Win
Rafael Hernandez had plenty to celebrate this weekend. On Saturday, the multiple graded stakes winning jockey piloted Royal Blush to victory in the first, Vucchella in the fourth, and capped off the trio of winner’s circle trips with Storms of Life in the seventh. On Sunday, he won both stakes, the Lake Superior with Live Lucky, and the Thunder Bay with Olivia Rose, as well as the tenth with Diomedes. Hernandez has over 3,100 wins to his name, 153 of them stakes.
Place
Sahin Civaci, Woodbine’s leading rider in 2024, won three races on Saturday, including the $125,000 Sweet Briar Too Stakes with Loon Cry. He also won Sunday’s ninth race with War Strategy. Civaci, a finalist for last year’s Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion rider, has eight stakes tallies on the season and 44 overall. He is closing in on 530 career wins.
Show
Trainer Darwin Banach sent out two winners on Saturday, Mason’s Music in the third and Cozy Curlin Kitten in the tenth. On Sunday, Banach charge, 7-year-old mare Ashbury, won the first race. The multiple graded stakes winning conditioner is closing in on 350 career victories.
Noteworthy
Pietro Moran rode three winners on Sunday, including the eighth with J P Hellish. Talk to Ya Later, under Emma-Jayne Wilson, showed her veteran savvy in winning a six-furlong race on Saturday. Trained by Ian Black for Piano Bar Racing, the 5-year-old daughter of Perfect Timber is 3-4-3 from 19 career starts, to go along with $203,454 in purse earnings. Skylight Caper romped to a 4 ¼-length score for her first win in what was her second start. Kevin Attard trains for Canuck Racing Club and Terra Racing Stable. Palio, trained by Sarah Ritchie for owner Barry Arnason, won his fifth lifetime race on Sunday. The son of Twirling Candy, ridden by Pietro Moran, paid $19.90 for the victory.
On Tap
Live racing continues this weekend. On Saturday, the $200,000 Canadian Stakes Presented by Japan Racing Association (G2T) and the $250,000 Bison City Stakes share the spotlight. Post time is 1:05 p.m. for both days.
The post Top 3 Woodbine Weekend Highlights (August 3-4) appeared first on Woodbine Racetrack.
