Johnny Bear Earns Emotional Northern Dancer Win

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Photo: Michael Burns
Johnny Bear (outside) wins the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes over Hawkbill

Trainer Ashlee Brnjas saw it with her own eyes. 

She watched the veteran gelding she affectionately says looked like "a marshmallow" when he was a yearling run down a group 1 winner in the Woodbine stretch.

And when the results of the photo finished flashed the "7" on top, she wiped at the emotion spilling down her face as the reality of her first grade 1 victory in as many tries was clear for all at the Toronto track to see.

It was a good thing Brnjas had so much tangible evidence to draw upon as she stood in the winner's circle following Johnny Bear's victory in the Sept. 16 $300,000 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G1T), because by her own admission, it is going to take some time for her mind to wrap itself around what transpired. 

"It hasn't even hit me yet," she said. "I don't know when it will. I literally didn't sleep for the last three days knowing I was running in a grade 1."

If Brnjas has another sleepless night ahead of her, it will likely be because of the excitement she is unable to temper after she stood alongside her father and co-owner John Burness and witnessed Johnny Bear get his head down over Hawkbill in the 1 1/2-mile Northern Dancer—the first graded stakes score for the English Channel  gelding in his 33rd start.

For Brnjas, who has been training since 2007, Johnny Bear's upset was the product of some enduring faith on the part of herself, her father, and co-owner Danny Dion of Bear Stables. Purchased for $278,823 out of the 2012 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) Canadian-bred sale, Johnny Bear took six tries to break his maiden before doing so at Woodbine in December of 2014, and spent the next couple seasons toiling in the optional-claiming allowance ranks.

When the 6-year-old won the OLG/OR Halton S. Presented by Tipperary Equestrian by 3 1/4 lengths going 12 furlongs at Woodbine Aug. 30, Burness and Brnjas were emboldened enough to send this hard-knocking runner into his toughest venture yet. They were confident he wouldn't embarrass himself.

They ended up being overwhelmed by how much he backed up their belief.    

"The last race, when he ran a mile and a half and won in a good time, I thought he deserved a shot in this," Burness said. "Even though we knew there were going to be tough horses in it, we thought that going this distance he would be tough also."

"He's just become a racehorse," added Brnjas, who only saddled starters in four graded stakes prior to Saturday. "When we bought him he was big and chunky and slept all the time. Then he developed into a pretty nice horse, and it took time, obviously. This is the biggest test we've given him."

Sent off at 9-1 odds in the eight-horse field, Johnny Bear got an ideal stalking trip under jockey Luis Contreras, as he rated third through fractions of :26.09 and :50.94, with Hawkbill trying to head every point of call in his North American debut.

The Godolphin runner still had those blue silks in front of the procession as he began his journey down the lengthy Woodbine stretch, but Johnny Bear advanced two-wide and was putting in the rally of his life on the outside.

"I started crying. I was just crying," said Brnjas, who has about 45 horses stabled at Woodbine. 

Johnny Bear and Hawkbill hit the wire together, with Messi gamely coming up the inside to finish third, just three-quarters of a length behind the top two. When the local fixture was confirmed as the winner, it marked his seventh victory and improved his earnings to $487,214.

Seeking Albert finished fourth, and English Illusion rounding out the top five. Johnny Bear paid $20.20 and $5.60 with no show wagering.

When asked if a start in the Breeders' Cup would now be considered for her newly minted grade 1 winner, Brnjas laughed and said, "Let's all calm down now."

"We'll just see where we are and go from there," Burness added. "This is really over the top right now. We don't want to think about what is next, but we'll have a look and see what was in front of us."


Video: Northern Dancer Turf S. (G1T)