Patches O'Houlihan favored to stay perfect on the year in Cartier
?q=100)
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The popular Patches O’Houlihan made a triumphant return to the races in his May 4 season opener at Woodbine, winning the Thorncliffe Stakes in track-record time with a whopping 108 Beyer Speed Figure. The reigning Canadian Horse of the Year will be a short price in a four-horse field in the the Grade 3, $150,000 Jacques Cartier, the opening race on Saturday’s four-stakes card at Woodbine.
Trained by Robert Tiller, Patches O’Houlihan has won five of his last six starts, all stakes. His lone loss during that run was a hard-fought second to Nobals in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road in November. Fittingly, the two-time Canadian champion male sprinter lowered the 5 1/2-furlong synthetic track record to 1:02.28 in a four-length score in the Thorncliffe under Sofia Vives.
“It was awesome,” said owner-breeder Frank Di Giulio Jr., who also campaigned five-time Canadian champion sprinter Pink Lloyd with Tiller. “When you can break the track record, that was special. I think it’s the fourth-highest Beyer under a mile this year in North America. You never expect to break a track record, and that obviously exceeded expectations. We hoped he would win, but to do it the way he did it, he did it pretty easily.”
Patches O’Houlihan breezed a half-mile in a bullet 46.40 on May 22, which wasn’t quite as fast as when he covered the same distance in 45.20 prior to the Thorncliffe.
“Not that it was slow – it was a little slower than his previous work, but he looked great,” Di Giulio said. “He’s in good order. Bob’s happy with him. That’s all you can ask for.”
The great Pink Lloyd won the six-furlong Jacques Cartier four straight years, from 2017-20.
“It would be great to win this race, to follow in his footsteps,” Di Giulio said. “I have to pinch myself to be so lucky to have two such amazing horses. I feel blessed to be a part of both of them.”
Simcoe can win the race for place money. Owned by Chiefswood Stables, Simcoe was in a tailspin before trainer Katerina Vassilieva turned him back to sprinting last fall. The son of Uncle Mo is coming off back-to-back conditioned allowance scores, with a pair of 99 Beyers, at Turfway.
“Simcoe has always shown speed in the mornings,” Vassilieva said. “In his last route race at Woodbine in October, he was up near the pace for most of the race, but just didn’t finish as well as we’d like. That prompted Chiefswood general manager [Robert Landry] and I to discuss trying a cutback in distance. We were happy to see him really flourish in shorter races, and [he] showed improvement each time out.”
Royal North draws 10
A field of 10 was drawn for the first grass stakes of the meet, the Grade 3, $150,000 Royal North. The French-bred Earhart is making her turf debut in the 6 1/2-furlong main course sprint.
The striking gray Earhart has won three of her four starts, all on Tapeta, including the Grade 3 Whimsical here May 3, for which she earned her second 96 Beyer. Josie Carroll trains the daughter of Siyouni for LNJ Foxwoods.
Toupie was victorious in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas in January at Santa Anita for trainer Graham Motion. Exiting a three-month layoff April 13, she was fourth in the Grade 3 Giant’s Causeway at Keeneland. The Royal North will be her first race with Lasix.
Gal in a Rush started twice here on the Tapeta last year when trained by the recently deceased Christophe Clement, winning the Grade 3 Hendrie and finishing a close second to Ticker Tape Home in the Grade 3 Seaway. The stretch-runner, now racing for Clement’s son Miguel, was competitive in two turf stakes last spring in New York.
Trainer Mark Casse has entered Dancing Duchess, Ready to Jam, and Ticker Tape Home.
Dancing Duchess took the Algonquin Stakes on the inner turf two years ago at 2 and won last year’s Alywow Stakes on the main turf in June. This year, she finished fourth in both the Captiva Island Stakes at Gulfstream and a Keeneland allowance.
Ready to Jam rallied for third in her May 1 season debut in a five-furlong conditioned allowance at Churchill.
Ticker Tape Home peaked last summer when landing a six-furlong conditioned allowance on the main turf before doubling up in the Seaway. Sent off at a chilly 6-1 in her seasonal bow in the Whimsical, she tracked the speedy Earhart on the backstretch before tiring to finish a distant fifth.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.