When it comes to Resentless, it’s all about the numbers. Five, as in a 5 ¼-length win, followed by a 5-length tally, four, as in four top-three finishes in 2009, three, as in three career wins, two, as in two consecutive stakes scores and finally, one, as in one goal: win the biggest race of her life, the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser.
She’s heading into Sunday’s big dance on a roll. Resentless, a bay daughter of Trajectory, ended her two-year-old campaign by fetching top prize via a 5 ¼-length win in the 1 1/16-mile Ontario Lassie. In her three-year-old debut, on May 1, the Donald Ross charge zipped to a 5-length score in the seven-furlong Fury Stakes.
Which was the more impressive performance? “The Ontario Lassie was a really nice race,” commented trainer Ian Howard. “There wasn’t a lot of pace, but she did things very comfortably. And I thought her race this year was quite good, too. She was able to increase her advantage down the lane and had something left at the end.”
Although she’s answered the call with two huge performances, there is a question mark. Resentless has missed some valuable time with a virus and bacterial infection. It’s an admitted concern for her conditioner, but not big enough to dampen his enthusiasm for her chances this weekend.
“It’s always worrisome when you’ve missed time and you have to guess where you are,” said Howard. “But her ability to sustain her speed throughout a race can take her further than most horses. She does it very easily. We’ll just have to see what happens.”
Howard isn’t exactly a stranger to running in the Oaks. In the 1996 edition, his Mordacious finished fourth and 10 years later, Questuary also finished fourth. Now, he’ll look to Resentless to deliver his best result. “She’s a big filly, but she’s developed tactical speed and has learned to relax more over time. If she can understand the distance (of the Oaks) and not be too aggressive, she will be fine.”
Her sire, Trajectory, won six of 10 races, along with three seconds, for nearly $920,000 in lifetime earnings. The son of Gone West contested the 1 1/8 mile Oaks distance on one occasion, the 2000 edition of the Grade 3 Pennsylvania Derby, finishing fourth over a sloppy main strip. His final career race came at Woodbine, a neck nod over Grade 1 Metropolitan winner Exciting Story and Catch the Ring, Canada’s champion three-year-old filly and Woodbine Oaks winner in 2000, in the 1 1/16-mile Seagram Cup on August 5, 2001.
Howard has enjoyed watching his feisty filly develop over time, a horse that showed promise even before her career bow on August 7, 2009, a third-place finish at 5 ½ panels at Woodbine. “She was a real handful when she was young,” noted Howard. “But over time, she’s become easier to deal with. She was tough to walk, tough to gallop. But in saying that, she’s just a horse who likes what she does. You know when she’s feeling good around the barn because she’ll be bouncing around. But she’s no deadhead. She’s all business when the gates open.”
The bottom line for Resentless come Sunday is in how she’ll respond after having just one race under her saddle in her three-year-old campaign. But she’s proven to be a worthy contender for the top prize of $300,000 with two eye-catching efforts. “She’s continued to mature and put everything together. Getting sick certainly wasn’t what we wanted, but she’s very talented and hopefully this weekend, she can respond with her best performance.”
Owner – Donald Ross
Toronto native Donald Ross is a lifelong horse racing fan. His love affair with racing began when he followed the legendary Northern Dancer, intently tracking the son of Nearctic’s brilliant career, including watching Ron Turcotte team with the ‘Dancer’ for his first victory as a two-year-old at Fort Erie Racetrack.
“I have great memories of watching races at Old Woodbine (Greenwood). My father had an affinity for racing and I came to have a love for it, too.”
Ross’ role as a co-owner/owner dates back to the 1960s, but his greatest success as an individual owner has no doubt been with Resentless, a horse with a catchy name. “It’s funny that I’m not asked about the name more,” said Ross. “It was a misspoken word at a function,” he recalled. “I thought this was too good to miss out on, so I asked a woman for a pen and wrote it down on a piece of paper. That’s how it came to be.”
Ross’ wife, Gretchen, along with Shirley Jamieson, bred Resentless’s dam, Wistla, owning the horse with Ian Jamieson. Gretchen Ross also owned Resentless’ granddam, Sinistral, along with Shirley Jamieson.
Ross, who is “well past retirement age,” is still involved in the investment business. He also dedicates time to various charitable endeavours.
As for his Resentless contesting the Oaks, Ross is thrilled to be in the race. Early on, Resentless wasn’t exactly a slam dunk to be a stakes-winning filly. In fact, Ross toyed with the idea of selling her dam, Wistla. But after Relentless was broken, Ross saw signs she could make an impact at the races and decided to keep Wistla. “Her past two races have been very impressive. Unfortunately, she got sick and has missed time, but she’s a lovely filly and we’ll hope for the best.”
Trainer – Ian Howard
Born in Toronto, December 22, 1958, Ian Howard started working at the track at 15, first as a groom for such trainers as Jake Nemett and Jim Bentley.
Although he secured his trainer’s licence in the late 1970s, he worked as an assistant for Trevor Swan for about six years and recalls such horses as New Connection and Overpeer as the stable leaders. Laird James was his first official winner as a trainer in the early 1980s.
Mordacious won two stakes, the 1996 Ontario Lassie and 1997 Flaming Page. Others include Millashand, winner of the 1999 Lady Angela and stakes-placed Faswiga. Red Scare was second in the Connaught Cup in 2000, then a Grade 2 event, while Bogue Chitto finished second in last year’s running of the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes.
Questuary won the 2006 Eternal Search Stakes and was fourth in the Grade 3 Selene Stakes. She finished fourth, at 30-1, in that year’s running of the Woodbine Oaks.
Howard has saddled nine career stakes winners. His first added-money score came with Jade Cat in the Juvenile Stakes at Woodbine on September 23, 1995.
Jockey – Chantal Sutherland
Chantal Sutherland won her first career race on October 9, 2000 at Woodbine aboard Silver Bounty, returning $54.50 to win. She won four races, with eight top-two finishes in 20 starts.
Her promise in year one resulted in further success in year two. Sutherland recorded a year to remember in 2001: she captured 44 wins and 145 in-the-money finishes. Her stellar year was rewarded with a Sovereign Award as Canada's top apprentice rider.
In 2002, Sutherland stamped herself as a genuine talent, notching 124 wins in 724 mounts. She ranked third overall in the colony and won her first-ever stakes race aboard Biddy's Lad in the Bull Page Stakes. She capped off her campaign with a second-straight Sovereign as the country's top apprentice.
In 2003, Sutherland rode Sovereign finalist (three-year-old filly) Winter Garden to an upset win in the Star Shoot Stakes. She also competed in her second-straight Queen's Plate.
In 2005, Sutherland captured the Grade 2 Tom Fool Handicap with Smokume, Sutherland’s first graded stakes victory. The duo took the Artax Handicap. She rode in New York and Florida in 2005, for several high-profile trainers, including Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens and Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher.
In 2007, Sutherland returned to the Toronto oval, winning 69 races, ranking seventh and had the fourth-best in-the-money average among Woodbine regulars.
Two years ago, Sutherland, featured prominently in the reality series ‘Jockeys,’ won 89 races at Woodbine to rank seventh. She had the Toronto oval’s best win percentage (25.5%) in stakes races, going 12-for-47. She partnered champion Mine That Bird, upset winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby, to three added-money scores (Grey, Silver Deputy and Swynford) and Canada’s top two-year-old filly Van Lear Rose to victories in the Mazarine and Muskoka, with the pair finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
In 2009, Sutherland was a Sovereign Award finalist as Canada’s top rider after finishing second at Woodbine, with a career-best 139 wins and 12 local stakes wins, along with over $7.5-miliion in purse earnings.
The Winnipeg native was first introduced to horses through jumping and dressage. She played competitive field hockey, competing in the Women's Field Hockey Championships, playing for both the Under 21 Ontario team and the Senior Team, as well as the junior World Cup team. Sutherland graduated from York University in Communications and Psychology. She has modeled and appeared in a 2004 TV commercial for Esquire watches and the 2006 edition of Vogue magazine, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Sutherland was selected as one of ‘People Magazine’s Top 100 Most Beautiful People’ in 2006. She has lent her efforts to several marketing endeavors at racetracks throughout North America, including Woodbine.