Treason ready for Grade 2 Autumn test

TORONTO, November 3, 2022 – Eleven horses, including Treason, will load into the gate for the Grade 2 Autumn Stakes, at 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta, Sunday at Woodbine.

Owned by LNJ Foxwoods and MSK Racing Ventures, LLC, the 4-year-old son of Constitution-Cougarstown heads into the 1 1/16-mile race off a monster effort at Woodbine on September 4.

Sent off at 9-5 in the 1 1/16-mile allowance optional claiming race, Treason was 4 ½ lengths in front after the first quarter, nine on top at the stretch call and 16 ½ ahead of his nearest rival at the wire. The final time over the Tapeta was 1:41.51.

“We liked him, he had been training well and we felt he would take to synthetic being a Constitution,” said Jaime Roth, of LNJ Foxwoods. “But no one can ever imagine that kind of performance. I was a little nervous when he broke because it seemed like he might be running off a little bit, but when he got into that beautiful stride, it was great to see. We were expecting a great effort, but definitely not like that.”

Trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll, the bay, bred in Kentucky by Ramspring Farm, won at first asking last June in a mile turf race at Belmont, a 25-1 upset over firm ground.

Treason was then eighth, fifth and fifth again in his next three starts, his final start of the 2021 campaign coming on September 23.

He marked his return to racing, nearly one year later, with the eye-catching score six weeks ago at Woodbine.

“We had gelded him and then gave him time before we sent him up to Josie,” said Roth. “We really felt that having him gelded would be beneficial as it is in a lot of cases. He was a little tough to handle, so we knew that would be huge.”

Now, Treason, who worked 4 furlongs, breezing, in :51.80 over the Tapeta on October 31, will attempt to carry that momentum into his first stakes engagement, one Roth believes he is ready for.

“I got a pretty big response from Canadian racing after that win,” recalled Roth. “I got a lot of phone calls from the people I care about. I don’t think he necessarily has to run back to that performance. You never know, especially after running such a huge race. I think Josie did a great job with spacing of the races. I would hope that he keeps his mind focused and runs well again, something in line with what he did last time. He doesn’t have to win by 20. I just want to see a horse that comes off that win not too tense and does his job. I think he will. He’s been training well. Definitely excited to see him run.”

Roth and her family will have another reason to cheer this weekend.

Olympiad, a son of Speightstown, will take on seven rivals, including much-heralded Flightline, in the Grade 1 $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, Saturday at Keeneland.

The 4-year-old bay colt has won eight of 12 career starts, including five graded stakes victories, highlighted by the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Saratoga. He’s won from seven furlongs to 1 ¼ miles, earning more than $2 million to date.

Bred by Emory Hamilton and sold for $700,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2019, Olympiad is owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

Olympiad has won six of seven starts this year, including the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 3 at Saratoga.

He’ll take on a star-stacked field, including unbeaten 3-5 morning line choice Flightline.

“Olympiad got there Sunday, and it was a smooth trip,” said Roth. “Hopefully, he runs a big race. When I got to see his training saddle cloth for the first time – not that I don’t appreciate what he’s done this year – it was a moment where you said, ‘Wow… we’re in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.’ I love my horse. He’s six for seven this year and there was that weird, funky effort [fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney in August] on a hot day. Other than that, he’s been perfect. I know who we have to beat, but we’ll give it our all.”

First post time is 1:20 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$175,000 GRADE 2 AUTUMN 

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Harlan Estate – Leo Salles – Kevin Attard

2 – Novol Sol (BRZ) – Patrick Husbands – Saffie Joseph Jr.

3 – War Bomber (IRE) – Sahin Civaci – Norm McKnight

4 – Mighty Heart – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

5 – Frosted Over – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

6 – Who’s the Star – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

7 – Riptide Rock – Slade Jones – Sid Attard

8 – Treason – Justin Stein – Josie Carroll

9 – Money Printer – Rafael Hernandez – Larry Attard

10 – Artie’s Storm – David Moran – Paul Buttigieg

11 – Candy Overload – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

Chris Lomon, Woodbine Communications / @WoodbineComms