Woodbine: Regally Ready holds off Bated Breath by neck in Nearctic

Michael Burns

Regally Ready, under Corey Nakatani, holds off favored Bated Breath by a neck in the Nearctic.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Regally Ready re-established himself as one of the leading turf sprinters on the continent with a front-running score in Sunday’s Grade 1, $511,600 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine.

By capturing the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In event, Regally Ready received a fees-paid berth into the Grade 2 BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 5 at Churchill.

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“I think this was a great spot for him,” said winning jockey Corey  Nakatani. “The main thing with him is to get him relaxed. He got away great. He did what he was supposed to do, going into the Breeders’ Cup.”

Over a soggy course labeled as yielding, Regally Ready set uncontested fractions of 23.47 and  46.46 seconds in the six-furlong  sprint. Bated Breath, the 2-1 favorite from England, closed wide from mid-pack to finish a neck back, while edging out longshot Gypsy Ring for second. The final time was 1:11.35.

Grand Adventure outran Fiddlers Patriot for fourth. The other two European shippers in the field, Hitchens and Bewitched, finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Regally Ready ($21.60) banked $300,000 for Vinery Stable. He provided trainer Steve Asmussen with his first Woodbine stakes victory since 2008.