
Power Rankings: Owen Almighty Enters Derby Top 10 after Tampa Tour de Force
Slipping up the inside of front-running stablemate Filo Di Arianna, Win for the Money rallied to score a 13-1 upset under jockey Patrick Husbands in the Grade 1 $1 million Rogers Woodbine Mile Stakes Sept. 14 at Woodbine.
Early leader Filo Di Arianna held on second, giving Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse a 1-2 finish. Big Rock finished third. Favored Naval Power ran fourth.
The Woodbine Mile is a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, and with his victory, Win for the Money earned a "win and you're in" automatic berth into the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
The 4-year-old gelding was last seen finishing second at Ellis Park in the Kentucky Downs Preview Mint Millions Turf Mile, but rather than send him to Kentucky Downs to chase the Mint Millions' seven-figure purse, trainer Mark Casse sent Win for the Money north of the Canadian border.
The horse handled the rest.
Relaxed out of the gate, Win for the Money and jockey Patrick Husbands took station on the rail, right behind odds-on favorite Naval Power and jockey William Buick. They raced that way until the top of the stretch when a hole opened on the inside big enough that either or both could have gone through. While Naval Power stalled out, Win for the Money took the opportunity, shot through the hole, and ran on to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Win for the Money finished the 1 mile on firm going in 1:32.11.
"I had a perfect trip," Husbands said.
Casse assistant Kathryn Sullivan said the upset was not a total surprise to Win for the Money's connections and she thought the gelding had a legitimate chance in the race.
"Yes, I did think he might surprise some people," Sullivan said. "He's really been training well. He'd been doing really well so we were pretty confident."
Sullivan did not dismiss the possibility that Win for the Money, fresh from his first-ever graded stakes win, might advance to the Breeders' Cup Mile.
"(Live Oak Plantation owner Charlotte Weber) and Mark (Casse) will discuss it and figure out the best place for him. It's a possibility, I would think."
The disappointment in the Woodbine Mile was Godolphin's Naval Power in fourth place. Naval Power's connections, Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and jockey William Buick, all combined to win the Woodbine Mile in 2022 with Modern Games and again in 2003 with Master of the Seas. Both of those horses went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile.
Two British-raced colts, New Century and Al Qudra, rallied to finish 1-2 in the Grade 1 $503,000 bet365 Summer Stakes on Sept. 14 at Woodbine.
New Century, trained by Andrew Balding and ridden by Oisin Murphy, closed from eighth to win by 1 1/4 lengths. He ran a mile on firm turf in 1:32.80, returning $8.10 to win as the second favorite behind Al Qudra.
The duo of Godolphin's Al Qudra and Qatar Racing's New Century had finished first and second in the July 27 Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot and again completed the exacta in the Summer Stakes, this time with the order of finish reversed. New Century, unable to catch Al Qudra at Ascot, outkicked him in the Woodbine stretch on Saturday.
Mark Casse-trained Dream On, ridden by Sahin Civaci, finished third after drifting out in the lane and making contact with the William Buick-ridden Al Qudra, possibly costing Qudra a better finish. The top two also appeared to make earlier contact.
"It was a brilliant performance," Murphy said of New Century. "I'm delighted for his stallion, Kameko, his first group 1 winner."
The Summer Stakes was a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series qualifying race, giving New Century a paid entry into the Nov. 1 Prevagen Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
Murphy praised the Qatar Racing team and Balding for sending the colt to Woodbine for the Summer Stakes.
"Obviously it made sense timing-wise for the Breeders' Cup," Murphy said. "Now he's gonna have to be sharper at Del Mar, but he has the class, and hopefully he can step up again." -- Byron King
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse entered racing Sept. 14 at Woodbine as a seven-time winner of the Grade 1 $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes.
Now make it eight.
The aptly-named And One More Time outbattled stablemates Vixen and Nitrogen to win, giving Casse a 1-2-3 finish. Casse started six of the 11 2-year-old fillies in the field for the one-mile grass race that was a part of Breeders' Cup Challenge "win and you're in" Series. And One More Time earned an automatic, paid berth in the Nov. 1 John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar.
Chasing pacesetting Nitrogen through fractions of :23.28, :46.57, and 1:10.79 over firm ground, And One More Time was joined down the stretch by Vixen, who surged to her outside. Vixen's looming presence did not discourage And One More Time as she grittily held off that oncoming rival by a head as they overtook Nitrogen in the final sixteenth of a mile. The winner was clocked in 1:33.99 for the distance under jockey Rafael Hernandez.
"She just ran wonderfully. A lot of heart," said Casse's assistant trainer, Kathryn Sullivan. "We knew from her race at Saratoga we had a special filly, but I think she really proved it today."
Disappointing was favored Mountain Breeze, who never threatened and finished eighth.
Coming out of two shorter races on dirt, first at Churchill Downs and later at Saratoga Race Course where she broke her maiden in an off-the-turf maiden race in the mud going 5 1/2 furlongs, And One More Time slipped past the betting public, paying $35.40 to win. -- Byron King
Hightailing straight to the lead, Full Count Felicia blew the doors off the field to win the Sept. 14 Grade 1 $750,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes in a dominating gate-to-wire performance at Woodbine.
Full Count Felicia raced unchallenged on the front end under jockey Kazushi Kimura and was able to open-up an 18-length lead at one point in the race. Still on top by a dozen lengths turning for home, the match race between former Canadian Horses of the Year Moira and Fev Rover never materialized as Full Count Felicia breezed to the wire much the best by 3 1/2 lengths.
Trained by Kevin Attard, the daughter of War Front raced the 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.29 over a firm turf course.
Moira, left with far too much to do, closed to finish second over Fev Rover who was third.
The field was reduced to five with the scratch of Grade 1-winning Godolphin filly Cinderella's Dream. -- Molly Rollins