Woodbine Diaries: Saturday Delights

Saturday morning in Toronto started out as a damp affair: a bit of bad weather had moved in off of Lake Ontario overnight and was still lingering when I (along with Claire Novak of the Blood-Horse and Jessica Chapel from the Breeders’ Cup) met up with Woodbine’s Keith McCalmont and Dawn Kay to check out this weekend’s stakes race runners.
When we arrived at Woodbine, the sun hadn’t quite come up and the rain was still drizzling down, but it was nonetheless wonderful to watch as horses galloped under riders bundled in wet weather gear.

One of the first stops we made this morning was to go visit Ricoh Woodbine Mile contender Lea as well as his stablemate (which means that both horses are trained by the same person – in this case, Hall of Famer Bill Mott) Triple Threat, who will run in Sunday’s Northern Dancer Turf Stakes.
Lea was looking good; he’d gone out to gallop at about 6 a.m. ET, so I sadly missed his exercise session, but as he walked the shedrow (the area of the barn that encircles horses’ stalls) with his caretaker Erma, he laid eyes on my camera and immediately headed over to investigate.

That resulted in the photo below, which is just a big, big closeup of Lea’s nose. I absolutely love it!

Erma is so great with Lea, and it’s clear that the two are crazy about each other.

I was also thrilled to see Triple Threat, who I totally fell in love with at the Arlington Million in August. He’s a huge, nearly black horse who has a ton of charisma, and I am so excited to see how he does in the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes tomorrow.

After our time with the Mott trainees, we meandered over to trainer Brian Lynch’s barn just in time to see his Woodbine Mile contender Grand Arch heading out to the racetrack. Grand Arch is one of the favorites for tomorrow’s Mile, and with good reason: he’s been on a roll lately, and in his last start he won the highly competitive Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga Race Course.

Grand Arch looked fantastic has he galloped past us; he was fresh and eager to go, and had his ears pricked forward (a sign of happiness in horses) the entire time he travelled around the track.

By the way, each trainer gets to decide the color scheme and design of the saddle towels each of their horses wears. Grand Arch’s trainer Lynch is a native Australian, so the kangaroo motif on his towels definitely reflect a little Aussie pride.
Our timing this morning was pretty perfect, because when Grand Arch left the track, Obviously (another Mile favorite) stepped on. I got to see Obviously in his stall yesterday, but I was so glad to see him in action today. He’s a striking horse, and he looked very athletic as he jogged around the racetrack accompanied by the stable pony.

After his jog, Obviously headed toward the starting gate to do a little schooling. That’s horseperson-speak for training, and all he did was step in and out of the gate a few times to familiarize himself with Woodbine’s apparatus.

Obviously was relaxed and calm in the gate, so after a few minutes he rejoined his stable pony and the pair meandered back to the barn for a bath and to make some rather cheeky expressions at the camera.

Our next stop was to trainer Roger Attfield’s barn so the gang could meet Tower of Texas, who’s running in tomorrow’s Woodbine Mile. While he didn’t give his stuffed bear any pony rides today, he did bring his “A” game with his treat face. Allow me to explain: most horses (racehorses, at least) have a major weakness for peppermints. They find them irresistible, and if a Thoroughbred thinks that you’re harboring a mint anywhere about your person, begging will commence. Most of the time, this entails what I call “treat face” with wrinkled eyebrows, pricked-to-perfection ears and a head tilt. If you can resist that, you are made of iron and I don’t understand you.

Needless to say, a ham like Tower of Texas has a very polished treat face and Claire was there to give him his mint, much to Tower of Texas’ delight!

The very next place we stopped was the barn of trainer Mark Casse, who has two entrants in the Woodbine Mile: Za Approval and Kaigun. Poor Za Approval also put on his very best treat face for me in hopes that I would surrender some treats, but sadly I had nary a mint on me. I still have lingering guilt.

Kaigun, on the other hand, was a little more dignified and watched Za Approval beg until a groom swung by their stalls with a carrot to make sure both horses were happy. So, thankfully everyone won in the end!

At that point, it was time for me to head back to the press box where I arranged for a treat of my own: the world-famous Woodbine roast beef sandwich. This dream of a lunch is made up of freshly carved roast beef positively piled on a soft onion bun. Add a little horseradish, ladle on piping hot gravy, heap some pickles on the side and for about $6 you have one of the best racetrack meals around.

Seriously. It’s divine. I want another one right now just thinking about it.
After my delectable lunch, it was time for the afternoon’s big races to begin. Woodbine held two major races on Saturday: the Natalma Stakes for 2-year-old fillies that earned the winner a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; and the Summer Stakes, whose victor gets a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Both events are run at one mile on the grass, and it’s always exciting to watch young horses with so much potential begin competing at high levels.
The first of the Breeders’ Cup "Win and You’re In" races was the Natalma Stakes. Ten 2-year-old fillies were set to duke it out for bragging rights and the lion’s share of the $200,000 purse, and just as they were making their way to the paddock to have their saddles put on, the heavens opened and the rain began to come down. No one let a little bad weather spoil their day, however – I saw nothing but smiles on the competitors’ faces in the damp minutes leading up to the Natalma.

Anyone who bet on Catch a Glimpse had a big grin on their face after the race, too – the filly positively romped home, taking home the victory with ease and ensuring herself and all-expenses paid trip to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in Lexington, Ky. on Oct. 30.

The final major event of the afternoon was the Summer Stakes, the brother race to the Natama. This one’s for the boys, and nine colts and geldings (the term for a neutered horse) were ready to run. There were some beautiful horses parading in the paddock before the Summer Stakes, each more polished and athletic than the last.

Jockey Joe Bravo was a late addition to team Conquest Stables, picking up the mount on their Summer Stakes runner Conquest Daddyo. I’m sure he’s glad that he did, because the pair ended up winning decisively.

Bravo seemed to really love this colt, saying after the race, “I hope I get to sit on him next time, because he has a real turn of foot if you let him get into himself.”  Bravo also had a huge smile on his face after the race, and didn’t stop petting or praising Conquest Daddyo the entire time on the ride back and in the winner’s circle. In fact, before he dismounted, Bravo leaned forward in the saddle, ruffled his horse’s forelock, and asked him, “Who’s a good boy?” Which is wonderful.

With that, my Saturday drew to an end. There’s even more to look forward to tomorrow, with the Woodbine Mile as well as the Northern Dancer Stakes, the Canadian Stakes, plus concerts, food galore and all sorts of entertainment provided by Woodbine.
Naturally, I’ll be back to let you know everything that happens!