Ami's Holiday Captures Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine
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Photo:
WEG/Michael Burns
Ivan Dalos’ homebred Ami’s Holiday collared leaders Interpol and Squeeze the King in deep stretch to win the 124th running of the $500,000 Breeders’ Stakes, the third jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown, Sunday at Woodbine.
By doing so, the son of Harlan’s Holiday completed his own unique
triactor, after finishing second to Lexie Lou in the Queen’s Plate on July 6, then third to Coltimus Prime in the Prince of Wales on July 29. He was the only horse to compete in all three
legs of the series for Canadian-bred three-year-olds.
Both the Plate and Prince of Wales were troubled trips, but on Sunday,
it was clear sailing, as jockey Luis Contreras and Ami’s Holiday came
from mid-pack in the mile and one-half turf classic, knifed their way
between the leaders inside the eighth pole
and inched away for the three-quarter length score in 2:30.12.
Interpol, one of three maidens in the 12-horse field, battled to
the wire but was second best, while Squeeze the King, in only his third
career start, tired slightly after leading the field into the stretch to
finish third.
For Ami’s Holiday, the only stakes winner in the field and far and
away its leading money winner, the Breeders’ was his turf debut but he
may have tipped his hand last Sunday, with a bullet five furlong workout
in 59 1/5 seconds, enough to give his trainer
Josie Carroll confidence to run, after initially thinking about giving
one of her stable stars a brief rest.
The victory capped quite a weekend for Carroll and Contreras, who also teamed to win the Sky Classic on Saturday
with Karibu Gardens. It was the first Breeders’ win for Carroll, who
is the only female trainer to win the Plate, not once, but twice
(Edenwold,
2006; Inglorious, 2011) and the first Breeders’ win for Dalos. But it
was the second for Contreras, who took the 2011 renewal aboard Pender
Harbour, who, like Ami’s Holiday, made a winning turf debut in the
Breeders.’
“I think it speaks a lot for this horse,” said Carroll. “We talk a
lot about horses not having the constitution that they used to, but
this is the culmination of a breeding program by Mr. Dalos interjecting
stamina into a race horse. He was a little
tired after the Prince of Wales, shipping down (to Fort Erie), shipping
home. He just lit it up (in his turf work). He just came to life.”
While Ami’s Holiday and Unikat went postward the co-favourites at
2-1 on the board, the result couldn’t have been more contrasting. While
Ami’s Holiday prevailed, Unikat, after being forwardly placed by jockey
David Moran, faded through the lane to finish
last.
“Third time was the good one,” said Contreras. “I’m so happy with
this horse. He just does a tremendous job all the time. I got a pretty
clean trip. I was sitting behind the speed, I wanted to keep him with
the other horses to keep him busy. I know
my horse is very brave, he’s been in trouble before. He was going great
(when we came between the other horses). He just galloped. He had a
tremendous kick at the end.”
Big Red Bugsy, East Side and Interpol loped along in front early in
the race, through fractions of :25.18, :50.74 and 1:16.18 and 1:41.
Suddenly Squeeze the King made a bold move with jockey Eurico Rosa
da Silva from fourth heading around the far turn, and briefly took over
with a quarter-mile to go as the field straightened away for the charge
down the lengthy E.P. Taylor Turf Course
stretch.
But Interpol did not go away, then Ami’s Holiday suddenly loomed on the scene between them, before drawing off late.
Ami’s Holiday earned $300,000 for the win to push his career
bankroll to over $770,000. Last year he won the Grade 3 Grey Stakes
among his four starts. But this year, he was winless in four previous
outings, but never worse than fourth, with two seconds
and a third as well. Said Dalos, who also bred 1998 Belmont winner
Victory Gallop, “He just needed a clean ride once to do it and finally
he got one.”
Ami’s Holiday is a product of Harlan’s Holiday, who won over $3.6
million, but never raced on grass, out of Dalos’ Victorious Ami, who won
the rich Princess Elizabeth Stakes on dirt at Woodbine in 2004.
Said jockey Jesse Campbell, aboard the 18-1 runner-up, Interpol,
“It was a perfect trip. He broke clean. He was forwardly placed and got
to cruising to a nice spot, third, on the outside. He was a little rank
at first, but on the backside he relaxed. He
ran huge. He was getting tired in the end, but he kept hanging in
there. He ran so hard. You have to be proud of him. The best horse won
the race. I’m tickled to run second.”
As the official second choice, Ami’s Holiday paid $6.70, $3.80 and $2.80, combining with Interpol ($11.50, $8.40) for a $113.20 (8-12) exactor. An 8-12-4 (Squeeze the King, $6.40) triactor was worth $791.40 while a $1 Superfecta [8-12-4-7 (Bangkok)] lit up the toteboard with a $3,868.90 payoff.
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