Husbands’ quality to the fore again

TORONTO, Canada – For the second straight weekend, ace Barbadian rider Patrick Husbands swept both stakes races on a Woodbine card when he won the CAN$150 000 Grade 3 Durham Cup and Ontario Derby at the prestigious Toronto Oval.

The 46-year-old first partnered with 5-2 choice The Great Day in race three to win the Durham over a mile and eighth, using a gate-to-wire effort to eclipse the three-year-olds and upward by a nose in a photo finish.

Husbands returned in race nine with 2-1 second choice Global Access to wear down pacesetter and favourite, Avie’s Flatter, to beat the three-year-olds by 1-¼ lengths also going a mile and eighth, in a track record one minute, 48.24 seconds.

Saturday’s double stakes success, which was part of a three victories on the 11-race card for the seven-time Woodbine champion, lifted him to to a season-leading 17 added-money wins.

He now has earnings of CAN$2.9 million and 58 wins.

Husbands kicked off his success in the Durham, breaking five-year-old bay horse The Great Day nicely along the rails to set an ambling pace with 26.08 seconds for the quarter and 50.43 for the half-mile.

Thor’s Rocket stalked from second with Special Forces and Say the Word both also racing slightly off the pace in the five-horse field.

In the stretch, The Great Day came under attack from Special Forces, with Alan Garcia aboard, and the two locked horns in a heated duel before Husbands took the win on the head bob in a time of 1:49.68.

“I picked it up from the half-mile, squeezed him a little bit by the three-eighths pole. I [got] him over to his right lead and he dug in,” said Husbands.

“And when Alan came, he dug in again and then about four strides from the wire, he dug back again, so he never gave up.”

Husbands had things a little easier in the Ontario, stalking with the chestnut colt Global Access as Avie’s Flatter and Eurico Rosa da Silva produced splits of 24.67 and 48.53 for the lead.

Roaring Forties and Jungle Fighter vied for third in the six-horse field while Solidify and Armistice Day kept pace at the rear.

Predictably, the pace quickened coming off the final turn as Global Access challenged Avie’s Flatter, and took the lead down the lane. Armistice Day made a bid on the outside while Jungle Fighter attacked along the rails, but Husbands took Global Access to the wire strongly.

Husbands also won race eight over six furlongs when he conjured up a late drive aboard 8-1 choice Sanity to beat the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares by three-quarters of a length.