ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Patrick Husbands started and finished the day with victories on Saturday’s ten-race card at the Woodbine Racetrack.
The double for the champion Barbados reinsman increased his aggregate for the season to 137 and kept him firmly in second place, 21 behind runaway leader Luis Contreras.
Husbands opened the card by steering the 8-5 chance Funny Accommodation to a one and three-quarter-length victory in the CAN$24 400 opening race over 1 670 metres on the Polytrack.
He stalked the pace-setting Morelon over the first half of the race, but closed on the leader, forcing the issue into the far turn before taking command on the two-year-old, dark bay colt in the middle of the final turn, drawing clear to past the wire in a time of one minute, 45.41 seconds.
He closed the programme by driving the 3-1 favourite Eddie Set Go to victory by a nose in the CAN$47 800 final race over 1 670 metres.
He again stalked the pace four wide in fifth position then made a bid midway through the far turn before duelling on the four-year-old, bay gelding and gaining a narrow lead in midstretch, setting his mount down for a drive in the late stages to clock 1 min, 41.65 seconds.
Also on the card, Trinidadian jockey Richard Dos Ramos landed a commanding six-and-three-quarter-length victory aboard the 3-1 chance Prince Raphael in the CAN$67 100 fourth race over 1 400 metres.
Dos Ramos kept Prince Raphael in range in fifth position, closing two-wide and bidding inside the leader late in the turn.
He drove clear astride the two-year-old, bay colt at the top of the stretch then widened and finished with a hand ride in a time of 1:23.81.
In Edmonton, Alberta, Rico Walcott seemed poised to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Rickey, as a Northlands Park champion when he landed three wins on Friday to further extend his lead at the western Canada racetrack.
Walcott romped to wins in Race 2 with the favourite Ty’s Brooke before returning to the winners’ enclosure in Race 3 with 10-1 outsider, Honorable Lady.
He then carried even money favourite Juan Might to victory in Race 8, the penultimate event on the card, to complete a fine outing.
Walcott sits on top of the jockeys’ standings on 97 wins, 11 clear of Fernando Perez, with two weeks left in the season and is now the heavy favourite to take the riding title.
His older brother, Rickey, won four titles at Northlands Park, capturing the championship between 2005 to 2007 and in 2009. (CMC)
