Are You Kidding Me collects third graded win of meet in Autumn
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Are You Kidding Me, Canada’s reigning champion older male runner, racked up his third graded stakes score of the Woodbine meet in Sunday’s $213,200 Autumn.
Are You Kidding Me ($3.70) rallied from third to vie for the lead with pacemaker Royal Son and Ghost Hunter on the far turn in the 1 1/16-mile route. Are You Kidding Me hit the front inside the quarter pole, and then drew clear in the stretch to prevail by 2 1/2 lengths over 21-1 outsider Oakton.
Freitag nosed out Ghost Hunter for third. Lukes Alley finished a wide fifth in his return from a long layoff, while Royal Son faded to trail the six-horse field.
The final time of 1:42.45 was just .23 of a second off the synthetic track record.
Alan Garcia rode Are You Kidding Me for trainer Roger Attfield, who said the 6-year-old son of Run Away and Hide had a foot problem leading up to the Grade 2 Autumn.
“He’s such a nice horse to be around and to train,” said Attfield. “I missed quite a bit of time with the horse with a quarter crack. My blacksmith kept asking me to walk him another two days, and I told him we can’t keep walking him. He put in a couple of nice works. A little bit of an easier time probably did him good, anyway. I went into the race with a lot of confidence.”
Are You Kidding Me earned $120,000 for the partnership of Ronald Kirk, John Bates and Michael Riordan.
Glenville Gardens romps in Labeeb
Glenville Gardens ($4.20) made mincemeat of his seven rivals in Sunday’s $104,200 Labeeb, overcoming a troubled break under Luis Contreras to win the one-mile overnight stakes by 9 1/4 lengths over Best Bard.
“Leaving the gate, I got a little bump from the outside horse, but he handled it pretty good,” Contreras said. “I stayed quiet. Turning for home, I had a lot of horse, and I just continued. I didn’t bother him.”
For winning the Labeeb for the second year in a row, Glenville Gardens collected $60,000 for owner Janice Attard, the wife of trainer Sid Attard. Over “good” turf, the final time was 1:36.19.