TORONTO, Canada, CMC – Jason Hoyte won twice. Still, fellow countryman De-Sean Gaskin missed out on his brace due to a disqualification, as Barbadians enjoyed success on Sunday’s 11-race card at Woodbine racetrack.
The 37-year-old Hoyte opened his account in race two with an 8-1 choice, River of Babylon, before also winning race nine with a 3-1 bet, Ready to Collect.
Gaskin raised the curtain on the day’s exchanges with victory aboard 14-1 outsider Adelaide Court. However, his bid for a double was thwarted when he suffered disqualification in race eight with 31-1 longshot Forester’s Fortune.
Another Barbadian, riding ace Patrick Husbands, also tasted success on the day’s card when he combined with 4-1 choice Ticker Tape Home to get the better of the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares by 1-¼ lengths in a six-furlong sprint.
Despite the success, Hoyte languishes in the standings with nine wins, along with Gaskin, who has three, while the 51-year-old Husbands lies sixth with 24 wins.
Gaskin first saw the winners’ circle, piloting six-year-old chestnut gelding Adelaide Court to a handsome 3-¼ length score over the three-year-olds and upward, going 6-½ furlongs.
Favourite Competitive Touch dueled with a 2-1 bet Wet and Wild before picking up the running mid-turn, but Gaskin brought Adelaide Court from a stalking run on the backstretch to grab the lead, passing the 70-yard marker.
Gaskin thought he had completed his double when combined with seven-year-old chestnut gelding Forester’s Fortune to edge the three-year-olds upward by a head over six furlongs.
But the connections of second-placed Clayton lodged an objection against the winner, and following a steward’s inquiry, Forester’s Fortune was relegated to second.
Hoyte, meanwhile, took race two with four-year-old gelding River of Babylon, coming from the rear of the field to edge the three-year-olds and upward by a neck.
Nine-to-one choice Yoga led into the stretch before fading with an eighth left to run, and River of Babylon just got up to beat his rivals at the wire.
Hoyte was similarly impressive aboard Ready to Collect, pairing with the three-year-old chestnut gelding to collar the three-year-old and upward maidens by 3-½ lengths in a five-furlong dash.
and then 