Moira goes in Nassau off tough trip in 2023 debut

ETOBOCOKE, Ontario – Reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Moira was upset when exiting the sidelines in Grade 3 Belle Mahone on the Tapeta. She goes back to the grass in Saturday’s Grade 2, $175,000 Nassau, one of five graded stakes on a holiday card at Woodbine billed as the Canada Day Racing Festival.

Moira, victorious in the 2022 Queen’s Plate and Woodbine Oaks, was disqualified from second to eighth for interference in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor here on the turf in October before finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland in November. In her June 3 season opener, the 1 1/16-mile Belle Mahone, she awaited room along the inside near a slow pace before coming up a neck short of front-running Souper Hoity Toity.

“She’s run two strong races on the turf,” said trainer Kevin Attard, who won the 2017 Nassau with Starship Jubilee. “Unfortunately, the E.P. Taylor resulted in a disqualification, but that doesn’t take away from the grit she showed and that ability to dig deep when the real running starts.

“She had a tough trip in the Breeders’ Cup. If things had worked out differently, who knows what the result could have been? She’s had some bad racing luck her past three starts, so hopefully she’s due for some better luck this time around.”

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Kazushi Kimura retains the mount on Moira, who twice in recent weeks worked a half-mile in company with Messier.

Fev Rover is making her first start since the Taylor, in which she finished a wide fourth before being promoted to third via disqualification. She narrowly won her previous start in the Grade 2 Canadian and hasn’t run a bad one over Woodbine’s roomy main course.

“I would expect her to run well,” trainer Mark Casse predicted. “I’m really happy with the way she’s been training.”

Front-runner Scotish Star, trained by Todd Pletcher, and the Chad Brown-trained closer Eminent Victor are both shipping in from the United States.

Highlander Stakes

Trainer Marty Drexler is widely regarded as Woodbine’s top claiming trainer, and three of his better recent claims are competing on Saturday.

Souper Dormy should be among the favorites in the Grade 2 Highlander, a six-furlong turf sprint. After a winter campaign at Gulfstream Park, the $50,000 claim won a tough conditioned allowance here June 4.

Drexler also took Highlander entrant Old Chestnut here last fall, for $32,000, and sent him out to win a first-level allowance before a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Jacques Cartier in this spring.

Leading trainer Casse entered Cadamosto, Lucky Score, and Masseto in the $200,000 Highlander.

Cadamosto was supplemented off a victory in a seven-furlong allowance on the Tapeta in his second start of the season here May 21.

“He’s a pretty good horse,” Casse said. “If you look back, he got beat two lengths in a Group 1 at Royal Ascot [the Commonwealth Cup] last year.”

Stretch-runner Lucky Score took the Grade 3 Vigil over Rockcrest last September. He was transferred to Casse following a sale after the gelding ran third in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road in November. He checked in second behind Souper Dormy in his seasonal bow on the grass, a performance Casse was content with.

“I thought he ran good,” Casse said. “We thought the grass opened him up a little bit. When we bought him, we thought he was probably turf.”

An import from England, Masseto returned from a one-year layoff to beat a good field of conditioned allowance runners in a five-furlong inner turf dash here June 15.

“The extra distance shouldn’t be a problem for him,” Casse said.

Dominion Day Stakes

Treason should be favored in the Grade 3, $150,000 Dominion Day off his breakout score in the Grade 2 Eclipse here June 4, for which he got a 99 Beyer Speed Figure under Kimura.

Kimura was back aboard when Treason breezed an easy five-eighths in 1:02.40 last Sunday.

“He’s training really good,” Kimura said. “He is a great horse to ride, very easy on himself, and very strong.”

Trainer Josie Carroll entered Treason, Tyson, and Duke of Love in the nine-horse contest.

Carrothers ran second in the 1 1/16-mile Eclipse, which ended his win streak in a trio of Tapeta routes at Gulfstream, where he was claimed for $35,000 by Drexler. The stretchout to 1 1/8 miles in the Dominion Day seems within his range.

Casse sends out Golden Glider and said that his other nominee, Canadian champion Who’s the Star, died recently after undergoing colic surgery.

Golden Glider, who was on the 2022 Triple Crown trail in the U.S., has been idle since winning the Dec. 26 Tropical Park Derby after mounting an eye-catching wide rally at Gulfstream.

“He came out of it not 100 percent,” Casse said. “We gave him a little break. He’s training up a storm right now. Patrick Husbands loves him.”

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