City Boy to Make Season Debut in Connaught Cup

City Boy, who pulled off a 24-1 upset in last year's Nearctic Stakes (G2T), faces seven rivals over the E.P. Taylor turf course in the $175,000 Connaught Cup (G2T) July 11 at Woodbine.

Trained by 2020 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mike Keogh, the 6-year-old gelding, bred and co-owned with Donald Howard by the late Gus Schickedanz, brings a record of 3-6-2 from 17 starts into the seven-furlong Connaught Cup.

"He had a fairly good winter," said Keogh, who had City Boy and others in his barn with him in Aiken, S.C. "We had a lot of rain in February, so there were a lot of sealed racetracks. I didn't really get to do much with any of my horses in February. Then we had to get out of there in the third week of March, so we didn't get too much done this winter, to be honest." 

A son of multiple graded stakes winner City Zip, City Boy debuted in April 2017, finishing second in a five-furlong main track race at Woodbine. The Ontario-bred broke his maiden next time out, one month later, in a 6 1/2-furlong turf race at the Toronto oval, drawing clear in the stretch to win by a length as the 9-5 favorite. His next win came that August, a head score at six furlongs on the Woodbine turf.

Just over two years later, City Boy delivered his connections with his biggest win to date, another gutsy head victory, this time in the six-furlong Nearctic. It was the second Nearctic triumph for Keogh, who took the 1999 renewal with Clever Response.

"We had run him two weeks previous—it was a really fast time—and he wasn't beaten that far," said Keogh. "He was hung wide the whole way. Jesse (Campbell) got off him and said, 'This horse, he needs two races back-to-back.' I told him that I had nominated him to the Nearctic on the off chance it came up as an easier field. As it turned out, there weren't many shippers and he ran huge."  

City Boy arrives at the Connaught Cup off a layoff following a sixth-place effort in a six-furlong main track race last November at Woodbine. Saturday's race marks the first time he'll test seven panels.

"He's doing great," said Keogh. "The Connaught is an unknown because he's never been seven-eighths (of a mile) before. We're going to give this a go. He needs to run. You can't keep working him ... he goes crazy. The first start of the year, they're always a bit more on the bridle. But he needs a start. That's why we're running him." 

He will face morning-line favorite Silent Poet, who won his season debut June 11 and returns under jockey Justin Stein with a rail draw.

To his outside is multiple graded-stakes placed White Flag, trained by Christophe Clement for Robert S. Evans, who ships in from New York to take on the field of seven others. He was dubbed the program second choice at odds of 3-1.

The 6-year-old son of War Front  has made two previous trips to Woodbine, finishing third in the 2017 Nearctic and third in last year's Highlander (G1T). He comes into the Connaught Cup off a fifth in the June 20 Jaipur (G1T) at Belmont Park.

"He's training very well," said Clement. "I think the distance is a great distance for him going seven-eighths."

Entries: Connaught Cup S. (G2T)

Woodbine, Saturday, July 11, 2020, Race 7

• Grade IIT
• 7f
• Turf
• $175,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:15 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Silent Poet (ON)	Justin Stein	122	Nicholas Gonzalez	9/5
2	2White Flag (KY)	Luis Contreras	116	Christophe Clement	3/1
3	3Blind Ambition (KY)	Patrick Husbands	116	Mark E. Casse	8/1
4	4Admiralty Pier (KY)	Jerome Lermyte	120	Barbara J. Minshall	10/1
5	5Regally Irish (NJ)	Steven Ronald Bahen	118	H. Graham Motion	20/1
6	6City Boy (ON)	David Moran	122	Michael Keogh	15/1
7	7Olympic Runner (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	118	Mark E. Casse	4/1
8	8Gray's Fable (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	116	Roger L. Attfield	6/1