It’s like catching rain.
Jockey Faleh Bughenaim was in Canada for a bit of a lark, riding The Striking Viking in the $250,000 Nearctic Stakes (not a factor, he finished fourth) when the opportunity of a lifetime fell in his lap.
On Friday, Qatari trainer Hamad Al Jehani asked Bughenaim to take the mount on longshot Silawi in the $750,000 Canadian International Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. The horse’s listed rider, Danny Tudhope, had travel issues and could not make the trip to Canada.
Bughenaim won his first major Grade 1 race when he piloted 10 to 1 shot Silawi to a nose victory over fast-closing Tawny Port in the International. Apparently, the 35-year-old jockey from Qatar (but based in Britain) yelled the entire way around the many-turn race, first time on the small inner turf course. Silawi set a course record of 2:27.52 for the 1 ½ miles, although that distance is rarely ever run on that small inner turf course, which used to be a 7/8ths mile track for standardbreds.
Even-money favourite Nations Pride, which had won the International the last time it was run in 2023, finished third, after being forwardly placed during the race, unable to match strides with the top two. The International was not run in 2020, 2022 or 2024, so it has been brought back to life this year.
The Canadian International has always been a storied race, put on the map with Secretariat showing up and winning it in 1973 in the final race of his career. Then other stars followed: Dahlia in 1974, Youth in 1976, Exceller in 1977, All along in 1983 and Singspiel in 1996.
Some of Canada’s most legendary horses have won it, too: Bunty Lawless, Bull Page, George Royal, and He’s a Smoothie.
On a glorious, hot fall day, Canadian darling My Boy Prince (second in the Woodbine Mile) chased the hot pace, but took a bad step near the three-eighths pole and rapidly dropped back. And was eased to a jog as he finished last. Hopefully, the 4-year-old grey, trained by Mark Casse, will return to fight another day.
However, as Bughenaim was celebrating the win, stewards handed him a fine of 20 per cent of his winnings ($9,000) for raising his arm above his shoulder with the whip during the stretch run. He had been told about the rule before the race, but in the heat of the moment, he reverted to previous practice and it proved costly.
Although Bughanaim rode only his first winner in Britain last month after teaming up with the Al Jehani and the Wathnam Stable in Newmarket, he is no stranger to equestrian endeavours. He became a jockey in November of 2016, but this after he had ridden as an endurance rider for Qatar, to the point he had competed at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen, France, finishing seventh. He was named “best jockey” by the Qatar Olympic Committee for his work in endurance riding. He had won 29 of 111 events.
As a thoroughbred jockey, he had won a couple of small local Grade One races in the Middle East, but non compared to what he experienced on Saturday.
Silawi was seen as the lesser half, the pacesetter perhaps, of the Wathnan horses behind the Irish-bred Haunted Dream, which won the Singspiel Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 6, giving Al Jehani his first Woodbine win. He’s beginning to like the place.
Silawi went off at 10 to 1 while Haunted Dream was a 3 to 1 second choice behind Nation’s Pride.
“We knew he had the ability to win a graded race,” Bughanaim said. “I rode him on his last piece of work at home in Newmarket and he showed some ability.”
It was a bit of a jump from a Group 3 (Silawi had won a Group 3 in England in his previous start in August) to a Grade 1 race, but Bughanaim and Al Jehani both believed in the 5-year-old gelding – even though he had won $211,808 to Nation’s Pride’s $3,769,286. Silawi had won only three races in 25 starts.
Bughanaim was told to set a “nice pace” with Silawi. “But I feel he enjoyed the trip,” the jockey said. “I asked him to go for the last bend and he accepted it.”
He said Silawi ran each quarter faster than the last.
“I felt from the beginning that if Silawi came to Woodbine, he would put in a good performance,” Al Jehani said. “The trainer is not always right, But today, I am right.”
Silawi was comfortable with fractions of 23.60, 47.30 and 1:12. He pulled away from the field around the final turn and into the homestretch. But Tawny Port, ridden by local Sahin Civaci, came bounding up the rail and was getting to the leader with every step in a hotly contested duel.
Tawny Port had also accomplished much more than Silawi, having won $2-million in his career, with placements – but not wins – in graded stakes for the past two years. He just missed, in his first race in Canada for trainer Miguel Clement.
Al Jehani said that Silawi is a bona fide front runner, and it’s an advantage to go to the front on the tighter turf course. “We knew that the Godolphin horse [Nation’s Pride] is a nice horse and if we decide to make a different plan, it will be hard to beat him. So we take that advantage to go forward and we make the pace from the beginning, and follow the plan very well. And I think he deserves to be here in the winning enclosure today.”
Silawi was racing on Lasix for the first time.
Invaders won all three graded stakes on International day, with No Nay Hudson (Ire) winning the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes at 5 furlongs on the turf. British-bred Breath Away, trained by Clement, stormed down the stretch to outkick the two Canadian stars, Caitlinhergreatness, which finished a half-length behind, and Roger Attfields’ Ready for Shirl, third in the Grade 2 $200,000 Dance Smartly.
Civaci got to the finish wire first in the Dance Smartly with a 6 to 1 shot. Caitlinhergreatness was the favourite while Ready for Shirl was second-choice. Breath Away came from the back of the field triumph in 1:41.74 for the 1 1/16-mile event. Her stretch kick is deadly.
“She has demonstrated it on many occasions,” Lee Vickers, assistant to trainer Clement, said. “Today she was given a great ride from the one-hole, saved every inch of ground to conserve that energy later on, so she can show that turn of foot.”
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