El Brujo gets job done

El Brujo ($2.80) put away a determined Shut It Down in the stretch during a workmanlike victory at Woodbine in the $150,800 Queenston Stakes, a prep for next month's $1omillion Queen's Plate.

Shut It Down set very slow fractions in the seven-furlong race, as El Brujo stalked in second. El Brujo joined Shut It Down on the lead at the quarter pole, and took a slim lead early in the stretch before edging away for a 1 1/4-length win in 1:22.17. Active Duty finished another 2 3/4 lengths back in third in the seven-horse field of Ontario-bred 3-year-olds.

"Down the backstretch, he was relaxed, but I got scared because [Shut It Down] was getting his own way," said Patrick Husbands, who rode El Brujo. "I pulled the trigger with about 4o1/2 furlongs left, to get first run on him. [El Brujo] got pretty tired, but he showed me that he could get two turns."

For winning his second consecutive stakes, El Brujo banked $90,000 for Windways Farm and trainer Malcolm Pierce.