Husbands, Jones in winners’ row

TORONTO, Canada – Barbadian Patrick Husbands produced the “perfect trip” as 8-5 favourite Our Flash Drive easily brushed aside rivals to win Saturday’s Grade 2 $176 550 Bessarabian Stakes at Woodbine.

Going seven furlongs in the feature on the 10-race card, Husbands paired with the four-year-old bay filly to trounce the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares by 5-¾ lengths in a time of one minute, 20.76 seconds.

Five-to-one chance Hazelbrook, with 35-year-old Barbadian jockey Jason Hoyte aboard, ran second while Luis Contreras steered 6-1 bet Loyalty to third.

“I was getting the perfect trip down the backside, trying to find out where [Jose] Ortiz (jockey on Artie’s Princess) is,” said veteran Husbands.

“At the half mile, I saw someone slip through the rail and I said, ‘is that Ortiz? I’m going to follow him.’ But in the next stride, I realized it [was not] so I said I’m not going to follow. So I just tipped out at the top of the lane.”

Longshots Sweet Enough and Lorena, along with Hazelbrook, pulled the field through the quarter in 23.25 seconds before Loyalty went up to join them, the quartet reaching the half-mile in 45.44.

Husbands, who raced the Mark Casse-trained Our Flash Drive out of trouble in fifth for most of the trip, made his move off the final turn and swept to the front in the upper stretch before powering away impressively.

Barbadian teenager Slade Jones also tasted success on Saturday when he rode two winners on the day’s card at the celebrated southern Ontario oval.

The 16-year-old first combined with 3-1 bet Mumblebee in race two to beat the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares by 2-½ lengths over a mile and sixteenth, leading from start to finish.

And the son of former Woodbine star jockey, Jono Jones, added a second to his tally when he guided favourite Paramount Prince to a crushing victory in race five, trouncing the two-year-old maidens by a whopping nine lengths in a six furlong sprint. (CMC)