Canadian International: Joshua Tree makes himself right at home at Woodbine again

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Joshua Tree appears to be right at home at Woodbine.

That lesson was hammered home again here Sunday, when the 6-year-old horse, racing in the $1 million Canadian International for the fourth consecutive year, won the Grade 1 event for the third time. His only loss in the Canadian International came in 2011, when he finished second.

Joshua Tree’s winning payoffs in the Canadian International were $15.30 on Sunday, $10.70 last year, and $11.20 in 2010, and he was 11-1 when he was the runner-up.

His Beyer Speed Figure for Sunday’s three-quarter-length score over a rallying Hyper was a 102, one point lower than last year’s number but one point higher than in his first two ventures in the 1 1/2-mile turf race.

And Joshua Tree’s remarkable consistency in the Canadian International has come despite his running here for three different trainers: Edward Dunlop this year, Marco Botti in 2012 and 2011, and Aidan O’Brien in 2010. He’s also had four different jockeys in the race: Ryan Moore (2013), Frankie Dettori (2012), Adam Kirby (2011), and Colm O’Donoghue (2010).

“He traveled in well,” head lad Andrew Stringer said as he walked the shed row with a lively Joshua Tree here Monday. “The trainer was calling all week, asking if everything was okay. Everything was perfect.”

Unfortunately for the fan base that Joshua Tree has created here, this year’s Canadian International is to be his last. The Irish-bred horse is scheduled to go to stud in France at the end of his 2013 campaign.

The party might not be over quite yet, however, as Joshua Tree has been invited to the Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on Nov. 24 and the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on Dec. 8.

Prior to Sunday, Dunlop’s most recent starter in Canada had been Hold to Ransom, who finished fifth in the 2003 Canadian International. Dunlop won the 2002 E.P. Taylor Stakes with Fraulein.

Sunday’s Canadian International was the third for Moore, who rode Ask to a second-place finish in 2007 and finished sixth aboard Imperial Monarch last year. Moore also finished third in Sunday’s Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes with Moment In Time before getting his first career win in Canada with Joshua Tree.

Hyper, based in New York with trainer Chad Brown, rallied strongly to finish second in the Canadian International under jockey Joel Rosario.

“He ran exceptionally well,” assistant trainer Jason Desilets said. “I’m not sure what’s next. It’s something we’ll discuss with his owners.”

Hyper and Slumber, who finished sixth as the 8-5 favorite in the Canadian International, had been under consideration for this Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita before being pointed to Woodbine.

“We should have gone to the Breeders’ Cup,” Slumber’s trainer, Bill Mott, said after the Canadian International. “The turf was too soft.”

Neil Drysdale, who trains Canadian International ninth-place finisher Lucayan, also wasted few words in assessing his charge’s performance.

“Too far, too soft,” said Drysdale, adding that Lucayan was not scheduled to see action again this season but would return in 2014.

Seismos and Now We Can, who finished third and fourth, will head back to Europe on Thursday and are scheduled to campaign again in 2014.

Forte Dei Marmi and Perfect Timber, both trained here by Roger Attfield, disappointed with their seventh- and last-place finishes in the field of 10.

“Neither of them were handling the going,” Attfield said. “Perfect Timber got squeezed a little bit and lost his stride and never really got back into it. Forte Dei Marmi never got through it at all.”

Perfect Timber actually was clipped when in tight, and the cut required four stitches. Attfield said Monday that both horses will be freshened at his Payson Park base in Florida.

◗ Total handle for the 11-race Canadian International card was $5,915,540, down 7 percent from the $6,326,478 wagered last year. The handle on the Canadian International itself was $1,125,480, down 9.6 percent from last year’s $1,233,429. Last year’s Canadian International card was held Oct. 14.