TORONTO, Canada, CMC—Barbadians Patrick Husbands and Jason Hoyte served up contrasting rides to taste success on Saturday, the opening day of the 69th Woodbine season.
The 50-year-old Husbands, a seven-time champion, produced a stalking ride aboard favorite Star Candy to log a late win over the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares in the CAN$113 700 race nine.
Hoyte, 37, combined with a 5-1 chance Hobbie Class to make all the running in the day’s curtain-raiser to get the better of the three-year-old and upward maiden fillies and mares.
“It’s great to get the first win of the season. We’ll keep it going,” Hoyte was quoted as saying.
“I want to be in the top 10. But this is a tough jockey colony, so we’ll hope for the best.”
Aboard the three-year-old chestnut filly trained by Barbadian Tedston Holder, Hoyte took command of the five-furlong sprint, the fractions coming back in 23.24 seconds for the quarter and 46.87 for the half.
Veteran Barbadian jockey Juan Crawford brought a 4-1 bet on Sloans Sky with a strong stretch run, but Hobbie Class was never under any pressure at the wire, completing victory by two lengths.
Husbands, inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame last week, carried the four-year-old chestnut filly Star Candy to a 1-¾ length score to open his account for the new campaign.
In another five-furlong sprint, 8-1 choice American Starlet logged the early fractions of 22.41 and 45.22 while being chased by 7-1 bet Ol’ Blondie, with Husbands stalking from third nearly four lengths off the leader.
Star Candy attacked at the quarter pole, but even then, Ol’ Blondie reeled into American Starlet to hit the front at the top of the stretch.
Husbands brought Star Candy with a thundering run on the outside to catch the leader in the final meters and win, easing up.
and then 