Artie's Storm Rides Win Streak into Dominion Day
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Photo: Michael Burns
Artie's Storm wins the Eclipse Stakes at Woodbine
Several accomplished runners, including Artie's Storm , Frosted Over , Mighty Heart , and Skywire , are set to square off in the CA$150,000 1 1/8-mile Dominion Day Stakes (G3) July 1 at Woodbine.
Fresh off a third straight score, Artie's Storm, a 4-year-old son of We Miss Artie , heads into his latest stakes engagement off a one-length win in the 1 1/16-mile Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes (G2) May 29.
It was the seasonal debut for the Paul Buttigieg-trained and -owned gelding, who was bred in Ontario by Sunrise Farm.
Under David Moran, the dark bay, sent off at 7-1, tracked the early leaders, sitting third before striking to the front and going on to record the victory in a time of 1:42.40.
Video
"He came out of the race really well," said Moran. "He's had a nice, little few weeks and a few works. You couldn't have asked for a better effort. The trip, everything, it was just ideal. We couldn't have written that one any better for him, actually. We went into the race thinking he would need the race and would improve from it. He seems to have come out of it really well and he's had a good time in between the races. He seems fresh. He's bucking and playing, and happy in himself. He seems really happy right now."
Artie's Storm, who went 4-2-2 from nine starts in 2021, arrives at the Dominion Day sporting a 5-2-3 mark from 11 career races.
He capped off his 3-year-old campaign with wins in the Lake Ontario Stakes and Steady Growth Stakes.
"He seems very happy with himself," said Moran, who was aboard for a four-furlong breeze, in :47, over the Woodbine main track June 26. "Hopefully, he steps up from the last race and does it again. From the get-go, he was a horse I loved. When you get nice horses, they make life easy. They make it fun, and they make it easy. Good horses get you to the good places."
Mighty Heart, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year—the Ontario-bred also won the award in 2020—will look to get back in the winner's circle in the race he won last year.
Bred and owned by Larry Cordes, the multiple graded stakes-winning son of Dramedy was third in this year's Eclipse.
The lifetime winner of six races, along with a pair of seconds and four thirds from 18 starts, finished third in the Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) to conclude his 4-year-old campaign. Mighty Heart was sixth in the April 23 Ben Ali Stakes (G3) before coming back to Woodbine for the Eclipse.
Trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll, the one-eyed gelding won the first two jewels, the Queen's Plate Stakes and Prince of Wales Stakes, of the 2020 Canadian Triple Crown.
Conditioner Mark Casse is well represented in the Dominion Day, sending out the trio of Frosted Over, Skywire, and Talbeyah , who made his North American debut a winning one (a 1 1/16-mile main track score at Woodbine May 21) after seven starts in England.
Woodbine, Friday, July 01, 2022, Race 6Entries: Dominion Day S. (G3)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Talbeyah (IRE)
Patrick Husbands
114
Mark E. Casse
10/1
2
2Primo Touch (KY)
Daisuke Fukumoto
119
Harold Ladouceur
20/1
3
3Skywire (ON)
Rafael Manuel Hernandez
119
Mark E. Casse
6/1
4
4War Bomber (IRE)
Antonio A. Gallardo
121
Norman McKnight
8/1
5
5Mighty Heart (ON)
Justin Stein
125
Josie Carroll
7/2
6
6Avoman (ON)
Emma-Jayne Wilson
121
John Charalambous
20/1
7
7Artie's Storm (ON)
David Moran
125
Paul M. Buttigieg
5/2
8
8Special Forces (KY)
Luis Contreras
121
Kevin Attard
15/1
9
9Frosted Over (KY)
Kazushi Kimura
121
Mark E. Casse
3/1
