Reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Fev Rover headlines a three-stakes day of racing at Woodbine Oct. 5 when the 6-year-old Gutaifan mare likely runs for the final time in the CA$200,000 Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T) at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
Later this fall, she will go through the auction ring as Hip 253 as part of Gainesway's consignment to The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton Nov. 4.
She comes off a distant third at Woodbine behind Full Count Felicia and Moira in the Sept. 14 E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T), a race she won commandingly in 2023.
"It was weird,” said Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who had watched Fev Rover settle behind the runaway leader and eventually give up the pace in the closing stages. “I don’t know what to think. Maybe the ground was a little too hard for her?”
The Mark Casse trainee will have to defeat Resolute Racing's Princess Calla, a South African import by Flower Alley who will look to fire fresh after a seven-month layoff for her new trainer, Chad Brown.
Princess Calla last raced in the March 2 H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes (G1) in South Africa, where she finished a nonthreatening third. The 2023 South African Horse of the Year will make her first start in North America. Earlier in 2024, she finished first in the Majorca Stakes (G1) at Kenilworth.
Chad Brown also trains the Klaravich Stables-owned Tax Implications, who most recently finished second in an allowance optional claimer at Saratoga Race Course. In June, she won the Eatontown Stakes (G3T) at Monmouth Park.
Entries: bet365 Dance Smartly S. (G2T)
Woodbine, Saturday, October 5, 2024, Race 8
- Grade IIT
- 1 1/16m
- Turf
- $200,000
- 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
- 5:08 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Princess Calla (SAF) | Patrick Husbands | 125 | Chad C. Brown | 5/2 |
| 2 | 2Millie Girl (ON) | Ryan Munger | 121 | Catherine Day Phillips | 12/1 |
| 3 | 3Canisy (KY) | Jorge L. Vargas, Jr. | 121 | Arnaud Delacour | 20/1 |
| 4 | 4Dolce Sopresa (ON) | Fraser Aebly | 121 | Josie Carroll | 20/1 |
| 5 | 5Nadette (FR) | Julien R. Leparoux | 123 | Neil D. Drysdale | 8/1 |
| 6 | 6Mission of Joy (ON) | Declan Cannon | 121 | H. Graham Motion | 6/1 |
| 7 | 7Mouffy (KY) | Vincent Cheminaud | 122 | Jonathan Thomas | 15/1 |
| 8 | 8Tax Implications (GB) | Luis Contreras | 123 | Chad C. Brown | 12/1 |
| 9 | 9Fev Rover (IRE) | Sahin Civaci | 121 | Mark E. Casse | 3/1 |
| 10 | 10Queen Macha (KY) | Jose Luis Campos | 121 | Martin Drexler | 20/1 |
| 11 | 11Spansive (KY) | Rafael Manuel Hernandez | 121 | Kevin Attard | 20/1 |
| 12 | 12Sparkle Blue (KY) | Emma-Jayne Wilson | 124 | H. Graham Motion | 12/1 |
Lac Macaza Faces Truly Quality In Singspiel
A couple of races before the Dance Smartly at Woodbine Saturday, Lac Macaza will try to put back-to-back wins together in the CA$175,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3T) at 1 3/8 miles on grass. The 5-year-old gelding won the Niagara Stakes last month, defeating five runners in Saturday's field of 14—Palazzi, Spinzar, Dancin in Da'nile, Stone Age, and Eyes On the King.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” trainer Julia Carey said of his chances in the Singspiel. “He seems to be just as good as he was going into his last race.
“He’s gotten better as he’s gotten older. This has been a prime year for him.”
The Goldie Stables and Discovery Racing-owned runner will have a home-track advantage against United States stakes-winning invaders Truly Quality and Highland Chief. The latter, a grade 1 winner in 2022 , will look to bounce back from a winless year in 2024 after spending 2023 on the sidelines. He most recently finished third in the Sept. 18 Presious Passion Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Woodbine, Saturday, October 5, 2024, Race 6Entries: HPIbet Singspiel S. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Palazzi (KY) Sahin Civaci 124 Mark E. Casse 4/1 2 2English Conqueror (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 122 Darwin D. Banach 8/1 3 3Highland Chief (IRE) Declan Cannon 121 H. Graham Motion 15/1 4 4Malibu Mambo (ON) David Moran 121 Michael J. Doyle 10/1 5 5Loose Wire (ON) Julien R. Leparoux 121 Kevin Attard 20/1 6 6Dancin in Da'nile (ON) Jose Luis Campos 122 Gail Cox 30/1 7 7Stone Age (IRE) Leo Salles 122 Pat Parente 10/1 8 8Lac Macaza (ON) Emma-Jayne Wilson 124 Julia Carey 6/1 9 9Spinzar (KY) Luis Contreras 122 Josie Carroll 30/1 10 10Eldon's Prince (ON) Keveh Nicholls 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 20/1 11 11Eyes On the King (KY) Patrick Husbands 122 Mark E. Casse 20/1 12 12Like the King (KY) Patrick Husbands 122 Mark E. Casse 12/1 13 13Dun Drum (ON) Fraser Aebly 122 Ian Black 30/1 14 14Truly Quality (KY) Vincent Cheminaud 124 Jonathan Thomas 5/2
Flag of Honour Looks to regain form in Nearctic
The Australian-born Flag Of Honour faces 10 opponents in the CA$250,000 Nearctic Stakes (G2T), a six-furlong turf sprint that is the last of Saturday's three stakes at Woodbine. The Carey-trained 5-year-old son of American Pharaoh, owned by R.M. Wanless and Mrs. J. M. Wanless, ran seventh in the Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T) July 20. Before that, he had won the June 1 Jacques Cartier Stakes (G3) on Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta surface.
Fellow graded stakes winners War Bomber and Patches O'Houlihan, a winner of 10 of his 12 career outings, lead the opposition.
Woodbine, Saturday, October 5, 2024, Race 9Entries: Nearctic S. (G2T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Dhabab (IRE) Ryan Munger 121 Edward Vaughan 20/1 2 2Outlaw Kid (ON) Sahin Civaci 122 George Weaver 6/1 3 3First Empire (ON) Patrick Husbands 121 Mark E. Casse 15/1 4 4Let My People Go (KY) Walter A. Rodriguez 121 Victoria H. Oliver 20/1 5 5Patches O'Houlihan (ON) Sofia Vives 123 Robert P. Tiller 2/1 6 6I'm A Gambler (IRE) David Moran 121 Kevin Attard 15/1 7 7Bal a Kazoo (KY) Emma-Jayne Wilson 121 Robert M. Gorham 20/1 8 8Caroline Street (KY) Declan Cannon 118 Brendan P. Walsh 15/1 9 9Flag Of Honour (AUS) Julien R. Leparoux 123 Julia Carey 9/2 10 10War Bomber (IRE) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 123 Norman McKnight 4/1 11 11Bring Theband Home (FL) Patrick Husbands 121 Mark E. Casse 10/1
