Up With the Birds Back Winning at Woodbine
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Photo: Michael Burns
Up With the Birds wins the 2016 Nijinsky Stakes.
Sam-Son Farm's Up With the Birds, back in his home country, where he was named 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year, snapped a 12-race winless streak with a 1 1/4-length score in the $200,000 Nijinsky Stakes (Can-IIT) July 24 at Woodbine.
Off as the 3-2 favorite in the field of five, the 6-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic trained by Malcolm Pierce went from last to first and made a wide move in the stretch to win clear under jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva.
Button Down rallied from fourth to nose out Halo Nation for second, but was never a threat to the winner, who paid $5, $2.80, and $2.30 across the board. Button Down brought $3.60 and $3, and Halo Nation delivered $3.60 to show.
The victory was Up With the Birds' first since the 2014 Nijinsky. In 2013, his 3-year-old year, Up With the Birds won four stakes—two at Woodbine—and capped the campaign with a score in the Jamaica Handicap (gr. IT) at Belmont Park.
Bred in Ontario, out of the Seeking the Gold mare Song of the Lark, Up With the Birds has an 8-4-3 record from 25 starts and more than $1.8 million in earnings.