TORONTO, April 16 - Treasuring rode the rail to a narrow nose score over Jennifer Lynnette in a thrilling renewal of the $134,750 Star Shoot Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Josie Carroll for owners Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. (J. G. Sikura) and Edward McGhee, the Smart Strike chestnut arrived at the six furlong Tapeta sprint for three-year-old fillies from a fourth-place effort in an allowance sprint at Santa Anita when under the tutelage of Bob Baffert.
Tiz Imaginary broke quickest of all in the Star Shoot, but it was Jennifer Lynnette, under Gary Boulanger, who took command leading a field of five through the opening quarter in :23.62 under pressure from Swoop and Strike.
Treasuring, with Luis Contreras up, settled in fourth position along the rail and waited patiently as Jennifer Lynnette took the field through the turn in a half-mile of :47.37. Jennifer Lynnette put away Swoop and Strike at the top of the lane and tried to kick clear, but an energetic Treasuring surged up the rail and won a furious stretch battle by a nose. Tiz Imaginary came on late for show. Treasuring stopped the clock in 1:11.43.
"I was a little nervous, but the filly came home really well," said Contreras. "I had a lot of horse. At the middle of the turn I was waiting to make my move, and when they opened the rail, we went through."
A full sister to Grade I winner Streaming, Treasuring is from the same family as Rags to Riches, Jazil and Casino Drive. Carroll is familiar with the family line having trained Treasuring's dam, Teeming, through a pair of wins at Woodbine in 2005. She also conditioned Teeming's first foal, Cascading, to a victory in the 2009 Glorious Song Stakes.
"It's very exciting to see these colours coming back with good horses at Woodbine. Hopefully they will continue to do so. We had her mother (Teeming) here and it means a lot," said Carroll.
A gracious Carroll credited the victory to Baffert who had trained the filly to a runaway maiden win at Los Alamitos and a solid second-place run in the Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar in a busy juvenile campaign. Treasuring made three sophomore starts at Santa Anita before shipping to Woodbine.
"Really, the credit for this goes to the Baffert organization. They did everything, I was just fortunate enough to have her come into my hands." said Carroll.
Treasuring, bred in Kentucky by Hill 'N' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. & Stretch Run Ventures, LLC, banked $76,250 in victory while improving her record to 2-2-2 from nine starts.
She paid $6.90, $3.60 and $2.60, combining with Jennifer Lynnette ($2.90, $2.30) for a $14.70 (1-2) exactor. A 1-2-5 triactor (Tiz Imaginary, $2.70 to show) was worth $38.70. Londie Lou was scratched.
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TORONTO, April 17 - Noholdingback Bear (
pictured), patiently handled by Eurico Rosa da Silva, swooped to a smart score in Sunday's $125,250 Woodstock Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Mike DePaulo for owner Bear Stables Ltd., the bay son of Put It Back arrived at the six furlong Tapeta sprint for sophomores from a trio of winter races at Gulfstream Park including runner-up efforts in the Grade III Hutcheson and Texas Glitter Stakes.
Da Silva settled Noholdingback Bear into third position through the early running of the Woodstock as Grade III Arlington-Washington Futurity champ Shogood, with Christopher Emigh aboard, set splits of :22.50 and :45.56 under pressure from Argot.
Shogood maintained his lead to the top of the lane, but when da Silva asked Noholdingback Bear for his best run, the colt responded with long strides carrying Woodbine's 2015 leading rider to a 4 1/2-length score. Shogood stayed on for place, a nose in front of Hollywood Hideaway who rolled up late after a slow start. Noholdingback Bear covered six furlongs in 1:10.22.
Da Silva, who rode Passion for Action to victory for DePaulo in the opening day Jacques Cartier Stakes, was hoping for a return to the winner's circle.
"I was waiting all day for 'The Bear's' hug," said da Silva, referring to Bear Stable's owner Danny Dion.
The veteran rider topped the tables at Woodbine with 201 wins in 2015, taking Sovereign Award honours as Canada's outstanding jockey. He guided Noholdingback Bear to an impressive front-running 5 3/4-length win on debut on September 27 and was pleased to see an improved horse on his return to Woodbine.
"He's much more strong. I worked this horse and he gave me a great feeling. Mike told me to try to ride a little more patient today and maybe we'd have some pace to run at and it worked out great," said da Silva.
Noholdingback Bear, bred in Kentucky by Jerry Jamgotchian, banked $75,000 in victory while improving his record to 2-3-0 from six starts.
He paid $3.30, $2.30 and $2.10, combining with Shogood ($3.90, $2.90) for a $12.20 (6-3) exactor. A 6-3-4 triactor (Hollywood Hideaway, $2.80 to show) was worth $31.60.
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Courtesy of WEG Media Office.
Photo courtesy of Michael Burns Photography.
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