Husbands wins CAN$200 000 Muskoka Stakes

TORONTO, Canada – Veteran rider Patrick Husbands overcame a slight hiccup to guide favourite Anam Cara to an impressive victory in the CAN$200 000 Muskoka Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack yesterday.

Going 6-½ furlongs for the two-year-old fillies in race eight on the ten-race card, Anam Cara lost a shoe early in the contest but rallied to come away with a 1-¾ length victory in a time of one minute, 17.61 seconds.

“I got to the gate. I looked down. I always look down, and when I look down, I see the shoe halfway on and only one more horse to go and I’m like, ‘oh my God’,” Husbands recounted.

“So, you know, she blows the shoe and she still showed us she was the best today.”

Three-to-one bet Rifling and 43-1 longshot Beyla Be Good showed early, pulling the field through the quarter in 22.46 seconds before Souper Sinclair picked up the running at the half-mile run in 45.52 seconds.

Husbands positioned Anam Cara down on the inside before switching her to the outside coming off the turn into the stretch.

Rifling and Souper Sinclair continued their duel at the top of the lane but Husbands found an extra gear with Anam Cara, the roan catching the leaders at the sixteenth pole to storm to the wire.

“She [broke from the gates] and she was enjoying herself and I just dived to the rail which is what I did with her last time … and she was enjoying it,” said Husbands.

“I just tipped her out at the top of the lane. She did everything professionally.”

The victory was Husbands’ 34th in 166 rides for the campaign, taking him past the CAN$2 million mark. (CMC)