Ramsammy, WI jockeys star in Canada

TORONTO, Canada: Barbadian jockey Patrick Husbands won Sunday’s Can$182,950 George Hendrie Stakes at Woodbine aboard El Prado Essence, a horse that carries special significance for him on Mother’s Day.

 The last time Husbands rode El Prado Essence to victory in a stakes event was on September 2, 2001, when he guided the chestnut mare to a win in the Seaway Stakes. That same day, Husbands sadly learned that his mother had passed away at home in Barbados.  A year and a half later, the four-time Sovereign Award winning jockey once again mounted El Prado Essence on Sunday, in search of the same result for a fitting Mother’s Day tribute. “Today is a special day for my Mom,” said Husbands. “Everybody is enjoying Mother’s Day and I lost my mother on the same day I rode this horse. I want to say, ‘Mom, I wish you all the best up there, and we’re down here thinking about you,” he told reporters.

The 5-2 favourite Brass in Pocket finished third. Husbands, the season’s leading rider, had another winner on the card, scoring in the third astride Kissed By A Prince (6-1) by a length. Trinidadian Emile Ramsammy also registered a double — Stormthebarricade (4-1) in the fourth race for Jamaican trainer Laurie Silvera, and 2-1 favourite One For The Rose in the seventh race. Ramsammy is lying second in the table with 20 wins, four behind Husbands. Barbadian riders had a fruitful weekend at other Canadian tracks — Assinboia Downs and Stampede Park. Juan Crawford, the 1998 Barbados champion, logged doubles on Friday and Saturday and another win on Sunday to be joint leading rider — with seven wins — at Assinboia Downs where Jason Leacock rode three wins on Sunday. Quincy Welch, after missing the first month of the season at Stampede Park on a drug (failed marijuana test) suspension, rode two winners.