As Woodbine jockeys Emma-Jayne Wilson and Rafael Hernandez stood in the Winner’s Circle waiting to be interviewed following Sunday’s Grade 3 $150,000 Valedictory Stakes, Hernandez told commentator Jeff Bratt that, being a gentleman, he would let Wilson talk first.
Not missing a beat, Wilson replied: “If he’s such a gentleman, why didn’t he let me win?”
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A great line after an unbelievable race — a 1 1/2 miles marathon on the Tapeta track at Woodbine for three-year-olds and up that finished in a dead-heat with Who’s the Star, with Wilson aboard, catching Wentru, with Hernandez in the saddle, right at the wire. A photo finish. What made the Valedictory finish even more bizarre was the fact that, on July 2 at Woodbine in the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes, Wilson and Hernandez finished in a dead-heat on their respective horses — Wilson aboard Lady Speightspeare and Hernandez on Crystal Cliffs. Dead-heats in stakes races are not a regular occurrence, to say the least.
Wentru grabbed the lead from gate seven and had an advantageous inside trip thanks to his early speed while Who’s the Star, who left from the extreme outside (gate 12), was near the rear for much of the race, swinging wide at the final turn before launching an inspired run down the stretch. The two winners crossed the line in 2:31.10.
“I thought there would be a lot more pace up front,” said Wilson of the Valedictory battle. “I thought (the pace) would be a little more honest. I never got over to the rail. At the half-mile pole, 3 1/2 furlong marker, I was, ‘I need to get going.’ But there were a lot of horses in the way. He’s got that wicked kick, so I swung him to the outside and got him going as fast as I could.”
The co-victory was Who’s the Star’s sixth win in 11 starts this year, including five straight wins at Woodbine, and pretty well guarantees that the Mark Casse-conditioned four-year-old will win Canadian older horse of the year honors. The son of Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist won three stakes at the Etobicoke track in 2022 — the Niagara, the Durham Cup and the Autumn. And for Wilson, it was a record fifth Valedictory triumph. Who’s the Star was the 8-5 favorite while Wentru, trained by Martin Drexler, went off at 42-1 and now has four wins in eight starts this year at the west end track, including four in a row. The Valedictory was the four-year-old dark bay gelding’s first added-more score. It was, in fact, Wentru’s first stakes start. Wentru is owned by TEC Racing while Who’s the Star is owned by M Racing Group LLC.
“This is what we’re here for, to get on fast horses, and he’s a really fast horse,” said Wilson of Who’s the Star. “He’s been wonderful to partner with and absolutely, 100% deserves the congratulations at the year-end awards.
CALIFORNIA KAZ
Woodbine’s leading rider Kazushi Kimura is taking his tack to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA for the winter meet, which starts Dec.26. With one week of racing at Woodbine remaining, Kimura has a huge lead in the jockey standings with 152 wins, 32 more than second-place rider Hernandez. It will be the Japanese rider’s second Woodbine jockey title. He won the rider’s crown in 2021 with 138 wins. Both Kimura and Hernandez have 15 stakes wins this year at Woodbine. What’s most impressive about Kimura’s performance is how often he has finished in the money. Heading into Sunday’s card, the native of Hokkaido has landed in the money 53% of the time.
Kimura’s agent Jordan Miller told the Toronto Sun that Kimura will return to Woodbine when the track starts up again in the spring. In the meantime, he’s looking to establish himself at a major American track, like Santa Anita.
“You want build a bigger rapport (with American owners and trainers), especially when they send horses to Woodbine,” said Miller. “But also, Woodbine is only seven months of racing. There’s still five months a year to go ride.
“Great trainers, great horses, great riders. And at the end of the day, how do you beat the weather?” added Miller of Santa Anita. “Slowly but surely we’ve got our foot in the door in the States. It was Turfway Park (Kentucky) last year and he was pretty successful there.”
Kimura won nine races from 68 mounts at Turfway, 14th in the standings. Miller said Kimura will fly home to Japan for a week to visit family before heading to California.
Luis Contreras, fifth in the Woodbine jockey standings, will also head to Santa Anita this winter, though first he will race in the $300,000 Clásico del Caribe (Caribbean Derby) next weekend at La Rinconada Hippodrome near Caracas, Venezuela. Jose Campos, a former leading rider in Mexico who won back-to-back races on Sunday, will ride in Saudi Arabia after Christmas, but will return to Woodbine for the 2023 meet. Declan Carroll has gone to Fairgrounds Race Course in New Orleans for the winter.
AROUND THE TRACK
Trainer Martin Drexler and jockey Sahin Civaci both won four races on Sunday at Woodbine … The two stakes scheduled for last Saturday – the Shady Well and Clarendon – have been re-carded for next Friday. High winds at Woodbine resulted in the program being cancelled after three races on Saturday … Nice win by six-year-old gelding Sir Seamus in the fourth at Woodbine, a 2 1/4 lengths score, his first victory of the season in 10 starts for owner Mike Birgante and trainer Alex McPherson and son Doug, the race announcer at Fort Erie Race Track.
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