Woodbine Mohawk Park: Stay Hungry readies for Little Brown Jug with close Simcoe score
Stay Hungry will be going for the Triple Crown in the Little Brown Jug on September 20, but he made a stop at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday to race in the Simcoe for sophomore pacing colts and geldings and came away with a win. The Downtown Bus also won a division for the boys, while Shower Play upset the favorites in the lone flight for the fillies.
Racing in the second C$83,342 split, Stay Hungry (Doug McNair) was positioned fourth through opening-half fractions of 27 and 55. McNair then edged to the outside with about three-eighths of the mile to go and was a little less than three lengths behind leader Backstreet Shadow (Yannick Gingras) at the 1:23 1/5 three-quarters.
Backsteet Shadow looked strong for much of the stretch drive, while McNair was able to drop Stay Hungry into the pocket in upper stretch. McNair then angled the Cane and Messenger champ back to the outside, and he would just get by Backstreet Shadow in the last jump to win by a nose in 1:49 3/5. Hidden Delight (Trevor Henry) was third.
"The way the draw set up I figured that was kind of the way the race was going to go," said McNair. "I'd been a late first-over, and I knew Yannick's horse was going to be sprinting home hard. The Jug is in a couple weeks, and that's kind of what they're aiming at, but it was great to get a win back home."
Tony Alagna trains Stay Hungry, a colt by Somebeachsomewhere, for owners Brad Grant and Irwin Samelman. This was Stay Hungry's 11th career win, and he has now earned C$1,240,119. He was the 2-5 favorite and paid $2.90 to win.
The Downtown Bus (Tim Tetrick) was stepping up from Ontario Sires Stakes competition to battle against open foes, but it didn't matter as he posted his third straight win. He was on the point through fractions of 27 3/5, 56 1/5, and 1:23 1/5, then used a 27 1/5 final kicker to prevail by a neck in 1:50 2/5. Torrin Hanover (Randy Waples) rallied nicely three-wide through the lane after riding the cones in third to get second, and Babes Dig Me (Gingras) was third after a pocket trip.
"He's turned the corner. (Trainer Jeff Gillis) has done a good job with him," remarked Tetrick. "Every start I've driven him he's been good. Last week he trained around there pretty good in 49. Today he was up in an open class and with some better-bred horses in there, and he still got the job done. I was pretty proud of him."
A gelding by Mach Three, The Downtown Bus is trained by Gillis, and he also bred and co-owns him with partner Ellen Ott. After going 0-for-seven last year, he has eight wins as a sophomore and has pocketed C$238,700 lifetime. The even-money choice, he returned $4.20 to win.
Shower Play (Louis-Philippe Roy) downed Kissin In The Sand earlier this year in the Fan Hanover at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and she did the trick again in the C$150,996 Simcoe for sophomore pacing fillies.
Both of them looked up against it when Youaremycandygirl (Gingras) took the lead and got away with middle-half stations in just 56 4/5 and 1:24 1/5 and had an open-length advantage on the field at three-quarters, but she came up with nothing to offer in the lane. This allowed Kissin In The Sand (Scott Zeron), who had been second-over, and Shower Play, who had been last and third-over, to power by, and Shower Play out-kicked Kissin In The Sand to win by a length and a quarter in 1:52. Youaremycandygirl had to settle for third.
"She can be so quick, especially for the last quarter," stated Roy. "It's always fun to win races on the front, but going by everybody is a better feeling for sure. For a while during the middle of summer, we had some steering issues with her. They worked a lot on her and did some changes, and actually I think she's come back better than she was beginning the season."
Trainer Rene Dion also co-owns Shower Play, a daughter of Shadow Play, with partners Susie Kerwood and Martin Leveillee. Shower Play is now an eight-time winner in her career, and she shows C$454,300 in earnings. She was a 6-1 shot and paid $14.10 to win.