Mother's Day in October at Woodbine for Truly Together with the Breeders' Cup on the agenda

Mother's Day may be annually held in May (in North America), but the connections of the Smart Strike mare Truly Together were more than happy to celebrate on the first weekend of October as two of the mare's foals – Mouffy and Truly Quality – took home the trophies in Graded stakes at Woodbine on Saturday night.

A homebred for George Strawbridge Jr.'s Augustin Stables, Truly Together was a three-time winner in six starts that included a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Endeavour Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in 2018. Both her winners Saturday were Augustin homebreds, trained by Jonathan Thomas and ridden by Vincent Cheminaud. 

"They better put the mare in bubble wrap," Thomas joked after Mouffy's victory in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes.

Mouffy is a five-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo whose race selections have largely been made with a career as a broodmare in mind. Saturday's was her first graded victory, adding to her two previous stakes wins and two graded placings.

"We've tried to résumé-build with her," Thomas said. "While we want to win races, we want to make sure she earns her way into a broodmare band."

Settling in rear early in the 1 1/16-mile contest, Cheminaud had the pace set up in front of him and saved ground around the far turn before angling out to an area of the track Thomas believed to be more firm on a course labeled good. Meanwhile Nadette, the only horse trailing Mouffy early, was also rallying boldly even wider out.

The two collared the leaders, Tax Implications and Fev Rover, late and stormed to the wire with Mouffy remaining a head in front. 

Just before the wire, Tax Implications swerved into Grade 1 winner and former Richard Fahey-trained Fev Rover's path before finishing third. The stewards determined the move impacted Fev Rover's placing and elevated last year's Canadian Horse of the Year to third, on what was billed as her final start.

Mouffy's four-year-old Quality Road half-brother improved his record to four wins from 12 starts with his victory in the Grade 3 Singspiel Stakes.

Like his sister, the gelding settled in the back of the field and Cheminaud still had 11 to pass turning for home. The long stretch at Woodbine was beneficial as he ground away at the leaders on the far outside, getting up to win by three-quarters of a length 

English Conqueror was second, and Stone Age, who won Leopardstown's Group 3 Derby Trial and was placed on multiple occasions at the highest level when trained by Aidan O'Brien, finished third.

Previously a winner of the longer Colonial Cup Stakes at Colonial Downs last month, Thomas believes he has found the horse's niche going long on the turf. With options at those distances limited over the winter, Thomas may be interested in taking a big shot at the $5 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar.

"I'd like to talk to the Strawbridges about taking a real swing and going to [the] Breeders' Cup then giving him the winter off, really making him a Grade 1 horse," he said.

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