The 2023 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) winner's class Nobal proved enough to defeat the reigning Canadian sprint champion Patches O'Houlihan by three-quarters of a length in the Kennedy Road Stakes (G2) on November 16th honeysuckle.
Patricia's Hope's bay 5-year-old gelding Nobals, who entered Saturday's race winless in three starts since his Breeders' Cup triumph last fall Santa Anita Parkgot back on track in the CA$182,000 Kennedy Road. He showed the same effectiveness on the synthetic Tapeta surface in Woodbine as he has for a long time on grass and did not give the leader Patches O'Houlihan any respite in the six-eighth race. He chased it through fractions of :21.80 and :44.24, stuck a head in the front middle distance and gradually moved past the game's runner-up with a final time of 1:08.59. As is his wont, Patches O'Houlihan tried to drift away just before the home straight.
war bomber finished third and never threatened the top two.
Nobals made life effortless for veteran driver ET Baird, who, like Nobals trainer Larry Rivelli, has long been a winning figure in Illinois racing.
“The way he carried himself today at the post parade and everything about him was really professional,” he said.
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The demanding work for Baird was simply getting to Canada. He said he spent the entire day on Nov. 15 at a government office in Chicago getting a up-to-date passport after his previous passport expired.
In a telephone interview with BloodHorse, Rivelli said he wasn't even sure if Baird made it to Canada since he hadn't heard from him all day, and then was relieved to see him “jump out of there into the paddock.” .
“He’s the greatest, man,” Rivelli added. “He is one of the best drivers I have ever experienced.”
Baird's newly issued passport could come in handy later. Rivelli confirmed that Nobals is invited to compete in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1), a 1,200-meter (about six furlongs) turf race worth more than $3.3 million at Sha Tin Racecourse on December 8.
If Nobals travels there, it would be Rivelli's second runner in the race. His best lawn sprinter, Nicole's dream He finished 12th in the same race in 2005.
Describing Nobals' three more starts in 2024, all of which resulted in narrow defeats but the gelding failed to finish in the money, Rivelli said Nobals didn't seem interested in the turf courses Keeneland And Kentucky Downs in graded company after a necessary comeback race Saratoga Racetrack over the summer. Nobals paid $8.40 as a second bet in Saturday's race.
Dr. John Chandler bred Nobals in Kentucky from his winning homebred Empire Maker mare Mother of pearl blue a manufacturer of two black runners. Chandler sent Nobals to the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale along with his family's Mill Ridge Sales and sold him to Eat n Cheese for $3,500.
The winner is a son of Noble mission a full brother to the leading European sire Frankel . Noble Mission is now in Japan.
Nobals is 11-22 and has more than $1.5 million in winnings. This was his second stakes win at Woodbine, having won the Woodstock Stakes on Tapeta in 2022 as a three-year-old. In winning the Woodstock he ran six furlongs in 1:07.63, setting a winning record that still stands today.
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Turn signals trigger the autumn mood of evil Django
A change of equipment by his experienced trainer Rodney Barrow changed Ryan Brewster's fortunes Bad Django in the CA$199,850 Autumn Stakes (G2), the first of two graded races on Saturday at Woodbine.
Wicked Django was a tardy starter who previously had a tendency to push his way into contention only to wait tardy and sometimes lose ground. He showed a sustained recovery that catapulted him to victory in the fall. With jockey Keveh Nicholls remaining on board after the four-year-old stallion moved to Barrow from trainer Krista Cole, he took an early seventh place in the eight-horse field, overtaking his rivals in the second turn with a wide, sweeping charge 1 1/ 8 mile race and kept that momentum going to generate excitement Dresden series by 1 1/4 lengths. The winner returned $50.40 for a $2 bet.
Evil Django prevails in the Autumn Stakes at Woodbine
Nicholls said the blinders resulted in significantly improved performance for Wicked Django.
Reinforced by scorching fractions of :23.60, :47.18 and 1:10.80 set by the winner of the 2023 King's Plate Stakes Supreme Prince Wicked Django, who finished last, was timed 1:48.45 for the distance.
Stanley House stuck in traffic tardy into the night, rallied to pull ahead behind second-placed Dresden Row.
The victory marked the first stakes win of Wicked Django's 12-race career and gave Barrow his first overall victory of 2024 after 29 defeats.
“He had to train a little differently,” Barrow said of Wicked Django. “So I just changed everything.”
The winner, bred by Denny Andrews and Niall Brennan in Ontario, is from Evil forceful from the Flatter Mare Belcarres. Evil forceful was released from stud duty.
