Chris Husbands capped an incredible comeback season by winning the final race to ride off with the jockeys’ title here earlier this week.
Husbands, who spent most of last year on the sidelines battling injuries, captured the final race of the season, the CAN$30 000 Crimson Maple Cup Stakes, onboard Clarayouthebest on Tuesday to capture his fourth title at Fort Erie.
The 36-year-old Barbadian ended the meet with 41 victories and CAN$480 519 in total winnings to dethrone 2024 champion Juan Crawford, who finished with 32 wins and CAN$361 833 in winnings.
Husbands thanked local trainers Mark Fournier and Joe Humber for believing in him and giving him opportunities to ride in his comeback season
“When I first came back to Fort Erie, it was hard to find my focus again, but my agent, Paul Souter, he kept pushing, he kept me going, kept me working, and now here we are,” said Husbands.
In the final race, Husbands launched four-year-old bay filly, Clarayouthebest at the leader Moral Terpitude on the homestretch, to win by a neck in a time of 1:45.67 in the race over 1700 metres.
“Going into that first turn, I was a bit back, I had to check out but it was okay because I didn’t really want to be on the inside anyway, but then when I got the chance to drop back in down the stretch, I went for it, and it turned out exactly how I wanted,” said Husbands after the race.
It was his third win of the day, following victories in the opening race with Tentomidnight and Maiken the Viking in the day’s fourth race. (CMC)
