Woodbine
Getting to Know Woodbine
Few trips to new cities begin better than by getting into a cab and saying, “Take me to the racetrack.” Except those in which the cabbie knows exactly where you want to go. Barely five minutes in Toronto, and I had a great feeling about this weekend at Woodbine for Canadian International day.
More on Sunday about the International card. For now, a few photos:
Swimmer Summer Mortimer, a gold medal winner at the 2012 Paralympics and the guest drawmaster for the International, posing with her medal and the Canadian International trophy after the field was drawn on Thursday.
The guest drawmaster is a Woodbine tradition. Walls in the press box bar are decorated with photos of notables who took part in past years.
Prince Will I Am in his stall. He drew post five in the International, which is his second race following a 15 month layoff. “I am very excited abut him,” trainer Michelle Nihei told the Toronto Star.
Scalo and groom in the barn where all the European entrants are stabled. The Group 1 winner in Germany is making his third start at Woodbine in the International, in which he drew post four. In his most recent work, a bullet, he worked in blinkers. He’ll be first-time Blinkers On in the International.
Stars to Shine, a goofy charmer. She drew post one in the E.P. Taylor Stakes. The 5-year-old mare last won the G3 Ontario Matron Stakes in July.
Videographer Ernie Munick is also at Woodbine. Friday morning, he walked the turf course with track maintenance superintendent Irwin Driedger, a former Sovereign Award-winning jockey. The two talked about the condition of the grass (lush) and the peculiarities of the course.
A low-lying view down the turf course from the finish line.
And for a little lunch … Woodbine’s famed roast beef sandwich. Freshly sliced, served with gravy. As delicious as promised.
Firsts and Lasts in Ontario
In advance of a trip to Woodbine for next Sunday’s Pattison Canadian International Stakes, I’ve been reading up on the race’s history. It’s drawn globetrotters such as Dahlia; it’s been part of championship seasons like that of 1997 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Chief Bearhart.
It was also Secretariat’s last start. That the Triple Crown winner ended his 21-race career at Woodbine, in Toronto, Ontario was a nice nod to racing history and the original Big Red — Man o’ War’s 21st, and final, start was a 1920 match race at Kenilworth Park in Windsor, Ontario, in which he defeated Sir Barton, the first-ever Triple Crown winner, by 17 lengths (there’s film).
According to the Thoroughbred Record’s account of the star’s appearance:
With a slightly different perspective, Secretariat’s arrival in Toronto six days before the Championship had overtones of the Threatre of the Absurd, with pockets of newsmen, photographers and television cameramen paying court to this four-footed millionaire from the sky. With Secretariat safely billeted in Barn 8 at Woodbine, looking out at the newly sodded surrounds, visitors were kept at bay by a nine-man security guard and signs which said: “Admittance by Appointment Only.” A telephone was installed ten feet from Secretariat’s stall … so that his handlers could use the phone without leaving the colt unattended, one was told. But, noticing the intelligent glint in Secretariat’s eye, one wondered.
“He can do everything but talk,” quipped Mr. Laurin…. “He’s a real ham.”
That he was also a real race horse was evident from his morning gallops, expending as little energy as possible in his preparation, and seemingly floating over the grass, balanced like a dancer.
To please trainer Lucien Laurin, the grass on Woodbine’s Marshall turf course was cut from approximately 4 1/2 inches in height to two inches, and parts of the course were patched with new sod and rolled. (“The course has never been better than it is right now,” said Woodbine tub thumper Bruce Walker.) Secretariat was obviously at ease on the surface: He worked five furlongs in :57 3/5 on the grass three days before the race, and skipped over the firm turf to win the International by 6 1/2 lengths, beating 11 others for a purse that totaled $142,700, the largest then ever offered in Canada. His $92,755 share of the purse brought his single-season earnings to a record $860,404. No other horse had ever won so much in one year.
In 1974, Dahlia — who had her own earnings record, as the first of her sex to win more than $1 million — set a new course record, running the International in 2:40, a full second faster than The Axe II had in the 1963 edition. The win was significant for another reason — it made Dahlia a stakes winner in five countries. Running and winning stakes around the world is still an exceptional accomplishment; 38 years ago, though, a 4-year-old filly with a career record that included wins in the International (Canada), Irish Oaks (Ireland), King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (England), Man o’ War Stakes (United States), and the Prix Saint-Alary (France) was a truly remarkable filly indeed.
– – – – –
This year’s Euro starters have begun to arrive for the Canadian International, as well as for the E.P. Taylor and Nearctic. Next Sunday’s races at Woodbine are the last three Breeders’ Cup Challenge races of 2012.
Swept
In 2005, the Euros swept the Breeders’ Cup Turf superfecta. Is there any doubt we could see the same this year? At Woodbine on Saturday, Group 2 winner Joshua Tree won the Grade 1 Canadian International by a head over Swedish staker winner Mores Wells. And that wasn’t all: “European-based horses swept the three Grade 1 races at Woodbine on Saturday.” Given how strong European turf form has been in 2010, I suppose it’s a good thing the Breeders’ Cup returns to dirt at Churchill Downs — otherwise the Americans might have been in for serious competition in main track races run over a synthetic surface, as well as the usual beating over grass. Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic third-place finisher and two-time Champion Stakes winner Twice Over is one who won’t be challenging Zenyatta again because of the surface: “He won’t go to the Breeders’ Cup as the Prince [Khalid Abdullah] does not want to run him on dirt in America,” said trainer Henry Cecil on Saturday.
About
Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
Elsewhere
Find Jessica on Pinboard and Instagram, Railbird on LibraryThing and Twitter.
Etc.
Links
Search
Boston Racing
Spreadsheets/Data
← Home
Copyright © 2000-2026 by Jessica Chapel. All rights reserved.