TORONTO, December 13, 2025 – Hurricane Clair, the 4-5 choice, took control early and never looked back in the $100,000 La Prevoyante Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile feature for Ontario-sired fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, Saturday at Woodbine. It was Hurricane Clair, with Eswan Flores in the irons, who broke sharply from the outside post eight and sailed to the front, followed into the opening turn by Hint, War Painter and Ella It Is. Hurricane Clair, who had contested four straight graded stakes heading into the La Prevoyante, held a two-length advantage over Hint through an opening quarter in :24.85. The daughter of Silent Name (JPN) out of the Weather Warning mare Hurricane Clair continued to confidently control the pace and was 3 ½ lengths clear after a half in :49.47 that yielded little change in the running order. Fifth in last year’s running of the La Prevoyante, Hurricane Clair, still full of vigor on the front end, headed into the turn for home well in charge, while War Painter attempted to reel in her rival straightening for the wire, but was unable to make any inroads in upper stretch. Ahead by four lengths at the stretch call, the 4-year-old bay filly, trained by Martin Drexler, crossed the wire a 3 ¾-length winner. War Painter was able to outduel a late-running Secret Load by a neck for second. Ella It Is was fourth. The final time was 1:45.27. A decision to remove the blinkers yielded a change of fortune. “The only reason we put them [blinkers] on at the beginning was because she had a little bit of gate issues and that seemed to focus her,” said Drexler. “We kind of kept them on. It seems on the front end, it didn’t matter, but when she got behind horses, she always got a little bit keen. Today, this came up and I thought we should just try it. She doesn’t use them in the morning, she doesn’t use them to breeze, so I figured we might as well just go. With the win, Hurricane Clair, owned by David Rowbotham, Rodney Carpenter and Tony Boogmans, is 5-5-2 from 20 starts. Her last four races prior to the La Prevoyante came in the E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1T), Ontario Matron (G3), Dance Smartly (G2T) and Maple Leaf Stakes (G3), which yielded finishes of seventh, second, seventh and sixth, respectively. “She’s been good all year,” said Drexler. “We have had her in some very difficult spots. Last year, she had a really tough 3-year-old campaign and this was the spot the whole year. The rest of the year, we took some shots and she ran a couple of really good races. She seems like a much better horse on the front end, but hopefully as we go and if we come back next year with her, she can relax and track horses a little bit.” Hurricane Clair, who broke her maiden in the 2023 Muskoka Stakes – her second start – competed in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Tiara in 2024. She was third in the Woodbine Oaks on July 20, second in the Bison City Stakes on August 10 and took top prize in the $250,000 Wonder Where on September 8. Bred by Bru-Mel Stables Co., Hurricane Clair was $35,000 (CDN) purchase at the 2022 CTHS Premier Yearling Sale. She paid $3.80 for today’s win. Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
