• Trainer Bill Mott won the inaugural Woodbine Mile in 1997 with an 8-1 longshot named Geri. He then sent out race favourites Elusive Quality in 1998 (4th) and Garbu in 1999 (8th). His barn’s last entrant was Del Mar Show in 2002, the 7-2 third choice, who finished 10th.
• Now, after a nine-year absence, the Hall of Fame conditioner returns to Toronto with another likely Mile favourite in Courageous Cat, a five-year-old son of Storm Cat-Tranquility Lake.
• Jockey Patrick Valenzuela has also won the Woodbine Mile - in 2006 with Becrux, in a rather incredulous scenario. He was named by trainer Neil Drysdale just the day before the race as a replacement for an injured Corey Nakatani. It was also Valenzuela’s first mount in two months while recovering from a strained back.
• Courageous Cat has made only 13 lifetime starts, but boasts an impressive six wins, including his most recent victory, the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park on July 2, in just his second outing of the year, when fending off Caracortado by a neck in 1:33. His season debut had come only three weeks earlier at Belmont Park, when capturing the Grade 3 Poker by a handy two and one-quarter lengths over Yield Bogey over a ‘good’ turf in 1:36 3/5. He registered excellent 103 Beyers (Daily Racing Form speed ratings) in both.
• Courageous Cat has raced more often as a three-year-old (7), than he has as a four and five-year-old combined (5). “It’s just been normal things that you come up with in all horses,” explained Mott, about the relative inactivity of Courageous Cat. “Nothing dramatic, just a few little things that we had to wait on him and wait for things to settle down and get right.”
• In addition to his six wins, he also finished second to champion Goldikova in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita, hauled down in late stretch by the French phenom while losing by a half-length.
• His multiple stakes-winning dam Tranquility Lake earned over $1.6 million for the Wygods, including a victory in the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon in 2000. She’s also turned into their foundation broodmare. Her first foal was named After Market, who won over $900,000, taking two Grade 1’s in the process, the Charlie Wittingham and Eddie Read. After Market and Courageous Cat are full brothers, who, remarkably, also both won the Grade 2 Hall of Fame at Saratoga, in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
• Courageous Cat had his final blowout for the Ricoh Woodbine Mile last Sunday at Saratoga, a five furlong breeze on the turf course in :59.95 seconds. “He worked good,” said Mott, who plans to be here for the race. “Off easy, finished up well. By all accounts, he seemed to have come back good. We’re happy with him today. We’ve been happy with him since his last race. We gotta hope that things stay good for another week.”
• “There’s nothing not to like about them,” said Mott, about Courageous Cat’s two outings this year. “They were both good races. The Poker was very good, and he came back on short rest and ran very well in the Shoemaker. He held him (Caracortado) safe. It looked they could have gone around again and he would have still won. As of right now, we’re happy with the progress he’s made since, so we’re cautiously optimistic.”
• If things go as planned, Courageous Cat could meet Goldikova once again in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (November 5 at Churchill Downs). “Absolutely, that’s why we’re doing this (running in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, which is a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In event).”
• Last year, Courageous Cat started just three times – winning the Canadian Turf at Gulfstream Park in February, finishing ninth in the Dubai Duty Free at Meydan in March, then coming back six months later to finish third to Gio Ponti in the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland. “We were considering going to the Breeders’ Cup, but we didn’t feel the race (Shadwell) was good enough to go on, so we just started over again,” recalled Mott.
Owners – Pam and Martin Wygod
Pam and Martin Wygod are New York State natives but live in Rancho Sante Fe, California. Martin was the youngest managing partner of a New York Stock Exchange brokerage in the 1960’s. He then entered the home medical services industry with Glasrock Medical Services, and over a 10-year period built Medco Containment Services into the nation’s largest mail-order prescription drug company. In 1993, he sold Medco to pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. for $6.5 billion.
He now serves as chairman of the board of directors of WebMD, a leading provider of health information services to consumers, physicians, health care professionals, employers and health plans.
In 1996, Martin became a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and a member of The Jockey Club and serves on the board of directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
The Wygods ranked as California's leading Thoroughbred breeders in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In June of 2010, they announced plans to concentrate their breeding operation in Kentucky and sold their 240-acre River Edge Farm in California, including stallions Benchmark, Dixie Chatter and Tribal Rule.
Among the horses the Wygods have campaigned with great success over the years are multiple Grade 1 winners Tranquility Lake, Twice the Vice, Exotic Wood, and homebreds Sweet Catomine, the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner, After Market, Courageous Cat, Harmonious, 2009 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic winner and career earner of over $1.8 million Life Is Sweet and Idiot Proof.
The Wygods own about 70 broodmares, which they board in Kentucky at Lane's End Farm. They usually have about 50 horses in training. They’ve bred more than 110 stakes winners. At the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale, the Wygods sold a colt by Storm Cat-Tranquility Lake, subsequently named Jalil, for a sale-topping $9.7 million to John Ferguson (agent for Sheikh Mohammed).
Trainer - Bill Mott
Born July 29, 1953 in Mobridge, South Dakota, Bill Mott inherited a love of horses from his veterinarian father. He entered the racing game at the age of 15, owning and training his first horse, My Assets, eventually winning his first race with her at Park Jefferson Racetrack. He then purchased a horse named Kosmic Tour for $2,000 and won the South Dakota Futurity, all this before he’d completed high school. He next worked for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg for three years before starting his own stable in 1978.
Mott was the youngest trainer to be inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1998 - at age 45. He won back-to-back Eclipse Awards as North America’s top trainer in 1995 and 1996. His Eclipse Award-winning horses include Ajina, 1997 champion 3-year-old filly; Escena, 1998 champion older filly or mare; Paradise Creek, 1994 champion male turf horse; Theatrical, 1987 champion male turf horse, and of course, the incomparable Cigar, Horse of the Year and champion older horse in 1995 and 1996, of which Mott said, “He’s the best horse I’ve ever trained. He may be the best horse anyone has ever trained.”
Cigar won a then record-tying 16 straight races during 1995 and 1996, a streak which included victories in the 1995 Breeders' Cup Classic and the inaugural Dubai World Cup. His finished his career with a close third-place finish in the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Woodbine and retired as the highest money-earner of all time with $9,999,815, until being passed by Curlin in 2008.
Mott is a three-time recipient of the New York Turf Writers Association Outstanding Trainer Award (1995, 1996 and 2000) and has won nine training titles at Saratoga, 10 titles at Belmont Park, nine at Gulfstream Park and five at Keeneland.
In 2009, his major winners included Dynaforce, Mr. Sidney, Courageous Cat and Hold Me Back, who took the Dominion Day Handicap at Woodbine.
Last year, he was named to take over the Juddmonte Farms operation in the United States, replacing the late Bobby Frankel. Stable stars included Proviso, Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer, Treat Gently and Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Unrivaled Belle, as his barn earned over $8.8 million in purses, fifth overall, while winning 119 races. This year, he’s currently ninth to Todd Pletcher, with $4.2 million and 68 winners. Career-wise, he’s won 4,120 races and over $193 million in purses, fourth overall to D. Wayne Lukas.
Jockey – Patrick Valenzuela
Born October 17, 1962 in Montrose, Colorado, Patrick Valenzuela exploded onto the west coast riding scene as a teenager. He won his first race at Sunland Park in New Mexico in 1978, before becoming the leading apprentice in 1979-80 at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita. In 1980, at only 17 years of age, he steered Codex to victory in the Santa Anita Derby. In 1982, he was presented with the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Award.
For the next dozen years, he was one of the sport’s leaders. He was the regular pilot of 1989 champion Sunday Silence, winning both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and was aboard in 12 of the colt’s 14 career starts. During that time, he won six Breeders’ Cup races, with Brave Raj (1986), Very Subtle (1987), Arazi (1991), Opening Verse (1991), Eliza (1992) and Fraise (1992). He became the first jockey to win at least two Breeders’ Cup races on the same card in 1991.
In a remarkable renaissance, Valenzuela returned to prominence in 2002. In 2002 and 2003, he was California’s leading rider. He also finished seventh nationally in 2002 with $12.5 million in purses and 222 wins and was fifth in 2003, with $15.6 million in purses and 286 wins, both times behind leader Jerry Bailey. He also won his seventh Breeders’ Cup race aboard longshot Adoration in the Distaff.
The Arcadia, California resident won the 2005 Queen’s Plate at Woodbine aboard Wild Desert, a year in which he finished seventh overall in North America with $11.7 million in purses and 202 wins. In 2006, he finished the year in 14th place with $9.7 million and 166 wins. The came three lean seasons, before Valenzuela returned to riding on a regular basis, as he wound up 38th overall in 2010, with $5.2 million in purses. This year, he’s already equalled that, along with 99 wins. In addition to his Shoemaker win aboard Courageous Cat, he also rode Acclamation to victory in the recent Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Career-wise, Valenzuela has over $163 million in purse earnings and 4,320 wins, good enough for 18th overall.