Atlantic Hurricane successfully defends her title in the Ontario Fashion Stakes
Owned in partnership and trained by Stuart Simon, Atlantic Hurricane, the 5-year-old mare had been struggling the entire season, looking for that elusive stakes victory to make the seasonal score a little presentable and it finally came, thanks to a late burst in the homestretch to nose out the longshot, Youcan’tcatchme, and win the Canadian Grade 3, $156,153 Ontario Fashion Stakes at Woodbine race course on 4 November, 2012.
Compare to last season, when Atlantic Hurricane won the award for Canada’s champion sprinter, this season has been really flat, and the Ontario Fashion Stakes victory came after three consecutive losses.
Audre Cappuccitti trained, Mo Jo Queen, under rider Eurico Rosa Da Silva broke alertly and assumed the lead right from the outset in the 6 furlong sprint, and went on to carve swift fractions, as she turned in the opening quarter-mile in 21.96 seconds, and half-mile in 44.73 seconds.
The complexion of the race changed past mid-stretch, when Youcan’tcatchme with jockey Omar Moreno went screaming past the pacesetter, and led the field of 8, 3-year-old and above fillies and mares, from the sixteenth-pole.
Mark E. Casse trained, Roxy Gap was always going to be a threat, and especially when she was looking for her fourth graded stakes win of the Woodbine meet, stalked and was within striking distance.
However, Atlantic Hurricane, monitored the shifting taking place in front from seventh in the early stages of the race, and showed an amazing turn of foot to edge past all in contention, and at the end nose out, Youcan’tcatchme to win the Ontario Fashion Stakes.
Luis Contreras and Atlantic Hurricane covered the six furlong distance in 1 minute and 9.57 seconds, over Woodbine’s Polytrack.
The favoured Roxy Gap wasn’t going to settle for anything less than a placed finish, as Patrick Husbands led her to down Mo Jo Queen for a show place.
The daughter of Halo’s Image, Atlantic Hurricane last year won the Ontario Fashion Stakes by half-length, and it was one of her six wins out of eight that catapulted her to the top of the sprint division and earned her the year-end award.
"It’s seems to have been one thing after another this year with her," said Simon. "We were hoping to get things ironed out for today’s effort. Luis did everything perfectly. It was a really good trip."
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