Desert Ride aces Tapeta test in winning Woodbine Oaks
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Kentucky shipper Desert Ride made her first synthetic-track start a dramatic one by taking Saturday’s $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, stamping herself as a contender for the June 29 Queen’s Plate.
Desert Ride trailed the 10-horse field on the first turn and then raced near the rear of the pack on the backstretch in the nine-furlong Tapeta route.
Intanga Rose set quick fractions, with the favored Speedy Soul in close proximity, before a wide-closing Bold Script swept by them inside the eighth pole. Desert Ride followed Bold Script around and then caught her in deep stretch to win by neck in 1:50.43.
Intanga Rose faded to fourth, and Preferred Guest checked in fifth in the field of Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.
Trained by Neil Howard, Desert Ride gave Sam-Son Farm a record eighth win in the Woodbine Oaks. The daughter of Candy Ride won two of her three previous starts, all on turf in maiden and allowance company, at Keeneland and Fair Grounds.
“I watched her races, and she comes from behind,” said jockey Steven Ronald Bahen, who was winning his third Woodbine Oaks. “Neil said to get her settled in and try to give her a good trip. Down the backside, I got her out and gave her a shot to run at them. I started a little early on her, but when I turned for home, she gave me a huge run like she did in her previous races.”
Desert Ride ($18.50) banked $300,000 in her stakes debut.
“She’s a lovely filly,” said Howard. “The mile and an eighth was obviously something that we were looking forward to. She needed every bit of that. The boy rode her beautiful.”
