Florida Won, Sweater Weather give Husbands Woodbine stakes double

Florida Won, Sweater Weather give Husbands Woodbine stakes
double

Florida Won passed his main track test with flying colors (WEG/Michael Burns Photography) Jockey Patrick Husbands had a stellar day on Sunday at Woodbine, sweeping the two stakes contests in relatively easy fashion. The main attraction on the day was the Grade 3, $160,401 Ontario Derby, which featured Prince of Wales hero Coltimus Prime and Breeders’ victor Ami’s Holiday. Neither could overcome Live Oak Plantation’s Florida Won, though, as he separated himself from the field in the stretch to post a 1 1/2-length victory. The Birdstone colt, who was making his first start on something other than turf, was last through the opening half-mile set by Lunar Rover in :24 4/5 and :49 2/5. Coltimus Prime drafted just off the leader’s flank while Ami’s Holiday ran in front of Florida Won in the tightly bunched group. Ami’s Holiday was urged into contention through the turn, with Florida Won following his lead four wide. They challenged Lunar Rover and the stalking Coltimus Prime, who was resurgent on the rail and stayed on gamely down the stretch but could not fend off the energetic rally of Florida Won.

The
Mark Casse trainee swept on by and stopped the clock in 1:50 4/5 for
nine Polytrack furlongs under Husbands, who was expecting a big outing from the colt making
his first start on the Woodbine main track.

“I breezed him last week (on the Polytrack) and he breezed
like a winner,” Husbands noted. “Today, I rode him with confidence. I wasn’t
worried about the horses in front of him, I knew what type of horse I was
sitting on. I waited until Luis (Contreras on Ami’s Holiday) went and I had
plenty of horse.”

Kathryn Sullivan, assistant to Casse, agreed with Husbands’
assessment.

“He’s been traveling really well over the Poly. He’s
looked great and came into the race in good order,” Sullivan remarked. “He got a
little hot in the paddock, but that’s a bit him. When I saw him going down the
backside, I thought Patrick had him nice and relaxed and I was very confident.”

Florida Won paid $22.30 as the 10-1 second longest shot in the
seven-sophomore field. Coltimus Prime lost the war but won the battle over 3-2
favorite Ami’s Holiday, holding that one to third by a half-length. Squeeze the
King came next and was followed by Jose Sea View, Lunar Rover and Picozza.
Freitag was withdrawn.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Farm, Florida Won brought $385,000 as a
Keeneland September yearling and now boasts a 2-1-2 scorecard
from seven lifetime starts having banked $147,608. He began his career with
trainer Bill Mott last August, running fourth at
Saratoga, before
moving to Casse’s barn for his next outing, a
third-place finish at Keeneland on April 6 of this year.

The chestnut broke his maiden at
Churchill Downs on
May 11, two races later ran third in the Charlie Barley at Woodbine and entered
the Ontario Derby off a fifth-place effort in the Toronto Cup in late July.

Florida Won is out of the winning Grand Slam mare Grand Portege, who is a
half-sister to Preakness
hero Shackleford, Grade 1 queen Lady Joanne, Grade 2 diva Afleeting Lady,
multiple Grade 3 victress Baghdaria and Grade 2-placed stakes winner
Stephanoatsee. Being a son of Birdstone, Florida Won is bred 3×3 to Unbridled.

Sweather Weather capped Husbands’ stakes double in the La Lorgnette (WEG/Michael Burns Photography) Earlier on the card, Frank D. Di Giulio Jr.’s Sweater Weather lived up to her near 2-1 favoritism in the $156,707 La Lorgnette with a 1 1/2-length win. The sophomore miss rallied to collar Unspurned and finish 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather in :43 3/5. Paradise Alley led the way through splits of :23 4/5, :48 and 1:11 2/5 while tracked by Enhanced and Unspurned. Husbands had Sweater Weather settled in midpack before sending her wide around the turn to chase Unspurned, who had taken command in the lane. Sweater Weather caught up and passed that rival to earn her second stakes win. The Bob Tiller-trained daughter of Milwaukee Brew captured the Eternal Search two back and entered the La Lorgnette off a third in the Algoma. She just missed by a nose when making her stakes bow in the Lady Angela on June 7. “I didn’t get any turn of foot (in the Algoma),” Husbands noted. “When I went back and watched the race, I realized we were too close.

“Today, she broke sharp, I took her out of the race and she relaxed. I made
sure I spotted them six or seven lengths. Last time, I spotted them four
lengths and had no turn of foot. Today she gave me all the turn of foot I
wanted.”

Sweater Weather has yet to finish worse than third, sporting a 9-4-3-1,
$287,384, career mark.

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