Curlin's Voyage could be Queen's Plate favorite after dominating Woodbine Oaks win
ETOBICOKE, Ontario—Curlin’s Voyage, the reigning Canadian champion 2-year-old filly, stamped herself as the probable favorite for the Sept. 12 Queen’s Plate when capturing Saturday’s $500,800 Woodbine Oaks under a fine ride from Patrick Husbands.
Curlin’s Voyage ($4.70) bided her time about eight lengths off a fast pace in the nine-furlong event for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies. Infinite Patience outran the rabbit Bayou Belle for the lead and set fractions of 23.15, 46.79, and 1:11.21.
Curlin’s Voyage rallied inside to hit the front entering the stretch, and then opened up a clear lead before appearing to idle in the final sixteenth. She prevailed by 1 3/4 lengths over Afleet Katherine, who was a half-length ahead of another Kevin Attard trainee, Merveilleux. Mizzen Beau finished fourth in the 10-horse field.
The final time was 1:50.04. Clayton won the Plate Trial at the same distance earlier on the card in 1:50.61.
Curlin’s Voyage gave Husbands his fourth Oaks victory, and the striking daughter of Curlin was trainer Josie Carroll’s second Oaks winner.
“She likes the game,” Husbands said. “One thing about her, man, you’ve got to ride her hard. That’s the only thing I can’t understand, but she got the job done.”
Carroll’s training job was admirable, getting Curlin’s Voyage ready for the Oaks off a pair of sprint preps.
“She’s a very special filly,” Carroll said. “We knew what we had from the start when we were very bold and put her against the boys first time out in a stakes. It’s not something you do lightly. You have to think one’s special. I had some concerns this year, with the way the stakes schedule played out. I knew I wasn’t going to get a two-turn race into her. It gave me some concern, but I trained her fairly hard into this race, and she just thrived on it. Good horses thrive on training.”
Curlin’s Voyage collected $300,000 for the partnership of Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings Inc. and Windsor Boys Racing, boosting her bankroll to $664,120.