A huge day for Jimmy Freight

MILTON, October 7, 2023 – Resilience (Jimmy Freight) took top spot in the inaugural Jimmy Freight Stakes just ahead of her harness racing sire scoring a win of his own on Saturday night (Oct. 7) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The $100,000 Jimmy Freight Stakes was open to any two-year-old son or daughter of the outstanding pacer. Jimmy Freight (Sportswriter) himself was also in action on Saturday’s program.

Ontario Sires Stakes Gold winning filly Resilience was the clear standout going into the race and did not disappoint, winning by 9 ¼ lengths in 1:52 for co-owner/driver Louis-Philippe Roy and trainer Eric Nadeau.

Resilience pushed towards the lead, clearing to command coming out of the first turn. The heavy favourite posted solid fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.1 to create separation on her rivals. The lead would only continue to grow in the stretch, as Resilience stopped the clock in 1:52.

Cowboy Cargo finished second, while Rocket Freight was third.

RESILIENCE REPLAY

Trained by Eric Nadeau, Resilience has now won four of six starts and earned $150,616 for owners Roy, Ecurie Francis Richard, Ecurie CSL and Weaver Bruscemi.

“She has a gait that’s definitely similar to him, it covers a lot of ground,” said Roy when asked about similarities between Resilience and her sire. “Jimmy (Freight) is even easier to drive than her, she’s kind of weird. Sometimes I’ll tell you she’s perfect to drive, tonight I couldn’t do what I really wanted, but she’s just a two-year-old filly and I’m pretty sure she’ll mature with time.”

The Jimmy Freight Stakes was the brainchild of owner Adriano Sorella, approaching Woodbine with the concept of a race exclusive to the offspring of Jimmy Freight.

“It was a lot of work to get it done, we had some ups and downs, but I’m happy that we’re here tonight” said Sorella. “I’m happy with the first crop, we only had 24, 15 are racing and to see horses like her (Resilience) that’s won over $100,000 coming into tonight. That’s pretty good for an Ontario bred and she looks like she’s the real deal.”

Adding to the memorable night for Sorella was a victory in the next race ($32,000 Preferred 2) by Jimmy Freight. The eight-year-old showed no signs of rust in making his first start since April, rushing to the lead from third at three-quarters and powering away for a 1:50.2 victory.

Roy was in his usual position behind Jimmy Freight for trainer Richard Moreau.

Prior to the Preferred 2 contest, Sorella talked about how much Jimmy Freight means to him.

“Jimmy is just a different story, he wasn’t meant to be here. I feel like if we didn’t bring him up here from Iowa he’d still be down there racing and maybe only had $70,000 or $80,000 made. He’s a little bit a story for the little guy, it can happen and somebody can end up with a good horse and lucky for me it was me.”

JIMMY FREIGHT REPLAY

Jimmy Freight currently sits at 36 wins, nearly $2 million in earnings and a mark of 1:48.

For complete race results, click here.

by Mark McKelvie, for Woodbine Entertainment