eighth race on Sunday's program. The race was an allowance race for three-year-olds and up and featured Mobil Unit, who finished second in three stakes races last year. One of those second place finishes was in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, the second jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown. Mobil Unit took the lead early on in the race but then faded, which set up a great finish between Kings Parade and J J for Dave.
Jockey of the Week - Emma-Jayne Wilson
Emma-Jayne Wilson's impressive week was enough to earn her Jockey of the Week Honours this week over Luis Contreras, who was the runner up for the second week in a row. Wilson captured four victories, four seconds and one third in 12 starts this past week. She finished the weekend with a win percentage of 33% and an in-the-money percentage of 75%. She also captured her second stakes win in as many weeks in the Star Shoot Stakes and is still the only jockey to win a stakes race at Woodbine this season.
Wilson's performance valuted her into a second place in the jockey standings with six victories. She trails Luis Contreras by one victory, but has a much better win percentage. Wilson has won six races in 20 starts (30%), while Contreras has seven wins in 33 starts (21%).
Top 5 Jockeys
| Rank | Jockey | Starts | Wins | 2nds | 3rds | Win % | ITM % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Contreras | 33 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 21% | 55% |
| 2 | Emma-Jayne Wilson | 20 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 30% | 65% |
| 3 | Juan Delgado | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 80% |
| 4 | Emile Ramsammy | 24 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 17% | 50% |
| 5 | Tyler Pizarro | 17 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 24% | 41% |
For the full 2011 jockey standings after week two, click here.
Top 5 Trainers
| Rank | Trainer | Starts | Wins | 2nds | 3rds | Win % | ITM % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesley Ward | 12 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 50% | 83% |
| 2 | Reade Baker | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 50% | 67% |
| 3 | Sid Attard | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 29% | 100% |
| 4 | Darwin Banach | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 29% | 71% |
| 5 | Michael Pino | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 29% | 57% |
For the full 2011 trainer standings after week two, click here.
The Week Ahead...
It will be an interesting week at Woodbine as the chase for the Queen's Plate begins to heat up. Some Ontario-breds will be competing south of the border this weekend in races like the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, but another prep race will take place on Saturday at Woodbine. The $150,000 Woodstock Stakes is an open race for three-year-olds that will go six furlongs. It features several Ontario-breds nominated for the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown, including Top Prospect, Oh Canada and Black N Beauty, who is also cross-entered in a stakes race at Charles Town Races. Other nominees who will race on Saturday include Blackstone Bay and I Want You to Know. Both are looking to win the first race of their respective careers in a maiden special weight race. With so many of the nominees in action, it will be fun to watch where each horse is in their development and training and who might emerge as one of the leading contenders for the Plate, which is just over two months away.
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