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Oaks Entrants
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Trainer |
Jockey |
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Breeder |
A Louisville native, Casse, 45, started his career conditioning Thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs at the young age of 17. He captured a training title at the legendary Louisville oval in the spring of 1988 before taking his career to Canada, where he operates a large stable of horses year round based at Woodbine. Until 2005, Casse held the record for the most wins at a single Churchill Downs meeting. Seaside Retreat and Top Notch Lady will mark his first Derby and Oaks participants, respectively. |
Born in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1973, Husbands hails from a family full of jockeys, as his father and two brothers both took up that profession. Husbands enjoyed early success as a rider in his native country, becoming the youngest rider to win the prestigious Cockspur Cup in his hometown at the age of 16, and Patrick followed his brother Simon to Woodbine to become a full time rider on the Canadian horse racing circuit in 1994. He has enjoyed immense success in Canada, including winning a handful of Sovereign Awards as the nation's top jockey and winning the Canadian Triple Crown in 2003 aboard Wando. |
Bio Coming Soon
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Charles Nuckols, Jr., who passed away last September at age 83, was a resident of Lexington, KY. One of the outstanding families of the horse breeding industry, his father founded Hurstland Farm in the 1890's. Charles, Sr. ran the farm until 1951, when his sons Charles, Hiram, and Alfred took over upon his death. The farm was divided up in 1985, and the portion retained by Charles is now run by his sons Charles III and Jimmy. The 1,150 acres was the birthplace of standouts War Emblem, Hidden Lake, and is the home to stallions Pyramid Peak, Home at Last, and Jambalaya Jazz. In the history of the farm, they have bred over 300 stakes winners for themselves or their clients. |
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03.27.06 - Canadian Top Notch Lady Surprises In Bourbonette BC
03.25.06 - Top Notch Lady Takes To Polytrack In Bourbonette
03.24.06 - Major Preps Move To Polytrack
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DRF Past Performances
Next Race: 05.05 Kentucky Oaks (GI)
Future Wager Odds
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Pool # |
Date |
Horse # |
Final Odds |
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3 |
04.06-09 |
20 |
20-1 |
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2 |
03.02-05 |
24* |
9-2 |
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1 |
01.26-29 |
24* |
7-2 |
* = Part of the mutuel field
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Race History :: Graded Earnings: $170,790 (as of 03.25.06) - Race Record: 7-4-2-0
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Date |
Race |
Finish |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Comments |
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03.25.06 |
Bourbonette BC (GIII) |
1st |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
4-5 wide trip, wore down Coronado's Vision late |
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11.20.05 |
Glorious Song |
1st |
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Video |
Wide, rallied, in time |
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11.03.05 |
Allowance @ Woodbine |
1st |
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Video |
Much the best at odds on |
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10.01.05 |
Mazarine BC (GIII) |
2nd |
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Video |
Stalked early, could not contain Knights Templar; placed 3rd |
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09.11.05 |
Natalma (GIII) |
2nd |
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Video |
Contested early pace, game try for second |
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08.20.05 |
Ontario Debutante |
4th |
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Video |
Vied early, no punch in stretch |
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07.30.05 |
Maiden Special Weight @ Woodbine |
1st |
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Video |
Outside rally, got up late |
Recent Workouts
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Date |
Track |
Distance |
Time |
Rank |
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04.28 |
Churchill Downs |
5 furlongs (fast) |
1:01.00 B |
9/27 |
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04.20 |
Churchill Downs |
5 furlongs (fast) |
1:02.80 B |
24/35 |
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04.13 |
Churchill Downs |
5 furlongs (fast) |
1:00.40 B |
3/19 |
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Top Notch Lady is a massive daughter of Sultry Song - a very classy and versatile performer around two turns in the early 90s. Sultry Song was a graded stakes winner on both turf and dirt, and typical to his pedigree (Cox's Ridge out of a Buckpasser dam side), he got better as the distances got longer and as he got older, capturing three Grade I events in the handicap division in 1992 in his final year of racing.
Top Notch Lady's dam - Ocean Breeze - was a Churchill Downs stakes winner of eight races and $127,568, and she has proven to be a very generous broodmare. The Blade mare has produced an amazing 11 winners from 11 foals to race, including three stakes. Outside of Top Notch Lady, Ocean Breeze has produced Japanese millionaire Eishin Concord, so it is evident that she can get a classy performer.
The fourth dam is the important producer Iskra, who produced top class horses and stamina influences Wajima and Naskra, and with the fact that she is 4x5 to Princequillo and Turn-To, Top Class Lady possesses both the ample class and router's heritage to fit as a legitimate Oaks contender. Her pedigree isn't all that is big, as Top Class Lady is enormous in stature as previously mentioned, and she will easily be the biggest filly to load into the starting gate in the Run for the Lilies.
Dosage Index: 2.64
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TOP NOTCH LADY comes in the Oaks off six weeks plus rest and that hasn't been the traditional plan for Oaks winners in the past. Still she won the Grade III Bourbonette in style to run her streak to three straight win photos and she comes in with hot form. Canadian filly has a sharp trainer in Mark Casse, who won and won for Harry Mangurian in the 90's. Casse has been in Canada for a while now but he knows what it takes to win in Kentucky as well and has never come to Derby weekend before, saying that this filly was worth the trip and why he was coming this year for the first time. Pretty strong when you consider that she's won two straight stakes and he's eager to try this kind. Pedigree gets the extended distance without a problem and she probably wouldn't mind it wet either. There is a ton to like about this filly and she's likely to be a great price on the board in anybody's race. Live longshot belongs on all your exotic tickets.
- Steve Fugitte |
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Oaks Information
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