Credit River Stretches Out in Cup and Saucer

Trainer Breeda Hayes is hoping for an encore performance from Credit River in the CA$250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes Oct. 10 at Woodbine.

A 1 1/16-mile event for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds run on the E.P. Taylor turf course, the 84th running of the Cup and Saucer has drawn nine entries, including Credit River, an Ontario-bred son of More Than Ready . Bred and owned by Garnet Williamson's Hillsbrook Farms, the colt had a dazzling debut in the Ontario Racing Stakes Sept.19 at Woodbine.

Under Emma-Jayne Wilson, who will be aboard again Saturday, the gray outran his 41-1 odds in grand style in the second running of the five-furlong inner turf stakes for 2-year-olds.

"It was a tough task and a tall task—I mean, a first-time starter—but he showed his talent today," Wilson said after the victory. "I just let him get his legs, he got away from there OK, but he's not nearly as quick as those guys were early and I didn't expect him to be, so when I gathered him up and asked him to pick it up, he didn't even hesitate. He was all business.

"This horse comes by his talent honestly. You can see it in the form; his mom (Like a Gem) was a multiple stakes winner that I used to ride here, and one of his siblings (half sister Hard Not to Like) was a grade 1 winner. So to see him flourish on the turf is no surprise." 

Hayes has equally high praise for Credit River, the third black-type foal out of Like a Gem for Williamson, who campaigned Hard Not to Like to a Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) score. Later she was sold to Speedway Stables, Peter Fluor, and K.C. Weiner for $1.5 million at the 2014 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale from the Michael Byrne consignment.

"My gosh, (Credit River) ran huge," said Hayes, who recorded her first career stakes win. "I was expecting him to run in a maiden race, but the maiden race didn't go. I was expecting him to gallop in that maiden race, but, you know, sometimes you go with the hand that God dealt you. And it was a good one."

She doesn't expect her young, headstrong charge to take a step backward in the Cup and Saucer.

"He'd done everything so well and so professionally ahead of his first race. He's coming into this race in great form. He is a bit of a punk. He dropped me—I'd say it was more than eight weeks ago—and I landed on a fan after galloping him. All of a sudden, he exploded. Something must have caught his eye, or somebody moved something, and I wasn't ready for him. That's why Johnny (Hayes' husband) has been galloping him since. He's doing a great job, so we're not going to take him off."

Hayes is hopeful for less drama and a carbon copy of the 2011 Cup and Saucer result, the year Hard Not to Like beat the boys for trainer Gail Cox.

"He was ready three weeks before that maiden race didn't go," Hayes said. "He's not going to be as seasoned as some of the ones that are in here, but he's fit to go the distance. I'm just crossing my fingers and hope he gets a good trip. Hopefully, he'll show a bit of that kick he did going five-eighths. We're excited." 

Last year, 18-1 Muskoka Gold, bred by the late Bill Graham, delivered conditioner Mark Casse his fourth Cup and Saucer crown. He saddles Carpe Horseshoe, Master Spy, and Beyond My Dreams in this year's edition.

Entries: Cup and Saucer S.

Woodbine, Saturday, October 10, 2020, Race 7

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Turf
• $250,000
• 2 yo
• 4:37 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Giant Waters (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	122	Daniel J. Vella	10/1
2	2Credit River (ON)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	122	Breeda Hayes	5/2
3	3Too Legit (ON)	Jerome Lermyte	122	Barbara J. Minshall	20/1
4	4Carpe Horseshoe (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	119	Mark E. Casse	8/1
5	5Master Spy (ON)	Patrick Husbands	122	Mark E. Casse	3/1
6	6Download (ON)	Justin Stein	122	Michael P. De Paulo	12/1
7	7Beyond My Dreams (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	122	Mark E. Casse	15/1
8	8Threefiftyseven (ON)	David Moran	122	Barbara J. Minshall	6/1
9	9Dragon's Brew (ON)	Daisuke Fukumoto	122	Robert P. Tiller	4/1