2009 Woodbine Oaks Post Position: 12
* You can’t really say it’s a no-brainer for her connections to run Academicienne, which translates loosely as a female member of the Academy, in Sunday’s $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser.
* After all, the daughter of Royal Academy, who won the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Mile, faces some major challenges in her quest to win Canada’s most important test for Canadian-foaled three year old fillies. First off, she will be seeing Polytrack for the first time. Secondly, she’s never been further than one mile in five career outings. Thirdly, and most importantly, no filly has ever won the Oaks in her North American debut.
* A tall order? No question, but her new connections no doubt hope it’s ‘pas de problem’!
* Bred by Michael Byrne in Ontari0 and then sold privately to French connections, she was originally sent overseas to the care of trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, where she made three starts last year in France, winning two of them… her debut at Clairefontaine and an allowance race at Toulouse.
* This year, Academicienne debuted at Longchamp in April, finishing sixth, before taking another allowance contest at Maisons-Laffitte. So, she does sport more than a decent record, which caught the eye of her new owner, Bruce Carusi (NYKY Thoroughbred Stable).
* “You probably know as much about her as I do,” said her new trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who has only had the chestnut filly in his barn for less than a week. “But we reached out and bought her. We saw she was three for five in France, she’s carried up to 128 pounds and she’s a Canadian-bred filly. We thought she might fit up there.”
* On the switch to Polytrack for the first time, McLaughlin added, “Yes, of course, we are concerned. But most of the time turf horses handle poly better than dirt horses. She’s a smallish filly, but sound and correct. She’s doing fine and training fine.”
Owner – NYKY Thoroughbred Stables
Academicienne is owned by Bruce Carusi of NYKY Thoroughbred Stables. Carusi has a number of horses with trainer Kiaran McLauglin in New York, including Starship Angel and Vancy Pants.
Carusi was listed as the Executive Producer for the Award-winning documentary, The First Saturday in May, which followed six horses and their connections on the road to the 2007 Kentucky Derby.
Trainer – Kiaran McLaughlin
Born November 15, 1960, in Lexington, Kentucky, Kiaran McLaughlin first worked at the racetrack with trainers James Burchell, John Hennig (later to become his father-in-law), Dave Kassen and Tim Muckler. He got his first break when he was hired as an assistant to D. Wayne Lukas in January 1985. After supervising several New York-based Lukas-trained Eclipse champions, including Open Mind, McLaughlin briefly changed careers in 1992, becoming an agent for jockey Chris Antley.
In November 1993, he started training for Sheikh Mohammed in Dubai from October through April. For the other six months of the year, McLaughlin trained horses in New York, a schedule he continued until 2003, when he settled permanently in the States and opened a public stable.
McLaughlin was the leading trainer at Nad Al Sheba Race Course from 1994-96. One of his biggest wins, though, came with Dumaani, who won the $1.5-million, Group 2 Keio Hai Spring Cup in April 1995 in Japan at odds of 56-1. Dumaani also won the Keeneland Breeders= Cup in 1995 and 1996.
In 2003, he won 41 races and over $3.1 million in purse earnings, good enough for 33rd place in the trainer standings and also won his first U.S. Grade 1 with Lunar Sovereign in the Man o’ War. In 2004, he jumped to 15th place with over $5.5 million.
In 2005, he saddled longshot Closing Argument to a close second-place finish to Giacomo in the Kentucky Derby.
In 2006, McLaughlin enjoyed a then career-best year in his 20+year career, when his stable earned more than $8.5 million, placing him fifth behind Todd Pletcher. His ‘big horse’, of course, was Invasor, who won four Grade 1’s, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, in an undefeated North American campaign which earned him Older Horse and Horse of the Year honours in the United States.
Invasor would continue his brilliance in 2007, winning the Donn Handicap in Florida, then the Dubai World Cup in March, before an injury in late June forced his premature retirement. McLaughlin also conditioned three-year-old Jazil, who gave owner Shadwell Farm its first Triple Crown win with a victory in the 2006 Belmont Stakes.
But 2007 was even better, as McLaughlin won 119 races and over $12.9 million in purses, good enough for third overall in North America. His barn included stakes winners Daaher, a Canadian-bred, Shakis, Lear’s Princess, Flashy Bull and Shakespeare, who won the Woodbine Mile.
Last year, he finished eighth with 131 winners and over $8.1 million in purses, with Lucky Island and Divine Park amongst his stakes winners.
This season he is off to another great start, currently third behind Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher, with 54 winners and over $3.2 million in purses. Among his stable stars are Charitable Man, second choice for this Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, Mr. Fantasy, Albertus Maximus, Carolyn’s Cat and Taqarub.
Jockey – Alan Garcia
Born October 2, 1985 in Lima, Peru, Alan Garcia was the leading apprentice in his homeland in 2003, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who were also jockeys, before coming to the United States to continue his riding career. He continued that success by becoming the leading apprentice rider at the Meadowlands. Since then, it’s been onward and upward.
In 2006, he won 154 races and over $5.2 million in purses, but in 2007, Garcia rose to 13th place on the continent, with 235 wins and over $11.8 million in purses. Season highlights included his first Breeders’ Cup win aboard longshot Lahudood in the Filly and Mare Turf.
Last year, though, was even better, as he finished seventh to Garrett Gomez on the money list with over $14.4 million and 231 wins, highlighted by a shocking victory aboard Da ‘Tara in the Belmont Stakes, when odds-on Big Brown, going for the Triple Crown, floundered. He took his first New York Racing Association title last year with 220 wins, capturing riding titles at Saratoga and the Aqueduct Spring and Fall meets. Amongst his other major winners were Met Mile champion Divine Park, Charitable Man, Mani Bhavan, Shakis and Dynaforce.
This year, Garcia, an Elmont, New York resident, has 59 wins and over $3.4 million, with top mounts like Charitable Man, Bribon, Albertus Maximus and most recently, Rutherienne, who just captured last weekend’s Nassau Stakes at Woodbine, as the odds-on choice.