Final Copy earns Breeders' Stakes berth with Toronto Cup

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Final Copy punched his ticket to the Breeders’ Stakes with a well-timed score over Conquest Lemonraid in the $119,400 Toronto Cup Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday.

The $400,000 Breeders’, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, is a 12-furlong turf marathon that will be run here Aug. 20.

Night Watchman set honest fractions on a substantial lead in the nine-furlong turf route, as the favored Conquest Lemonraid took up the chase in second. Final Copy saved ground while about seven lengths back under Rafael Hernandez, and then rallied between rivals inside the eighth pole en route to a three-quarter-length win, in a time of 1:49.24.

King and His Court wound up third, as Watch Me Strut beat out a fading Night Watchman for fourth in the five-horse field of 3-year-olds.

“Everything worked out good,” Hernandez said. “I had a good break, and he relaxed good. I had a good trip.”

Final Copy ($6.20) collected $72,000 for Chiefswood Stable. According to trainer Roger Attfield, the son of Malibu Moon turned the corner after being gelded following a dull effort March 31 in his turf debut at Tampa.

“I was getting frustrated with this horse,” Attfield recalled. “He’s a good-looking horse, with a great pedigree. He was giving me nothing, but when we gelded him, it turned him right around, for sure. I was really pleased with his race today. It’s the first time that he’s been that far off the pace, and came running. It’s a step in the right direction, I think.”