Atzeni doubles up in stakes as Sheikha Reika captures E.P. Taylor

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Not long after capturing the Canadian International on Desert Encounter, jockey Andrea Atzeni won another prestigious Grade 1 turf stakes at Woodbine on Saturday aboard Sheikha Reika in the $501,000 E.P. Taylor.

Sheikha Reika raced in the two path in fourth until the stretch in the 1 1/4-mile turf event, as the Woodbine-based champion, Starship Jubilee, set dawdling fractions. Starship Jubilee had a clear lead at the eighth pole, but Sheikha Reika and another European shipper, Golden Legend, were both in the midst of a wide rally at that point. Sheikha Reika came home fastest to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Golden Legend in a time of 2:05.10 over the good ground.

Santa Monica, the 5-2 favorite from New York, finished another neck back in third, a half-length ahead of Starship Jubilee, who checked in a respectable fourth in the nine-horse field.

“I’ve been here quite a few times before, and it’s nice to get a double,” Atzeni said. “It was very key for me to take a good position straight away going into the first corner. She traveled nicely. The pace was slow. It turned into a sprint. She sort of took her time to hit top gear, but when she hit top gear, she went quite well at the end. The ground was probably a little bit dead for her. She’s a better filly on fast ground, but she got the job done today, which is the main thing.”

Sheikha Reika earned $300,000 for owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum. The 3-year-old daughter of French Derby winner Shamardal is trained by Roger Varian.