Caribou Club Wows in Connaught Cup Stakes
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Photo: Michael Burns
Caribou Club wins the Connaught Cup Stakes at Woodbine
Glen Hill Farm's homebred Caribou Club made his mark on the Canadian turf in his Woodbine debut June 2, surging to the front in the stretch of the $175,000 Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T) to score his first graded stakes win.
Breaking from post 1 in the eight-horse field, the 4-year-old gelding—who was wearing an extension blinker—was quickly guided into a position midpack on the rail under jockey Gary Boulanger. Early pacesetter Dimension went a quarter mile in :23.42 before being challenged by Yorkton, who led through a half-mile in :45.45.
Rounding the turn, Caribou Club shifted away from the inside as the field opened up, split the dueling leaders, and forged ahead. In a final attempt to challenge, reigning Connaught Cup victor Tower of Texas rallied five wide in the stretch but was unable to get up in time.
Caribou Club pulled away to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Tower of Texas was second, with Conquest Panthera a head behind in third. Yorkton, Forge, Bondurant, Camelot Kitten, and Dimension completed the order of finish.
Final time for the seven-furlong sprint for older horses was 1:20.22.
Trained by Tom Proctor, Caribou Club was sent off at odds of 8-1 and returned $18, $8.20, and $4.90. Tower of Texas paid $4.44 and $2.80, and Conquest Panthera paid $2.50.
"He's a really nice horse," Boulanger said. "Tom told Nicky (Carrillo), his assistant, 'Tell Gary you just have to help him get out of the gate because he has an extension blinker, so help him out of the gate and get him in a good position. I don't want you in the lead, but get him in a good position and he's a nice horse.'
"He never got out, he didn't do anything wrong. I just had to help him out of the gate the first 20 yards. Once I got in position, I was just sitting there waiting for a spot … when I asked him, he exploded."
Bred in Florida out of the stakes-winning Broken Vow mare Broken Dreams, Caribou Club has won four of his last five starts. His record stands at 5-2-3 from 12 starts, with earnings of $305,738.