Canadian Premier Yearling Sale grads chase stakes glory Sunday

TORONTO, August 27, 2021 – Numerous notable Canadian Premier Yearling Sale graduates will step into the spotlight in four stakes races set for this Sunday at Woodbine.

Sponsored by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp. (OLG), the Canadian Sales Stakes annually highlights past Canadian-bred sale graduates ahead of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s yearling sale, which will be held on Wednesday, September 1 at noon (ET) in the Woodbine Sales Pavilion.

$100,000 ELGIN STAKES – for 3-year-old colts & geldings, foaled in Canada

Seven starters are set to meet up in the seven-furlong Elgin Stakes.

Secret Reserve, a son of Giant Gizmo, arrives at the main track event off a sterling score on July 24 at Woodbine. Trained by Mike Mattine for Carlo D’Amato and Stacey Van Camp, the gelding, bred by Dr. Brian Van Arem, blew by his rivals in the six-furlong sprint over the Tapeta for an authoritative 4 ¼-length triumph.

Mattine, a lifetime winner of 390 races, was impressed by the dark bay’s turn of foot.

“When he made the lead, the way he finished… he won under a hand ride and galloped out really well,” praised Mattine.

Sporting a 2-0-0 record from three starts, Secret Reserve, who won his career bow on September 12, seeks to deliver his connections a stakes victory in what will be his added-money debut.

“In his last race, he ran the way he had been breezing,” said Mattine. “As a 2-year-old, when we worked him, he showed a lot of speed, but this year when he works, he relaxes when he starts up and finishes very well.”

On July 22, Secret Reserve breezed five furlongs in :59 ahead of Sunday’s race.

“He galloped out really strong. Now, the next test is to see if we can get him seven-eighths, to have him relax and finish well like last time. He’s matured a lot since those days, the times when he was all about speed in his breezes. Hopefully, he runs another one just like his last race. It’s a step up, but hopefully, he can take that next step and handle the seven furlongs.”

Jelgo, another son of Giant Gizmo, heads into the Elgin on a winning note.

Trained by Matt Douglas for owner John Handbury, the chestnut was well prepared for his career bow on July 24 at Woodbine.

Under Sahin Civaci, who will be aboard again on Sunday, Jelgo converted a two-length lead at the stretch call into a 4 ¼-length win over seven panels on the Woodbine main.

“We were expecting him to run a good one,” said Douglas. “We were excited. The most impressive thing to me about that race was the run from the 70-yard pole to the wire. When Sahin asked him to run a little bit, he really dug in, his stride opened up and he galloped out so well. I was expecting him to run big, but he really impressed me, and ran even better than I thought he would.”

The gelding, bred by Dr. R. K. House, is in good order ahead of his first stakes assignment.

“He was pretty tired after that first start,” said Douglas. “But he’s had five weeks between races and we’ve had a lot of time to freshen him back up. We gave him a couple of little breezes in between here. He’s doing great. We can’t ask for anything better with him right now.”

Douglas realized early on that Jelgo had potential.

“I think it was his third or fourth breeze when he made you take notice. His first couple of breezes were pretty normal, but then with the third and fourth one, the light came on. I thought, ‘This horse is good. We’re lucky to have him.’ He was pretty rude last year. We gelded him last summer and this year, he’s a puppy dog. He’s so classy and he’s so nice.”

FIELD FOR THE ELGIN

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Secret Reserve – Rafael Hernandez – Mike Mattine
2 – Jelgo – Sahin Civaci – Matt Douglas
3 – Perfect Crime – Justin Stein – Ashlee Brnjas
4 – Funiculi – Daisuke Fukumoto – Ralph Biamonte
5 – Kosmonavt – Antonio Gallardo – Norm McKnight
6 – Mason’s Gamble – Patrick Husbands – Josie Carroll
7 – Dragon’s Brew – Kazushi Kimura – Robert Tiller

$100,000 ALGOMA STAKES – for 3-year-old fillies, foaled in Canada

Nine fillies are set to travel seven panels on the Tapeta, a field that includes stakes winners Jilli Marie and Lorena, who will each look to get back on track after tough results in the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser. Fourteen Days won two starts back to break her maiden, and Pemberley comes into the Algoma off a winning effort. Both will test out the stakes ranks for the first time.

FIELD FOR THE ALGOMA

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Jilli Marie – Steven Bahen – Katerina Vassilieva
2 – Ms Wicked (S) – Justin Stein – Ross Armata Jr.
3 – Big Ginger – David Moran – Paul Buttigieg
4 – Pemberley – Daisuke Fukumoto – Mike Mattine
5 – Fourteen Days – Shaun Bridgmohan – Randy Thompson
6 – Lorena – Gary Boulanger – Stuart Simon
7 – Raven Echo – Sahin Civaci – Danny Yu
8 – Owen’s Tour Guide – Ademar Santos – Willie Armata
9 – Dance With Destiny – Kazushi Kimura – Josie Carroll

$200,000 MUSKOKA STAKES – for 2-year-old fillies, foaled in Canada

A dozen rookie fillies will travel 6 ½-furlongs on the Tapeta. Forest B, owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, and trained by Kevin Attard, arrives at the Muskoka off a maiden-breaking performance at five furlongs on July 31 at Woodbine. Fun Cool, also a daughter of Old Forester, won at first asking on July 10 at the Toronto oval, a 2 ¼-length score at 4 ½-furlongs. The chestnut is co-owned by trainer Dale Desruisseaux.

FIELD FOR THE MUSKOKA

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Proud Speaker – Luis Contreras – Ian Black
2 – Thatsitthatsall – Kirk Johnson – Debra Rombis
3 – Baksheesh – Kazushi Kimura – Ralph Biamonte
4 – Fun Cool – Gary Boulanger – Dale Desruisseaux
5 – Exit Stage Right – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Daniel Vella
6 – Forest B – Antonio Gallardo – Kevin Attard
7 – Grande Bella – Tony Maragh – John Mattine
8 – Oneofthemgirls – Steven Bahen – Preston Ferris
9 – Gormley Girl – Daisuke Fukumoto – Paul Buttigieg
10 – Swinging Mandy – Justin Stein – Dale Desruisseaux
11 – Dazzling Diva – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll
12 – Allpaidup – Patrick Husbands – Randy Thompson

$200,000 SIMCOE STAKES – for 2-year-old colts & geldings, foaled in Canada

A son of Society’s Chairman, Chairman Bob was impressive in his debut on August 8 at Woodbine. Owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, the colt rallied from eleventh to notch a 1 ¼-length victory at six furlongs over the Tapeta at odds of 9-1. The bay is trained by Kevin Attard, who also sends out first-time starter Super Headline. Bred and owned by Derek Chin, the son of Giant Gizmo will leave the gate from the outside post 11 in the 6 ½-furlong main track event.

First race post time for Sunday’s 11-race card is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on the races through HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE SIMCOE

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Chairman Bob – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
2 – Wicked Crazy – David Moran – Jamie Attard
3 – Ironstone – Ademar Santos – Willie Armata
4 – Section Ten – Eswan Flores – Desmond Maynard
5 – Timmins – Luis Contreras – Barbara Minshall
6 – Ultimate Answer – Larry Munoz – Martin Hinckson
7 – Summer Sunset – Emma-Jayne Wilson – William Tharrenos
8 – Where’s Neal (S) – Justin Stein – Daniel Vella
9 – Midnight Arkle – Daisuke Fukumoto – John Ross
10 – Ethnic Soul – Jason Hoyte – Randy Thompson
11 – Super Headline – Antonio Gallardo – Kevin Attard