Dos Ramos lands Sand Cove in Seagram Cup

Trinidad-born rider Richard Dos Ramos took the biggest prize when he was astride Ralph Johnson’s Sand Cove to capture the Grade 3 Can$179,100 Seagram Cup Stakes.

And Barbadian Jono Jones landed Six Brothers Stable charge Tree Pose to her first stakes score in the Can$127,400 Nandi Stakes. It was also a first for trainer Bill Tharrenos.

For Sand Cove, it was the sixth career stakes victory for the Roger Attfield- trained five-year-old grey and the first graded stakes, gamely holding off a strong charge from Stunning Stag, who was away slowly. Field Commission was third. Sand Cove broke well and went straight to the lead and cantered through an opening quarter in :26-flat.

On the first turn, Pool Play applied mild pressure to his outside, but it didn’t speed the pace up dramatically — the half was in :50.38.

“I wasn’t worried when Patrick Husbands (on Pool Play) shot up outside of me, he was still relaxed. When I put him on the bridle, he was ready to go.”

Sand Cove quickened noticeably in the third quarter of the Seagram.

In the stretch, the Ontario-bred son of Bold Executive stayed on well and staved off a bid from Stunning Stag, who closed several paths out in the stretch and fell a length short.

Sand Cove boosted his earnings to Can$774,732 and is now a nine-time winner in 28 starts.

In the Nandi Tree Pose a two-year-old daughter of Old Forester secured the lead soon after the start and established speedy fractions of :22.34 and :44.85. She saved enough for the stretch to win the six-furlong event for Ontario-sired fillies by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:09.64.

Shadowsinthenight closed through the lane to finish second, but was unable to gain on the winner.

Lucky Be Me, also a Tharrenos pupil, was third.

Tree Pose is now a two-time winner from three starts. Her only defeat was a second-place finish to highly-regarded Roxy Gap in the Shady Well Stakes in July.