Edison romps in Canadian Derby

EDMONTON, Alberta - Edison gave trainer Robertino Diodoro and jockey Rico Walcott their second-straight win in the Grade 3, $200,000 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park on Saturday. Edison paid $7.20 for his 11 1/2 length win over Remembertobreathe. Diodoro and Walcott teamed up to win last year’s Canadian Derby with Broadway Empire.

What looked like a wide-open race on paper turned into a romp for Edison, who was mid-pack during the early stages of the 1 3/8-mile race for 3-year-olds. Walcott asked him to pick it up at the three-eighths pole and he responded with a strong move that overwhelmed his 10 opponents. He took a four-length into the stretch and drew off from Remembertobreathe, who overcame a troubled trip to finish second. Private Money Game took over the lead from longshot Shootininthebush going down the backstretch the final time, and held on to finish third. The Spinmeister, a slight favorite over the winner, had a wide trip while finishing fifth.

Edison was coming off a win in the $30,000 Harry Jeffrey going 1 1/8 miles at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, where he appeared to be all out to beat a weak field. It was the first time he ran on dirt and the first time Walcott rode him.

“I learned a lot about him in Winnipeg,” said Walcott. “He really responded to the stick and he galloped out real strong after the race. I was pretty sure he was going to improve going a distance. I knew there was a lot of speed in today’s race. I just let him settle into a stalking position. With a half-mile to go I moved him off the rail to make sure he didn’t get stopped by some of the speed backing up.”

Diodoro was very confident going into the race.

“I just didn’t know how well he would handle dirt until he won in Winnipeg,” said Diodoro. “We were pretty sure he could run all day.”

Diodoro said he was looking at the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby for Edison’s next start. The one-mile race on turf at Canterbury Downs is Sept. 13.

The final time was 2:21.38.

It was Edison’s third straight win for owners Bob Butz, Fouad El Kardy, and Rick Running Rabbit, who bought him privately after he finished third in a first-level allowance race at Belmont for trainer Todd Pletcher on May 10.

The total all sources handle was $1,257,544 compared with $1,160,651 last year.