stakes recap

By Kimberly Rinker

French Wine took the $822,000 (CAD) ($600,000USD) Breeders Crown Open Trot in a new stakes record of 1:50.1 with Jason Bartlett at the lines, who notched his second Crown victory of the weekend on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Trained by Nancy Takter for owners Daniel & Jean-Christophe Plouffe, and One Legend Stable of Quebec, the 5-year-old son of Bar Hopping pushed his career earnings to $1,609,133 with the win, the 16th of his career in 48 starts.

“I figured there’d be a couple of leavers from the outside, and I thought this race was going to have a little bit of positioning early and depending upon what Yannick (Gingras driving Lexus Kody) and Scott (Zeron driving Periculum) were doing,” said winning driver Jason Bartlett. “I didn't think it was going to be cut and dry like it was last week. I had to kind of play off them and I wanted to be behind one of them second or third over."

Dexter Dunn had Up Your Deo out and moving quickly to the lead, holding off rival Hillexotic (Austin Hanners) to the :26.2 first quarter clocking before yielding to his rival. Not one to give up quickly, however, Up Your Deo pulled out of the pocket to retake the lead, while Lexus Kody (Yannick Gingras) came first over, followed by the eventually winner to the :54.3 half.

"He gets a little pacey in the last couple of spots,” Bartlett acknowledged. “He’s been really good ever since Nancy put me on him, and it's been a pleasure to drive him. He's a classy horse and tonight he showed up when it mattered. This is very memorable. I'm trying to take it all in and trying to enjoy it as much as possible, and am just grateful for the opportunities that I've gotten this year."

Up Your Deo, Lexus Kody, Hillexotic battled to the 1:22.1 three-quarter marker, with French Wine prevailing at the wire, and holding off a late charge from Periculum.

"He was already a nice horse when he came to me,” said winning trainer Nancy Takter admitted. “He had made a lot of money already and won stake races and I knew he was a great horse, we just changed some equipment on him, changed his shoes, and I gave him a shot at Hoosier, which, thank God I did, because I was a little skeptical on my own call to do that, and he raced super there, and has been super since.

"Jason's given this horse some really nice trips,” Takter continued. “Every time he's driven him, he's had him continuously passing horses, which I think is really important for his confidence. The first time he drove him he couldn't let him go for a quarter of a mile, and then in Lexington, he said he could only let him go the last eighth, and last week he said he was only able to let him go the last 16th, and I said, well, that's perfect, because by Breeders Crown night you'll be able to let him go, and he did tonight, and he was just super. "

Michael Cot Gagnon, co-owner of one Legend Stable had a difficult time containing his enthusiasm for his winning steed.

"We had a lot of success at the beginning with the Millers (trainer Julie & driver Andy), and they did a great job with this horse at 2 and 3, but unfortunately he's been very unlucky with the post position in his major big races, and as many fans know, he got beaten just under the wire in the Kentucky Futurity. And the same thing happened in Hambletonian Maturity. We were looking for his first Grand Circuit win, because this guy is such a professional champion, unfortunately we needed some luck, and tonight is the night we had to make the move.

"Two months ago, Nancy got a really big challenge when she took on this horse, because the way he was going, he wouldn’t have been able to compete against these horses. He went from trotting at Philadelphia in 1:53 now and he's beating the best horses in the world in 1:50. This turned out like to be the perfect night and the horse is unbelievable, and was crowned the king of trot tonight. He deserves this crown," Gagnon said.

Bred by Martin Katz and Al Libfeld of Ontario, French Wine also has 11 seconds and 12 thirds. The time of 1:50.1 was just a tick off of his career mark of 1:50, which he scored as a 3-year-old, en route to winning an $80,000n Kentucky Sires Stakes Championship in 2023. ​ He was third in last year’s $672,000 Breeder’s Crown Open Trot to Tactical Approach.

French Wine is the ninth foal out of the Conway Hall mare Creamy Mimi, and has half-siblings in French Laundry (by Muscles Yankee) 3, 1:52.4 ($652,823) and to French Café (by Father Patrick) 3, 1;52.3 ($228,331), etc.