Woodbine Mile 2014 Notes - September 10

Horse/Owner/Trainer/Jockey

Ancil / Scott Farmer and Kathy Thompson / Joan Scott / Justin Stein

Bobby's Kitten / Ken and Sarah Ramsey / Chad Brown / Joel Rosario

Dorsett / Terry Hamilton / Brian Lynch / Luis Contreras

Grand Arch / Jim and Susan Hill / Brian Lynch / David Moran

His Race to Win / Sam-Son Farm / Malcolm Pierce / Eurico Rosa da Silva

Jack Milton / Gary Barber / Todd Pletcher / Javier Castellano

Kaigun / Quintessential Racing, Horse'n Around, & G. Barber / Patrick Husbands

Lockout / John C. Oxley / Mark Casse / Gary Boulanger

River Seven / Tucci Stables / Nick Gonzalez / Jesse Campbell

Summer Front / Waterford Stable / Christophe Clement / John Velazquez

Trade Storm / Qatar Racing Limited / David Simcock / Jamie Spencer

Terrence Ross, shooting guard for the Toronto Raptors, will be in attendance at Woodbine on Thursday to pull the post positions for the Ricoh Woodbine Mile.

The draw will be streamed live on WoodbineMile.com starting at 12PM ET.

The 18th edition of the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, to be held Sunday, September 14, will be televised live across Canada on TSN and across the U.S. on FOX Sports 1 as part of The Jockey Club Racing Tour, featuring Grade 1 events from across North America.

Trade Storm, a world traveler with 33 starts under his belt, arrived at Woodbine late Tuesday evening for his second appearance in the Grade 1 $1-million Ricoh Woodbine Mile.

Trained by David Simcock for Qatar Racing Limited, the bay son of Trade Fair-Frisson has notched victories in England and Dubai and made his Canadian debut in last year's Mile when a rallying third.

Trade Storm settled well back early in the '13 Mile under Gary Stevens, but was up against it to reel in the reigning champion, and two-time U.S. Horse of the Year, Wise Dan, who set a track record of 1:31.75.

"He was a little slow out of the gates last year and had a lot to do, along with Wise Dan to beat," noted Simcock.

Jamie Spencer, who announced in August that he will retire from riding at the end of the year to take up a management position for Qatar Racing, takes the call on Trade Storm.

"Jamie knows the horse very well and he is versatile as to how he can be ridden," said Simcock.

Trade Storm arrives at the Mile from a strong performance on August 23 in the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York, when second, defeated just a neck by Custom Cut, winning his fourth race in succession, in the 1 1/8-miles turf tilt.

"He ran a good race at York, they raced early and he was in front but just got caught, no complaints a very solid run," said Simcock.

The Mile will mark Trade Storm's third start off the layoff and Simcock believes his charge is in line for a big effort, especially if the sun continues to shine leading into the race.

"Trade Storm is in good form in preparation for this race - he had a break after running in Dubai earlier in the year and has progressed with his most recent two starts," said Simcock. "A mile is good for him, he prefers good ground or faster."

Ancil, a five-year-old City Zip chestnut out of the With Approval mare Le Grand Belle, provides trainer Joan Scott with her second Woodbine Mile starter.  

In the 2003 Mile, Scott saddled Freefourinternet to a seventh-place effort.  Freefourinternet captured the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont in his very next start.

Scott, now in the midst of her first full season at Woodbine, notes there's very little similarity between Ancil and her previous Mile starter.

"Freefourinternet was a loafing horse who would make a huge run at the end, and Ancil is more of a close to the pace horse," said Scott.

Ancil opened his 2014 account with a track record-setting win at Tampa Bay Downs in the $100,000 Turf Dash Stakes on March 1.

Leaving from the inside post, with Daniel Centeno up, Ancil blazed a half-mile in :43.46 before completing the five-furlong race in :54.88, eclipsing the previous mark of :54.92 set by Jr's Exchange in 2012.

"It was incredible. He runs really well off a layoff," recalled Scott of the record performance. "It just happened to be his day. He got a great break and he just rolled around there and dominated the pace. He's always been an honest horse."

That effort earned Ancil a trip to Royal Ascot where the handsome five-year-old chestnut finished 9 3/4 lengths behind the stellar Sole Power in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes.

"It was a real honour to be invited to Ascot," said Scott who became the first American woman to saddle a horse at Royal Ascot.

On Sunday, Ancil will make a rare start beyond six furlongs as he takes on Grade 1 company in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile with Justin Stein up for the first time.

"I think he'll really like the one-turn mile. Of course, pace makes the race so we'll see what happens. I think he'll enjoy the mile and not having to go :43 to the half."

Ancil, with a history of racing well off a layoff, comes into the Mile with close to a three-month break.

"He's doing super. I'm really happy with him. When he got to England he was a little light, maybe from the trip over," said Scott. "But he's had time off and he's put on a ton of weight. He's stronger than he was, so I'm really pleased. He runs his best when fresh."

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s homebred Bobby’s Kitten, winner of the Penn Mile earlier this year, appears ready to go in the Grade 1, $1 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile on Sunday.

Trainer Chad Brown waited until Monday to confirm the colt’s participation but after another bullet five furlong work over Saratoga’s training turf in 1:00 1/5 seconds, ‘the kitten’ seems to be purring on all cylinders.

The three-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Ramsey’s foundation sire Kitten’s Joy, out of Celestial Woods, has proven to be a bit of a challenge for his connections, though.   He’s fast alright, but controlling his speed has been a problem.

Last year, as the favourite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, he blazed through early fractions in the mile event before fading to third down the stretch.

In his latest, the Grade 2, mile and one-sixteenth Hall of Fame at Saratoga on August 8, Bobby’s Kitten was on the engine, as usual, but was caught late and finished second, a length behind the winner.

“A mile, mile and a sixteenth is his limit,” said Brown.  “He’s a nice horse to be around, but it’s been a little frustrating at times.  In the Hall of Fame, he started the race okay the first quarter but the second quarter he got away from the jock a little bit.  I was hoping we’d accomplish a little bit more than we have this year with him but that said, the horse has run well and he looks really good right now.   Hopefully there’s a race out there that has his name on it when we get him back to the right distance. He’s a very talented horse.”

Bobby’s Kitten has been good, bad, good, bad and pretty good in his five outings this year, winning two of them.  But two experiments failed miserably – his 12th place finish in the Blue Grass at Keeneland at one mile and one-eighth on poly and an eighth-place finish in the mile and one-quarter Belmont Derby.

Now, he’s back to his best distance on his best surface.  But he’ll have another obstacle to overcome.   No three-year-old has ever won the race. 

It’s the first time Brown and the Ramseys have run a horse in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, while jockey Joel Rosario finished fourth with Crowded House in 2010, his only previous mount. They teamed last year to finish second with Hyper in the Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International at Woodbine.

The fields for Saturday’s lucrative Breeders’ Cup Win & You’re In card at Woodbine were drawn this afternoon with the Natalma, for juvenile fillies, attracting a field of 12; and the Summer, for juveniles, drawing a field of nine.

Both races are one-turn miles over the world-famous E.P. Taylor Turf Course offering the winner entry to the corresponding event in the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.  Also featured on Saturday’s card is the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes, 6 ½-furlong ‘Poly’ tilt for three-year-olds and upwards.

POST / HORSE / JOCKEY / TRAINER

1 / Bourbon's Rahfee / Steve Bahen / Ken Albu

2 / Green Doctor / Jesse Campbell / John LeBlanc, Jr.

3 / Appeal to the Win / David Moran / Reade Baker

4 / Don't Leave Me / Eurico Rosa da Silva / Malcolm Pierce

5 / Roaming / Gerry Olguin / Gail Cox

6 / Skinner Box / Luis Contreras / Rick Violette, Jr.

7 / Conquest Harlanate / Patrick Husbands / Mark Casse

8 / Callisto / Ron Allen, Jr. / Jennifer Johnson

9 / Dixie Twist / Gary Boulanger / Mark Casse

10 / Isabella Sings / Corey Nakatani / Todd Pletcher

11 / Starless Night / Emma-Jayne Wilson / Nick Gonzalez

12 / Reserved / Justin Stein / Ashlee Brnjas

POST / HORSE / JOCKEY / TRAINER

1 / Saratoga Dreamer / Emma-Jayne Wilson / Christophe Clement

2 / U S Marshal / David Moran / Ian Black

3 / Imperial Dream / Eurico Rosa da Silva / Nick Gonzalez

4 / Conquest Tsunami / Corey Nakatani / Mark Casse

5 / Conquest Typhoon / Patrick Husbands / Mark Casse

6 / Samuel Dechamplain / Justin Stein / Mike Doyle

7 / Less Than Perfect / Taylor Rice / Kevin Rice

8 / Crown Prince / Gerry Olguin / Kelly Callaghan

9 / Ethical Funds / Emile Ramsammy / Nathan Squires