Al's Gal noses out Suffused in E.P. Taylor
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Al’s Gal held off Suffused in the final strides to win the Grade 1, $501,600 E. P. Taylor Stakes by a nose over 1 1/4 miles of turf at Woodbine on Sunday.
Al’s Gal ($14.30) tracked pacesetter Parvaneh along the outside in the early portions of the race, while Suffused sat just off Al’s Gal along the backstretch. The favored Best In The World was fourth along the hedge.
At the top of the stretch, Al’s Gal took command of the race, while Suffused was bottled up and lacked racing room. Suffused would eventually get clear, but she couldn’t catch Al’s Gal, who hung on by a nose, crossing the line in 2:01.60. Banzari closed from sixth to be third, while Best In The World faded to last in the 12-horse field.
“I was right there in second position all of the way and when I asked her turning for home she gave me a nice turn of foot and she was very brave,” said winning jockey Florent Geroux.
Al’s Gal, a 5-year-old daughter of English Channel who came into this race off a win in the Ladies Marathon at Kentucky Downs and finished second in the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park back in August, improved her record to 8 wins from 26 starts. She banked the $300,000 winner’s share to bring her career earnings to $821,505 for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Mike Maker, who also won the Queen’s Plate here with Sir Dudley Digges on July 3.