Ami’s Holiday passes Triple Crown test in Breeders’ Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Having already run him in the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, trainer Josie Carroll wasn’t sure if the $501,600 Breeders’ Stakes was the right spot for Ami’s Holiday. But Ami’s Holiday showed Carroll that he was ready in the days leading up to the race, and on Sunday, he rallied from midpack to win his first classic event.

“Certainly after the Prince of Wales I had some reservations,” Carroll said. “He was a little knocked out from the travel and from the race and the bumping around at the start. There was a whole lot that went on. But I said to [owner Ivan] Dalos we’d be remiss not to put him up on the turf course and see how he takes to it. When I put him on the course, he just lit it up. The last three days, he’d been really serious, so here we are, and he got it done.”

The win Sunday by Ami’s Holiday completed a successful run through the Canadian Triple Crown that included a second-place effort in the Queen’s Plate on Polytrack on July 6 at Woodbine and a third-place finish in the Prince of Wales on dirt July 29 at Fort Erie. Ami’s Holiday was the only horse to compete in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown this season.

“I think it says a lot about this horse,” Carroll said. “There aren’t many horses anymore that will do all three or run back so quickly, and he seemed to handle this race extremely well and finished up and galloped out strong.”

Carroll capped off a good weekend in the Breeders’ Stakes, having also captured Saturday’s Grade 2 Sky Classic Stakes with Karibu Gardens.