Easy Time has easy time in Marine Stakes
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Mark Casse-trained Easy Time rolled to a comfortable score over longshot Keep Grinding in Sunday’s Grade 3, $160,200 Marine Stakes for 3-year-olds at Woodbine.
Sent off as a 9-2 overlay, Easy Time assumed an outside stalking position under Rafael Hernandez in the 1 1/16-mile test for 3-year-olds.
Haddassah assumed the lead from Tidal Forces down the backstretch through honest fractions, before Easy Time made a three-wide bid into contention on the far turn.
Easy Time hit the front early in the stretch before coasting home on top by two lengths over Ontario-bred Keep Grinding. Haddassah faded to third, and was followed by favored Frosted Over, Tidal Forces, and Candy Overload.
Easy Time ($11.20) completed the distance in 1:43.62.
“It was unbelievable. He’s just push-button,” Hernandez said. “(Assistant trainer Dave Adams) told me to just ride him with confidence. We had a clean trip all the way. At the two and a half, I just tested him a little bit. He grabbed the bridle right away, and I said, ‘okay, we got it.’ ”
A Kentucky-bred by Not This Time, Easy Time banked $90,000 in his first stakes win for owner Breeze Easy.
*** Tio Magico ($6.50) won the front end in Sunday’s supporting feature, the $125,000 Queenston Stakes, another prep for the Aug. 22 Queen’s Plate.
Tio Magio set soft fractions in the seven-furlong sprint for Canadian-breds, and kept on going for a two-length tally over Artie’s Storm, in a time of 1:22.54.
Luis Contreras rode Tio Magico, a Sam-Son Farm homebred by Uncle Mo, for trainer Gail Cox. It was the first stakes success for the 2020 Coronation Futurity runner-up, who earned $75,000.
“He broke sharp and I got an easy lead,” Contreras said. “I just love this guy. I think you haven’t seen the best of him.”
Favored Red River Rebel finished third after being rated while rank in a stalking position. Del Griffith, Master Spy, and Download completed the order of finish. Candy Overload and Gretzky the Great were scratched.