Woodbine: Patches O’Houlihan, My Boy Prince lead Highlander

Patches O’Houlihan, Canada’s reigning horse of the year, takes to the turf for the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes on Saturday at Woodbine.

Scratched from his start in the Jacques Cartier (G3) on May 31, Patches O’Houlihan breezed an easy half in 48.4 seconds in the rain Thursday in preparation for the six-furlong event for 4-year-olds and up on turf.

“Disappointed would be an understatement,” owner and breeder Frank Di Giulio Jr. said of missing out on the Jacques Cartier. “He was 1-9 (on the morning line) in a four-horse field, but unfortunately, those things happen. Bob (Tiller, Canadian Hall of Fame trainer) told me Patches left some feed, he had spiked a temperature ahead of the race and looked almost glassy-eyed, like a person would look when they are sick. So the decision was made to scratch him. 

“Regardless of the disappointment, doing right by the horse is all that matters. He’s OK now, and that is the main thing.”

The Highlander will mark the second start of 2025 for the multiple graded stakes-winning 5-year-old son of Reload out of the Silent Name mare Maythefourthbwithu.

The bay gelding, who has two wins from three career starts on the turf, heads into his latest stakes test off a sharp seasonal debut.

Under two-time Canadian champion apprentice jockey Sofia Vives, Patches O’Houlihan won the Thorncliffe Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong main-track event for 4-year-olds and up, by four lengths as the 2-5 choice. 

He stopped the teletimer at 1:02.28, which bested the previous record mark of 1:02.62 set by Arzak on April 17, 2022.

“I would think (what impressed me the most) would be the time and how easily he did it,” Di Giulio said of the horse, who also was feted as Canada’s champion male sprinter of 2024. “When I saw that he had run in 1:02 and change, I knew it was fast, but I didn’t know it was a track record. He seemed to do it pretty handily, so that was impressive as well.” 

Patches O’Houlihan, a nod to the Rip Torn character in the comedy movie "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," debuted in September 2022 and recorded a 4 1/2-length score at 5 1/2 furlongs over the Woodbine main track. 

Between May and September 2023, Patches O’Houlihan reeled off six consecutive victories.

His record stands at 15: 12-1-0 from 15 starts.

“He’s been off for two months, so hopefully, he can come back to the way he was before,” Di Giulio said. “This guy is tough and hopefully, he will run his race again. I’m always nervous. When you have a horse who wins like he does, everyone expects him to do it all the time. But it’s nice to be in a position to feel that way.”

Patches O’Houlihan, who won the Nearctic Stakes (G2) last October, has drawn comparisons to sprint superstar Pink Lloyd, the eight-time Sovereign Award winner and 2017 horse of the year in Canada whom Di Giulio co-owned under the Entourage Stable banner. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2023.

“They are two great horses, and I am truly blessed to be part of both,” Di Giulio said. “I hear about Patches being a fan favorite on the (Woodbine) broadcast. Being so close to him, it’s hard to comprehend what other people feel about him, but I really do appreciate it, that’s for sure.”

Multiple stakes-winning My Boy Prince, Canada’s champion 2-year-old male, has crafted an impressive 16: 7-4-1 mark.

A son of Cairo Prince out of the Silent Name mare Hopping Not Hoping, the gelding’s sterling resume includes victories in the 2024 editions of the King Corrie, Queenston and Plate Trial Stakes, as well as a one-length score in this year’s Elusive Quality Stakes over the outer turf at Belmont at the Big A on May 3, and a strong second to multiple graded stakes victor Ag Bullet in the Jaipur Stakes (G1) on June 8 at Saratoga. 

“He is such a favorite of everybody,” said Kathryn Sullivan, assistant trainer to Mark Casse. “He’s coming in off a great second in the Jaipur, where he ran an exceptional race. The race before, he had another fantastic effort when he won the Elusive Quality.

“He’s been training well, and we are just hoping for a good season up here with him. He’s lovely.”

The Highlander marks My Boy Prince’s first start at Woodbine since the Woodbine Mile (G1) last September.

“When he ran in the Mile, he finished sixth, but he was actually right there,” Sullivan said of the effort that left him 4 1/2 lengths behind the winner and stablemate Win for the Money. "He was coming on and he was taking on older horses, so it was actually a very good race.” 

The grey, bred in Ontario by Murray Graham Smith, finished second in the running of the 2024 King’s Plate.

In 10 starts at Woodbine, My Boy Prince has a record of 10: 6-3-0.

“We are just so proud of him and so happy to see him race again at Woodbine,” said Sullivan. “He’s a lovely horse.”

Sid Attard won three straight editions of the Highlander, with Signature Red in 2010 and 2011 and Smokey Fire in 2012.

The wagering menu for the Highlander includes rolling double, exacta, 20-cent trifecta, 20-cent superfecta, Pick 3 for races 8-9-10 and $1 Swinger.