Arzak notches easy victory in Thorncliffe Stakes
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Maryland shipper Arzak parlayed an ideal stalking into an easy victory in his season debut in Sunday’s $106,400 Thorncliffe Stakes at Woodbine.
Arzak ($14.20) tracked the dueling leaders Richiesinthehouse and Spite Store from a three-wide position in the 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta sprint. Arzak poked his head in front at the quarter pole and then drew off in the stretch to prevail by 3 1/4 lengths over the classy turf sprinter Silent Poet.
Lenny K rallied from eighth to finish third ahead of White Flag. Lukewarm favorite Richiesinthehouse faded to fifth and was followed by Spite Store, Clear Destination, Lapochka and morning-line favorite Not So Quiet.
The Gmax final time of 1:02.36 is a track record, but a hand time of the race revealed it was approximately 1:03, and the synthetic track record was 1:02.70. The posted Gmax sprint times on the main track at Woodbine are consistently too fast.
A 4-year-old son of red-hot sire Not This Time, Arzak earned $60,000 for Sonata Stable and trainer Mike Trombetta.
The victory was the third on the card for last year’s leading Woodbine rider and 2021 Sovereign Award winner Kazushi Kimura.
“I talked with the trainer, and that horse maybe had traffic trouble the last race,” Kimura said. “Just keep him clear, and I already knew (Spitestore) had speed. I sat beside (him) and he showed his ability. I guess (he) really loves the Tapeta.”