Prince Kamali a safe banker
TORONTO, Canada (CMC): RIDING ACE Patrick Husbands carved out a dominant ride aboard hot pre-race favourite Golden Hawk to snatch the CND$150,000 Grade III Grey Stakes in style at Woodbine racetrack here on Sunday.
Going off at odds of 3-5, the pair made nearly all the running over the mile and sixteenth trip to slam the two-year-olds by 51/4 lengths in a time of one minute, 43.38 seconds.
“With a small field, you don’t want to get trapped on the first turn,” the 43-year-old Husbands said. “So I just let him run away from there, and he just pricked his ears. I had everything my way.”
Husbands broke the chestnut colt smartly and disputed the lead with Han Sense into the first turn before getting to the front to unleash splits of 24.51 seconds and 48.60 seconds.
Han Sense tracked from second with Night Watchman tucked in behind, and Preemptive Strike and King and his Court bringing up the rear of the small field.
On the final turn, the pace quickened as King and His Court Patrick Husbands
and Night Watchman came to challenge on the outside, and Han Sense along the rails.
But Husbands responded by finally releasing his hold on Golden Hawk, and the colt sprinted away from his rivals under a vigorous hands-ride and reached the wire without a challenger.
The victory was one of two on the 10-race card for Husbands, who also captured race six over six furlongs, partnering with 4-1 chance Heard That to beat the two-year-old maiden fillies by 31/2 lengths.
Husbands is a seven-time Woodbine champion jockey.
TOMORROW’S 11-RACE programme at Caymanas Park offers a Pick-9 carryover of $1.4 million, but both Super-6s start anew.
The Pick-9 will embrace races three to 11, the first Super-6 from race one to six, the late Super-6 from race six to 11.
We look at the first Super-6, which commences with the Cash Pot ‘Rake’ Trophy for four-year-olds and up over 1400 metres to be contested by seven starters, all native bred fouryear-olds.
With the likes of FIERY PATH, MONALISASMILE, HOMECOMING and FREE RANGE all expected to prove competitive, a close finish is anticipated.
FIERY PATH, however, has the best credentials, having caught the eye when finishing four lengths second to UNRULY TEXAS in a fast-run one mile race (1.41.3) some days ago.
FIERY PATH, who showed good speed until giving way to the winner early in the straight, finished seven lengths clear of the third horse, FREE RANGE, and with top apprentice Bebeto Harvey riding for trainer Donovan Plummer, looks the right choice over this shorter trip.
The second race over 1300 metres for the Cash Pot Bonanza Trophy, should provide FIERY PATH (right), with Bebeto Harvey aboard, placing second to the Dane Dawkinsridden aboard UNRULY TEXAS at Caymanas Park on October 1. FIERY PATH is strongly fancied to win tomorrow’s first race.
the steadily improving 4-y-o colt LEIGHTON REID from the stables of topline trainer Anthony ‘Baba’ Nunes with his second consecutive win.
The Region of Merit offspring will have the services of bang in form claiming apprentice Dane Dawkins, and having broken the ice, should repeat at the expense of DIRECTOR DALEY (improving) and down in class MILITARY MOVE in a nine-strong field.
DYSFUNCTIONAL, who was caught within shades of the wire by lesser fancied stable-companion QUEEN OF BAGDAD over 1300 metres recently, will relish the milder pace of the third race over
1820 metres, and with leading jockey Omar Walker retaining the ride from champion trainer Wayne DaCosta, should make no mistake.
Fellow three-year-olds COUNTER ATTACK (Dawkins up) and GOLDEN GLORY are twin dangers in a field of nine.
PRINCE KAMALI, with Harvey aboard, has been knocking at the door lately and should be good enough to stave off his only serious rival, BIG AL (Dawkins up) in the fourth race for maiden three-year-olds over 1100 metres, this for the Cash Pot ‘Play it’ Trophy.
The last two races in the first Super-6 should be won by the
Philip Feanny-trained 2-y-o debutante FORT KNOX (working well) with Ian Spence aboard, and in the sixth, LEEKOUT (beaten narrowly last time) with champion jockey Shane Ellis riding for new trainer Michael Marlowe in a field of 13 maiden three-year-olds.
FIRST SUPER-6 FANCIES
(1) FIERY PATH/FREE RANGE (2) LEIGHTON REID/
DIRECTOR DALEY (3) DYSFUNCTIONAL/
COUNTER ATTACK (4) PRINCE KAMALI (5) FORT KNOX/RADICAL (6) LEEKOUT/MA GRANDE