Silent Poet Wins Connaught Cup With New Jockey
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Photo: Michael Burns
Justin Stein and Silent Poet (inside) take the Connaught Cup at Woodbine
Stronach Stables' homebred gelding Silent Poet persevered over Admiralty Pier July 11 in a Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T) clash at Woodbine.
The Nick Gonzalez trainee defeated his main opponent in the CA$196,700 (US$144,680) seven-furlong feature contested on the outer turf, which was listed as soft as a result of recent rainy weather in the Toronto area.
With regular rider Gary Boulanger sidelined due to a training injury, Justin Stein picked up the mount and was impressed with the 5-year-old he had confronted in the past.
"I was really excited to ride him. He definitely showed me his stuff," Stein said. "When I rode against him, I was on Cooler Mike, and we rolled right up to him like we were going to drive on by, and Silent Poet looked at us and laughed, kind of like what he did today."
Stein said the eight-time winner had the same attitude here, testing Admiralty Pier all the way.
"Just so much heart. Unbelievable," he said.
Silent Poet battled on top with Admiralty Pier through fractions of :23.07 and :45.70, with City Boy and Gray's Fable stalking the dueling leaders all the way into the stretch. The top pair pulled ahead, and the slugfest continued down the lane, with Silent Poet prevailing by half a length in 1:23.62.
Blind Ambition finished 4 3/4 lengths behind Admiralty Pier, just edging out Olympic Runner for the show prize, and City Boy and Gray's Fable rounded out the order. The field was reduced to six with the scratches of White Flag and Regally Irish.
"With a speedy horse like (Silent Poet) and another speed horse on the outside—we got the 1 hole—you're committed to a very forward position," Stein said of his frontrunning strategy. "It depends on how bad the other horses wanted it, but I talked to Nick and he told me the horse was really easy to ride, according to Gary Boulanger, and that gave me the confidence I needed. I saw the horse run a bunch of times, and he's a pro."
Silent Poet, who won the Play the King Stakes (G2T) last year, returned $4.90 to win as the 7-5 favorite. After wintering at Palm Meadows Training Center, he entered the Connaught Cup fresh off a victory in a 7 1/2-furlong prep on the Woodbine inner turf.
The consistent son of Silent Name is the first foal out of the Ghostzapper mare Cara Bella, a half sister to Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Red Bullet. He has missed the board just twice in 15 races and has US$459,744 in earnings.
Stein also won the Connaught Cup in 2014 with Ian Black trainee Excaper.