Mother's Day may be annually held in May, but the connections of the Smart Strike mare Truly Together were more than happy to celebrate Oct. 5. Two of the mare's foals, Mouffy and Truly Quality, took home the trophies in graded stakes at Woodbine.
A homebred for George Strawbridge Jr.'s Augustin Stables, Truly Together was a three-time winner in six starts that included a third-place finish in the Endeavour Stakes (G3T) at Tampa Bay Downs in 2018. Both her winners Saturday were also Augustin homebreds and both were trained by Jonathan Thomas and ridden by Vincent Cheminaud.
"They better put the mare in bubble wrap," Thomas joked after Mouffy's victory in the CA$203,200 Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T).
Mouffy is a 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo whose race selections have largely been made with a career as a broodmare in mind. Her first graded victory Saturday adds to her two previous stakes wins and two graded placings.
"We've tried to résumé-build with her," Thomas said. "While we want to win races, we want to make sure she earns her way into a broodmare band."
Settling 11th of 12 early in the 1 1/16-mile contest, Cheminaud had the pace set up in front of him as Canisy and Spansive set fractions of :23.86, :47.60, and 1:11.85. Cheminaud saved ground around the far turn before angling out to the five path, an area of the track Thomas believed to be a more firm area on the course labeled good. Meanwhile, Nadette, the only horse trailing Mouffy early, was also rallying boldly in the nine path.
The two collared the leaders, Tax Implications and Fev Rover late and stormed to the wire, Mouffy remaining a head in front. Just before the wire, Tax Implications swerved into favored Fev Rover's path before finishing third. The stewards determined the move impacted Fev Rover's placing and elevated last year's Canadian Horse of the Year to third.
Mouffy's victory in 1:42.07 was a surprise to bettors off her ninth-place finish in the Aug. 31 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Stakes (G3T), paying $30.80 for her rebound win.
"It was a little soft that day, hot," Thomas said of the race at Kentucky Downs. "It was uncharacteristic for her to run like that, we just gave her a pass."
Video: bet365 Dance Smartly S. (G2T)
Mouffy is now 6-4-0 from 14 starts for earnings of $482,193. Meanwhile, her 4-year-old Quality Road half brother improved his record to 4-4-3 from 12 starts for earnings of $376,115 with his victory in the Singspiel Stakes (G3T) over 1 3/8 miles.
Like his sister, the gelding settled in the back of the field. Behind fractions of :24.97, :50.03, and 1:15.28, Cheminaud still had 11 to pass turning for home. The long stretch at Woodbine was beneficial as he ground away at the leaders on the far outside, getting up to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:17.47, paying $5.70 to win.
English Conqueror was second, and Stone Age finished third.
Previously a winner of the 1 1/2-mile Colonial Cup Stakes at Colonial Downs Sept. 7, Thomas believes he found the horse's niche going long on the turf. With options at those distances limited over the winter, Thomas may be interested in taking a big shot at the $5 million Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Del Mar Nov. 2 at 1 1/2 miles.
"I'd like to talk to the Strawbridges about taking a real swing and going to Breeders' Cup then giving him the winter off, really making him a grade 1 horse," he said.
Video: HPIbet Singspiel S. (G3T)
Patches O'Houlihan Improves to 4-for-4 This Year
Unfortunately for Augustin, Thomas, and Truly Together, they did not have a representative in the final graded stakes at Woodbine Saturday, the CA$283,500 Nearctic Stakes (G2T). That was good news for owner Frank Di Giulio Jr. and trainer Robert Tiller as their defending Canadian champion male sprinter Patches O'Houlihan kept his perfect season alive.
Taking his customary position on the lead for jockey Sofia Vives, the 4-year-old Reload gelding was pressured early by Bring Theband Home. The pair set fractions of :22.67 and :45.47. Headed by his rival, Patches O'Houlihan reestablished the lead entering the stretch but began drifting to the center of the track. Despite looking like he'd get beat the further he drifted, the champ held strong and hit the wire 1 1/2 lengths clear, completing six furlongs in 1:09.49. He paid $6.30 to win.
Dhabab and War Bomber finished second and third, respectively.
