Calgary Cat comes from way back to win another Achievement Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario— Calgary Cat, Canada’s champion male sprinter in 2014, closed on the far outside from well back to win the $150,400 Achievement Stakes for the second year in a row at Woodbine Sunday.

Calgary Cat got away slowly before racing at the rear of the nine-horse field. Black Hornet set a lively pace in the six-furlong sprint, with Parise in close proximity.

Calgary Cat began to mount his rally at the quarter pole, and then hit the front inside the eighth pole before drawing clear to score by a length and a half over Sweet Grass Creek. Seffeara finished a close third over a troubled Goodoldhockeygame. The final time was 1:10.66.

Eurico Da Silva got a leg up from trainer Kevin Attard on Calgary Cat, who was coming off a sub-par third in his season opener in an allowance-optional claimer.

“Last time, he wasn’t doing great on that track,” Da Silva recalled. “They put more fiber in it now, and the horse got a better hold of it. The track is beautiful right now, and he just came back to himself. He was working great, and he ran a great race today.”

Calgary Cat returned $7.60 as the lukewarm favorite. He earned $90,000 for owners Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman, who claimed him for $25,000 in the fall of 2013.