Carpe Horseshoe poised to seize maiden victory
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Carpe Horseshoe has made her way down to an inviting level in the nightcap on Thursday’s eight-race Woodbine program, and she seems on target to earn her diploma in the $25,000 maiden sprint for fillies and mares.
Carpe Horseshoe is by Carpe Diem, sire of Summertime Magic, who was victorious in Saturday’s $100,000 Ruling Angel Stakes. Both are trained by Mark Casse.
When Carpe Horseshoe launched her juvenile campaign in 2020 with three consecutive runner-up placings, it looked like she had potential, and her subsequent fifth-place finish against the boys in the Cup and Saucer Stakes wasn’t bad. However, Carpe Diem failed to break through in four starts last year, and she went to the sidelines after a dreadful performance as the favorite in a $40,000 claimer on the inner turf Aug. 21.
In her only start this year, which came against males here April 24, she finished third after making a bid and then tiring in the final furlong.
Carpe Horseshoe doesn’t have much to beat on Thursday, when regular rider Rafael Hernandez will break her from the rail going 6 1/2 furlongs. She’s an obvious key on top in vertical wagers, and should be quite popular in the multi-race wagers as well.
Green Gables figures to lead the way, although the distance has proven to be just beyond her optimum. Last September, she led until the final strides at 6 1/2 furlongs on the grass and finished a close second.
In her 2022 season opener on May 6, Green Gables set honest fractions along the inside before fading to fourth over an outside-biased track going 5 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta. Eswan Flores will ride the 4-year-old daughter of hot Ontario sire Reload for trainer Rodney Barrow.
Longtime maiden Cedar Valley, trained and co-owned by Cary Brooks, benefited from the aforementioned bias when she outran Green Gables for third in her May 6 comeback. It took her a few starts to reach her peak last year, and she dropped a nose decision at this $25,000 class on the turf in September. Keveh Nicholls retains the mount on 5-year-old, who’s shedding the blinkers.
Like Cedar Valley, Classic Queen is a candidate for the bottom of intra-race wagers. After tracking the leaders on the backstretch in her April 30 opener, she was shuffled back in traffic on the turn before coming back on belatedly for third. A hot Gary Boulanger takes over in the saddle on the Danny Vella trainee.
Mizz Gemma, who found her niche routing last fall, has been idle since a narrow loss under Boulanger Dec. 5. Daisuke Fukumoto, who just rode Classic Queen, inherits the mount from Boulanger on the 3-year-old. She’s the first starter this year for trainer Ralph Biamonte, who’s traditionally a slow starter at this meet.