Patches O'Houlihan

MGSW Patches O'Houlihan (Reload--Maythefourthbwithu, by Silent Name {Jpn}), the reigning Canadian Horse of the Year was humanely euthanized according to a press release from Woodbine Entertainment late on Thurday night. Woodbine issued the following statement on behalf of Frank Di Giulio, Jr., the owner and breeder of the 5-year-old gelding. The message republished here in its entirety said: We are heartbroken to announce that 2024 Horse of the Year Patches O'Houlihan was humanely euthanized on Thursday, July 10. After sustaining a soft tissue injury while galloping out after winning the...

It's not often considered a head-scratching race when a reigning Canadian Horse of the Year wins over a strong field that includes two other Canadian champions, but that's exactly what happened Saturday in the GII Bet365 Highlander Stakes at Woodbine. Sure, 4-5 choice Patches O'Houlihan (Reload) won, just like he was supposed to, but it was the manner in which he won--veering out badly--that left perhaps more questions than answers. As a precaution after pulling up, he was vanned back to his barn and examined by veterinarians. It was quickly...

About the only thing missing from Saturday's $1-million GI Stephen Foster Stakes is a Horse of the Year--for good measure, she runs elsewhere on Saturday's blockbuster program on the final weekend of racing at Churchill Downs--but the nine-furlong event is rich in quality and brings together the winners of such prestigious events such as the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, the GI Kentucky Derby, and the G1 Dubai World Cup. A 'bananas' Foster, indeed. The horses that will line up for the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for this year's Classic...

Trainer Brian Knippenberg knew there was something wrong with Mercante (Gun Runner), but didn't know what it was. He also knew that the horse had a ton of talent and maybe he could patch him up and he'd be a useful horse. Not many would have done so. It would have been easy to give up on a horse that was sidelined for 15 months after he finished third in a July 22, 2023 allowance race at Saratoga for trainer Bill Mott. Fast forward to the present and Mercante looks...

Four weeks removed from the running of the GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs stages its second stacked weekend of the spring/summer meeting, with five Grade IIIs and one listed contest on 'Stephen Foster Preview' Day. The program serves as a steppingstone to Foster Day itself in a month's time. A field of 10 has been entered for the GIII Blame Stakes, the course-and-distance prep for the $1-million GI Stephen Foster Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Gary and Mary...

On a night that saw Patches O'Houlihan (Reload) take home both Canadian Horse of the Year and Male Sprinter honors, Kevin Attard finally ended the 13-year consecutive streak of dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse when he won Outstanding Trainer by a single vote at the 50th Sovereign Awards presented by The Jockey Club of Canada which was held outside the city of Toronto, the organization said in a press release late Thursday. Besting Casse 135 to 134 in the tally, Attard pushed the outside of the envelope in what...

Canada's Sovereign Award finalists were announced by The Jockey Club of Canada Wednesday, in addition to dual Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield who will receive the E.P. Taylor Award of Merit at the 50th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony which will be held Apr. 24 at the Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, Ontario. Additionally, Emma-Jayne Wilson and Moira (Ghostzapper), winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf before selling for $4.3 million at Fasig-Tipton in November, will both receive Special Sovereign Awards. Wilson surpassed Julie Krone's purse earnings record...

In September of 2022, an Ontario-bred by the name of Patches O'Houlihan kicked off his career at Woodbine, winning a 5 1/2-furlong test by 4 1/2 lengths. Less than two months later, 20-year-old Sofia Vives launched her career as a jockey while recording her first victory aboard Bodacious Miss (Bodemeister), also in a 5 1/2-furlong race at the Etobicoke oval. While over a year removed from joining forces, the son of Reload and the South Carolina native both rode the wave of 2023, capping off their respective seasons with a...

Having picked up the greatest victory of his career, thus far, in the 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) had yet to return to that peak this season, but found the winner's enclosure again in the GII Kennedy Road Stakes Saturday evening at Woodbine. A 10-time winner in his career, most of them came against stakes or graded company over the course of four years. He'd made a name for himself early on as a quality synthetic horse, winning three stakes races in a row between...