Tepin didn’t run her best race but it was enough to beat her 7 rivals in the Canadian G1 $1,000,000 Woodbine Mile. The victory adds C$600,000 to Tepin’s already prodigious bankroll and earns her an all-expense paid trip past the entry box at the Breeder’s Cup Mile in November where she will attempt to repeat her championship of 2015.. The “Queen of the Turf” covered the mile in 1:34.13 over a course rated as “Good”.
Tepin broke alertly from the 8 post, but maybe too alertly. According to the Brisnet chart Tepin hit the gate and stumbled at the start. The daughter of Bernstein was still able to gain the lead in the first few jumps before settling in a comfortable 4th down the backside. Jockey Julien Leparoux kept her wide and in the clear as she took the lead in the stretch, holding off my 23-1 longshot pick to contend, Tower of Texas.
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A champion of the Canadian circuit, jockey Eurico Da Silva expertly guided Tower of Texas near the back of the pack along the rail, saving all of the ground until being angled out midway thru the turn for home. As Tepin felt the effects of her 3 month layoff and labored home, Tower of Texas kept grinding but was not able to get closer than the ½ length margin of victory at the wire. The 2nd choice in the betting, Mutakayyef, was outclosed but got up for 3rd. Mutakayyef’s 3rd place finish extends his lifetime in-the-money streak to a perfect 14 for 14.
Tepin returned $2.90 and $2.10, while Tower of Texas added $10.60 to my bankroll for the place. The folks at Woodbine feared an onslaught of Tepin show wagers and thought it best to eliminate show betting on the race (a pet peeve of mine). The $2 Tepin/Tower of Texas exacta paid $21.90.
Assistant trainer Norm Casse capably handled the champion bay mare on race day as trainer Mark Casse was grounded in Kentucky and had to watch from Churchill Downs. The view was just as sweet from Kentucky as Tepin extended her unbeaten streak to 8. The scariest part of Tepin’s run is that she seemed a little off her game and still came through like a champ. The race was her first one in 3 months, she hit the gate and stumbled at the start, she ran wide throughout and lost ground on the turn, and had to run on a less than firm turf course. There was also a bit of track bias at the Woodbine turf course with the inside horses winning 24% of the time.
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The significance of this is that I will upgrade her speed rating when handicapping her next race, which will most likely be the Keeneland’s $400,000 First Lady Stakes or the $1 million Shadwell Mile at Keeneland on the same day. Tepin prepped for last year’s Breeder’s Cup in the First Lady. It’s hard to imagine that the Woodbine Mile will be viewed as a “tightener” but that’s what it was. And the road trouble that she easily overcame may go ignored, giving us a shot at a better price when she tries to beat the boys again in 6 weeks.
We will be back to try and beat the favorite next week.
