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Husbands Sweeps Saturday’s Stakes at Woodbine

Husbands Sweeps Saturday’s Stakes at Woodbine

TORONTO, ONPatrick Husbands completed a sweep of Saturday’s stakes events at Woodbine, taking the $100,000 Victorian Queen and matching Sweet Briar Too in front-end fashion.

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Husbands continues to lead all jockeys for stakes wins at the current Woodbine meet with 15 added-money scores during his comeback campaign.

Owlette ran away with her second stakes title, winning Saturday’s co-featured Victorian Queen for Ontario-sired 2-year-old fillies.

Shady Well Stakes champion Owlette fired to the lead from post 2 in her latest assignment and shrugged off the maiden filly Victorian Moon after a :22.24 opening 1/4. She opened up 2 lengths on top through a :45.51 1/2-mile clocking before Wake Up Maggie emerged between foes and tried to reel in the front-striding filly down the stretch, but chased in vain.

Sent postward as the even-money favourite, Owlette completed the 6-furlong Tapeta test in 1:10.10 for trainer Wesley Ward and owner Ten Broeck Farm Inc. She paid $4.10 to win and finished 2-1/2 lengths in front of Wake Up Maggie, with She’s a Dream following in third.

Bred in Ontario by Michael C. Byrne, the daughter of Frac Daddy out of the stakes-winning mare Itstartswithadream has now won three (consecutive) races at Woodbine after debuting as a runner-up at Keeneland.

“I know I got a little pressure from Justin (Stein and Wake Up Maggie) on the outside, you know as a little rabbit, but she was just playing with them down the back,” said Husbands, who has won a record five editions of the Victorian Queen Stakes.

Jean Elizabeth wins the Sweet Briar Too (Credit: Michael Burns Photo)

Husbands claimed his second Sweet Briar Too title with another successful stakes outing on Saturday courtesy of Jean Elizabeth just two races later in the 6-1/2-furlong main track event for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up.

Partnering with the Larry Rivelli trainee for the first time, Husbands guided Jean Elizabeth to a 2-length triumph over favourites Sister Peacock and Special Relativity.

Hustling out from post 9, Jean Elizabeth crossed to command with local two-time stakes winner Sister Peacock and Jesse Campbell pressing the pace through a 1/4 in :22.70 and 1/2-mile in :45.06.

“Both of them are classy fillies and both of them are speed horses, so when the gates flew open, Jesse looked at me, I looked at Jesse, and we just did what we had to do,” said Husbands.

Jean Elizabeth eventually drew clear in the stretch for the victory in 1:15.64 and returned $10 to win as the 4/1 third wagering choice.

The four-year-old Adios Charlie-Rooney Doodle filly, who had finished third by a neck in her first Woodbine appearance last October in the Ruling Angel Stakes, is now eight-for-14 in her career with more than $310,000 banked in purse earnings. Rivelli and Richard Ravin bred the winner and share ownership with Patricia’s Hope.

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