No Time leads Casse parade in Woodbine Oaks

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No Time had a good time at the Woodbine Oaks on Sunday. Could she have an even better time when Canada’s biggest horse race rolls around?

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The three-year-old filly was sharp in victory in the $500,000 Oaks, spearheading a 1-2-3 finish for trainer Mark Casse and placing herself squarely in the field for the King’s Plate on Aug. 16.

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Ridden by John Velazquez, No Time raced close to the early pace in the 1 1/8-mile race, tracking on the outside while stablemate Winterberry had command. Approaching the stretch, No Time was three wide but had found the gear she needed to take command early in the stretch and draw off at odds of 6-1.

Winterberry was third while Casse’s most-fancied runner, 2-1 favourite Shifty, ended second.

“We knew there was going to be a lot of pace in the race so I wanted to see how it would develop,” Velazquez said. “By the time we got to the half-mile pole, I just kept it nice and easy. I didn’t want to make a premature move.”

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“The quarter-pole came and she found another gear.”

A daughter of Not This Time, No Time broke her maiden last September and opened her 2025 season with a win before finishing fourth in the Selene Stakes. The energy she had after the race proved to his hall-of-fame rider that the 1 1/4 miles of the Plate should be to her liking.

“She galloped out very nicely,” Velazquez said. “If she can do that again and she can relax in the early part of the race, she has a very good chance.”

The Plate gained another new contender one race earlier when Sedbury’s Ghost emerged from a bunched pack to win the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes.

Ridden by Ryan Munger, Sedbury’s Ghost was smartly taken near the back of the 10-horse field with a scorching pace up front. The pack closed up around the turn and Munger took his runner to the outside where he was able to get the lead in mid-stretch at odds of 7-1.

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Trained by Barbara Minshall, Sedbury’s Ghost broke his maiden in his second attempt last year and started this season with a win before finishing fourth in the Marine Stakes.

“He had a bit of a troubled trip in the Marine. I thought he could have won that,” Minshall said.

Second-place finisher Notorious Gangster, who won the Queenston Stakes earlier in the year, is also expected to go to the Plate along with third-place runner Scorching. Others pointed to the August 16 Plate are Marine Stakes winner Mansetti and U.S.-based runner Tom’s Magic.

Two other stakes were run Sunday. In the $200,000 Canadian Stakes, Ready for Shirl made a strong late charge to nail favourite Gimme a Nother and post a 6-1 upset.

The win gave jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson a high point in an otherwise tough year. The veteran rider recovered from a late-season injury during the winter to make it back to the races in June. She’s had a couple of small mishaps since but she was at her best Sunday.

“It’s fun to be back in the tack. It’s fun to be back in the winner’s circle. It’s fun to be here,” Wilson said.

It was the fourth career win in 12 starts for Ready for Shirl, a Roger Attfield trainee.

And in the $175,000 Connaught Cup, 9-1 shot Cruden Bay overtook heavily favoured Kehoe Beach in mid-stretch for a decisive score and a repeat of the stake he won a year ago. Fraser Aebly rode the seven-year-old gelding for trainer Don MacRae. It was Cruden Bay’s eighth career score in 24 starts.

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