Glenville Gardens holds off late charge to win Play the King
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Glenville Gardens ($26) proved his win in the allowance prep for the Play the King Stakes wasn’t a fluke when he won the Grade 2 Play the King itself at Woodbine on Saturday.
The favored 3-year-old Conquest Enforcer went straight to the front, and was tracked by Ami’s Flatter in the seven-furlong turf sprint.
Glenville Gardens took up the chase in third under Gary Boulanger, and then took dead aim at Conquest Enforcer in the stretch. He hit the front inside the eighth pole, and then held off a charging Tower of Texas to score by a half-length, in a time of 1:20.82 over the firm ground.
“He put me in a great position,” Boulanger said. “He’s just a fighter. Coming down the lane, he doesn’t give up. He grinds all the way to the wire. He tries really hard. He’s pretty push-button to ride. He gives you a good feeling.”
Conquest Enforcer held third. He was followed by Passion for Action, Ami’s Flatter and Dimension, who missed the break by four or five lengths. Green Mask was scratched.
Glenville Gardens earned $120,000 of the $215,600 purse for owner Janice Attard, who claimed the son of Street Cry for $40,000 last September. Trainer Sid Attard said the 4-year-old gelding did some coughing leading up to the race, which obviously didn’t affect his performance.
“He was ready to go,” Attard said. “He’s too much, this horse. It’s so much fun to watch him run.”
Glenville Gardens is expected to run back in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on Sept. 17.
