**Please see the attached photo of Havre de Grace and jockey Ramon Dominguez winning the 2011 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, voted by fans as NYRA’s Race of the Year. Credit NYRA,
Monday, January 16, 2012
Contact:
HAVRE DE GRACE’S WOODWARD VOTED NYRA’S ‘RACE OF THE YEAR’
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Fans have voted the 2011 Grade 1 Woodward Stakes, in which Havre de Grace became the second female to win the race in its 58-year history, as The New York Racing Association, Inc.’s (NYRA) Race of the Year.
Havre de Grace’s Woodward received 37 percent of the vote, with the Foxwoods King’s Bishop, won narrowly by Caleb’s Posse over Uncle Mo, checking in second with 23 percent. Winter Memories’ Garden City victory was third with 20 percent, followed by Tizway’s Metropolitan Handicap tour de force with 12 percent and Royal Delta’s TVG Alabama romp with 8 percent.
In the Woodward, Havre de Grace, a 4-year-old filly, stalked the pace, claimed the lead from pacesetter Rule in upper stretch, and turned back eventual Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Flat Out to score by a comfortable 1 ¼ lengths under Ramon Dominguez.
“She ran awesome that day, as always,” recalled Dominguez. “We had to settle behind the speed, in the clear, wide. One thing [trainer] Larry [Jones] emphasized in previous races but especially in that race is that ‘she will not get tired and do not be afraid to make the first move.’ I felt a little guilty moving at the three-eighths pole, but she kept on finding. Inside the sixteenth pole she started easing back, but when she felt Flat Out she came on again.”
The only other female to have won the Woodward is Rachel Alexandra, who was named Horse of the Year for 2009 after holding on to take that year’s Woodward by a head as a 3-year-old filly.
Owned by Fox Hill Farms, Inc., Havre de Grace is one of the leading contenders for 2011 Horse of the Year and Champion Older Female, which will be announced tonight at the Eclipse Awards in
“The Woodward was probably the race that made us Horse of the Year contenders,” said Jones. “Having the Woodward voted as NYRA’s Race of the Year is a great honor for us. We thought it was a great race, and we’re glad the fans agreed! To have Havre de Grace become the second filly to win the Woodward was special.”
Havre de Grace made one other start on the NYRA circuit in 2011, a runaway 8 ¼-length victory in the Grade 1 Beldame Invitational in October at Belmont Park. Royal Delta, runner-up in the Beldame, won the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic in her next start.
Overall in 2011, Havre de Grace won four of six starts, taking the Grade 3 Azeri and Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap in addition to her NYRA triumphs. Her two defeats were a nose loss to rival Blind Luck in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap and a fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
-30-
