Avoman outruns Lac Macaza in Steady Growth Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Avoman and Lac Macaza, a pair of 13-1 shots, battled through the stretch in Sunday’s $100,000 Steady Growth Stakes at Woodbine with the former prevailing in the 1 1/16-mile event for Ontario-sired runners.

Lac Macaza set slow fractions under Daisuke Fukumoto while Avoman raced about three lengths back in second before looming into contention at the quarter pole under Justin Stein. They hooked up at the top of the stretch, and Avoman edged away late for a half-length score, in a time of 1:44.89.

Artie’s Storm was along for third, and the favored Candy Overload rallied wide for fourth in the eight-horse field.

“I got great position early with my horse,” Stein said. “My horse was comfortable, and when I asked him to run, (Lac Macaza) kicked on a little bit more. They really duked it out down the lane. It was fun because I came out on top.”

:: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now!

Avoman ($28.50) was notching his first stakes since last year’s Plate Trial. The son of Old Forester was claimed for $40,000 from his May 28 season opener by trainer John Charalambous for the partnership of Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch, and was returning from a two-month break on Sunday.

“He got sick before his last race, so we had to scratch him,” Charalambous said. “We only had one work coming into this race, but he trained real strong last week. We were fortunate. Everything worked out. He had a great trip. He had a little bit of racing luck today, which he hadn’t had for a few races.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.