British Capture Biggest Races on Canadian International Day

Hillstar earned his first grade 1 win in the Canadian International. (Photos by WEG/Michael Burns)
For the fifth straight year, the victor of the $1-million Canadian International came from Europe when British-based Hillstar took the victory at Woodbine with Ryan Moore aboard.
The International was delayed for a few minutes after morning line favorite Brown Panther took off before the race, dumping jockey Richard Kingscote before he was caught. When the race finally broke, The Pizza Man went to the front before settling in second with Reporting Star taking the lead after the first quarter. Moore settled Hillstar into midpack, and waited to pounce. Hillstar moved closer to the lead in the far turn and swung wide as the field entered the stretch, eating up the lengths between him and race leader The Pizza Man.
Hillstar took over the running in midstretch and looked like he was in the clear as he pulled away from the field. A late rally from Big Blue Kitten cut his margin of victory down to ¾ length but in the end, Hillstar earned his first Grade 1 victory with the win. Dynamic Sky nosed out The Pizza Man for third.
“I was out a little bit too early but he was fine and plenty and it was going to take a good horse to get by him. Like Brown Panther, [Hillstar] was the best horse in the race and just felt we would keep it as simple as we could,” Moore said. “I am sure [trainer Sir Michael Stoute] had this race as a target from a long way out and it was always something we had in the backs of our minds if things were going well.  I moved a bit too early today but he was the best horse and we kept it straightforward again.”
Hillstar provided Stoute with his first win in the race since 1996 when he won with Singspiel. The victory was Ryan Moore’s second in the race as he also won with Joshua Tree in last year’s International. After Brown Panther was scratched, Hillstar went off as the 1.25-to-1 favorite and paid $4.50 to win on a $2 ticket.
Woodbine’s last graded stakes race of the day was the $510,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes for fillies and mares. Much like the Canadian International, Europe ruled with British-trained Just The Judge winning over Odeliz.
JUST THE JUDGE WINNING THE E.P. TAYLOR

Jockey Jamie Spencer positioned Just The Judge in the back of the pack early in the 1 ½ mile race while Wall of Sound set the pace up front. As the pack tightened coming around the far turn, Just The Judge went three wide but ran into a problem when she found herself stuck behind a wall of horses in the stretch with no way to get out. Just The Judge and Spencer decided to make their own hole, forcing Meri Shika to scoot over a little so they’d have clear running room. From there, Just The Judge went after the few horses in front of her, taking over the lead in the final furlong and a half.
Just The Judge still had work to do in the final moments of the race, holding off a fast charging Odeliz with Ryan Moore aboard to keep the win. In the end, the margin of victory was just ½ length with Deceptive Vision two lengths back in third. The final time for the E.P. Taylor was 2:03.47.
While Just The Judge had finished third in her last three outings this year, the E.P. Taylor was her first win since getting the victory in the 2013 Irish 1,000 Guineas. Trainer Charles Hills was using the E.P. Taylor as a stepping stone for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in two weeks so Spencer wasn’t thrilled with how the race went for the filly.
“Obviously the race was very unsatisfactory because I had to go to ‘Plan B’ from the start because she kind of jumped awkwardly from the gate. You can’t panic then, you have to take a different route.   [I] was in amongst horses from probably five [furlongs] out to about the three-[eighths] pole and it was very, very tight where I was,” Spencer said. “Then she had to make a little bit of room for herself early in the stretch. I was trying to not give her too hard of a race because obviously this is basically a stepping stone to the Breeders’ Cup.  So the plan was just to win here and ship on down. She’s won but I’d prefer if it had gone a little bit smoother.”
Just The Judge went off as the 1.60-to-1 favorite and paid $5.20 to win on a $2 bet.