Patches O’Houlihan wins the Thorncliffe May 4 at Woodbine (Michael Burns)
Chris Lomon/Woodbine Communications
TORONTO – Patches O’Houlihan, Canada’s reigning Horse of the Year, takes to the turf for the $200,000 bet365 Highlander Stakes (G2T), part of the Canada Day Racing Festival, Saturday at Woodbine.
Scratched from his start in the $150,000 Jacques Cartier (G3) on May 31, Patches O’Houlihan breezed an easy half in :48.4 in the rain on June 19, in preparation for the six-furlong event for 4-year-olds and up, contested on the E.P. Taylor turf.
“Disappointed would be an understatement,” said owner and breeder Frank Di Giulio, Jr., of missing out on the Jacques Cartier. “He was 1-9 [in the morning line] in a four-horse field, but unfortunately, those things happen. Bob (Canadian Hall of Fame trainer, Tiller) told me Patches left some feed, he had spiked a temperature ahead of the race and looked almost glassy-eyed – like a person would look when they are sick – so the decision was made to scratch him.
“Regardless of the disappointment, doing right by the horse is all that matters. He’s okay now and that is the main thing.”
The Highlander will mark the second start of 2025 for the multiple graded stakes-winning 5-year-old son of Reload out of the Silent Name (JPN) mare Maythefourthbwithu.
The bay gelding, who has two wins from three career starts on the turf, heads into his latest stakes test off a sharp seasonal debut.
Under two-time Canadian champion apprentice jockey Sofia Vives, Patches O’Houlihan won the $100,000 Thorncliffe Stakes, a 5 ½-furlong main track event for 4-year-olds and up, by four lengths as the 2-5 choice.
He stopped the teletimer in a rapid 1:02.28, which bested the previous record mark of 1:02.62 set by Arzak on April 17, 2022.
“I would think it [what impressed me the most] would be the time and how easily he did it,” Di Giulio said of the horse who was also feted as Canada’s champion male sprinter of 2024. “When I saw that he had run in 1:02 and change, I knew it was fast, but I didn’t know it was a track record. He seemed to do it pretty handily, so that was impressive as well.”
Patches O’Houlihan – a nod to the Rip Torn character in the comedy movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – debuted in September 2022 and recorded a 4 ½-length score at 5 ½ furlongs over the Woodbine main track.
Between May and September of 2023, Patches O’Houlihan reeled off six consecutive victories.
His record stands at 12-1-0 from 15 starts, along with $748,590 (USD) / ($1,015,540 (CDN)) in purse earnings.
“He’s been off for two months, so hopefully, he can come back to the way he was before,” said Di Giulio. “This guy is tough and hopefully, he will run his race again. I’m always nervous – when you have a horse who wins like he does everyone expects him to do it all the time – but it’s nice to be in a position to feel that way.”
Patches O’Houlihan, who won the Nearctic Stakes (G2T) last October, has drawn comparisons to sprint superstar Pink Lloyd, the eight-time Sovereign Award winner and 2017 Horse of the Year in Canada – he was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2023 – whom Di Giulio co-owned under the Entourage Stable banner.
“They are two great horses, and I am truly blessed to be part of both,” said Di Giulio. “I hear about Patches being a fan favourite on the [Woodbine] broadcast. Being so close to him, it’s hard to comprehend what other people feel about him, but I really do appreciate it, that’s for sure.”
Clifford Knight is the groom.
Multiple stakes-winning My Boy Prince, Canada’s champion 2-year-old male, has crafted an impressive 7-4-1 mark from 16 career starts.
A son of Cairo Prince out of the Silent Name mare Hopping Not Hoping, the gelding’s sterling resume includes victories in the 2024 editions of the King Corrie, Queenston and Plate Trial Stakes, as well as a one-length score in this year’s Elusive Quality Stakes over the outer turf at Belmont at the Big A on May 3, and a strong second to multiple graded stakes victor Ag Bullet in the Jaipur Stakes (G1T) on June 8 at Saratoga.
“He is such a favourite of everybody,” said Kathryn Sullivan, assistant trainer to Mark Casse. “He’s coming in off a great second in the Jaipur, where he ran an exceptional race. The race before, he had another fantastic effort when he won the Elusive Quality.
“He’s been training well, and we are just hoping for a good season up here with him. He’s lovely.”
The Highlander marks My Boy Prince’s first start at Woodbine since the Woodbine Mile (G1T) last September.
“When he ran in the Mile, he finished sixth, but he was actually right there,” said Sullivan, of the effort that left him 4 ½ lengths behind the winner and stablemate, Win for the Money. “He was coming on and he was taking on older horses, so it was actually a very good race.”
Second in the running of the 2024 King’s Plate, the grey, bred in Ontario by Murray Graham Smith, has recorded $957,041 (USD) / $1,197,765 (CDN) in lifetime purse earnings.
In 10 starts at Woodbine, My Boy Prince is 6-3-0 from 10 engagements.
“We are just so proud of him and so happy to see him race again at Woodbine,” said Sullivan. “He’s a lovely horse.”
My Boy Prince was the $115,000 (CDN) sale-topper at the 2022 CTHS Canadian Premier Yearling Sale.
Ivan “Billy” Forde is the groom.
Sid Attard won three straight editions of the Highlander, with Signature Red in 2010 and 2011, and Smokey Fire in 2012.
The wagering menu for the Highlander includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, Pick 3 (Races 8-9-10) and $1 Swinger.
Field for the $200,000 Highlander (G2T) – Race 8
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – My Boy Prince – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
2 – Playmea Tune – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll
3 – Niagara Skyline – Dyan Davis – John Charalambous
4 – Its Time to Shine (S) – Jose Campos – John Ross
5 – Patches O’Houlihan – Sofia Vives – Bob Tiller
6 – Ms. Tart – Huber Villa-Gomez – Kevin Rice (cross-entered in Nassau)
7 – Old Chestnut – Eswan Flores – Martin Drexler
8 – Dresden Row (S) – Ryan Munger – Lorne Richards
