Champ Calgary Cat Up Late in Jacques Cartier
Image:
Description:
Canada's reigning champion sprinter Calgary Cat overhauled pacesetter Parise in the final strides and won the $132,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes April 26 at Woodbine.
Trained by Kevin Attard for owners Stephen Cheney and Cory Hoffman, Calgary Cat, recently honored with the Sovereign Award for the nation's top sprinter of 2014, made his seasonal debut a winning one with a tremendous turn of foot under regular rider Eurico Rosa da Silva.
Parise, with Emma-Jayne Wilson up, set fractions of :21.82 and :44.18 for a half mile in the six-furlong sprint, opening up a three-length lead. Calgary Cat, eighth in the early running in a field of 10, was urged into contention through the turn, settling into third position behind Black Hornet.
Parise maintained a three-length lead as he led the field to the top of the stretch, but ultimatley could not hold back the charge of Calgary Cat as da Silva angled the chestnut off the rail for clear running en route to a half-length score. Calgary Cat covered six furlongs in 1:08.98 on the Polytrack surface. Puntrooskie rallied for third, four lengths behind Parise.
Da Silva admitted he was worried when Parise had gotten what appeared to be an insurmountable lead.
"He's such a big horse; he's not a horse to make a run in the turn but I had no choice," Da Silva said. "That horse was getting away and I did move a little earlier today than I usually do. But, he's a good horse and he made it up in the end."
Da Silva believes Calgary Cat ($4.70), claimed for his current connections for $25,000 Nov. 15, 2013, could be in line for a big 2015 campaign.
"I think he's a better horse this year," said da Silva. "Once he got clear on the outside, I knew it was over. I knew he would catch that horse."
Calgary Cat, a 5-year-old son of Cowtown Cat out of the A.P. Indy mare Big Sink Star, was bred in Ontario by WinStar Farm. He banked $75,000 in Sunday's victory while improving his record to 8-3-1 from 16 career starts and earnings to $483,599.
Denali Stud, agent, consigned Calgary Cat to the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale, where he sold to Mark Casse, agent, for $40,000.