Gretzky the Great takes Greenwood Stakes in a thriller
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Favored Gretzky the Great prevailed in a thrilling finish to Saturday’s $143,000 Greenwood Stakes at Woodbine, giving jockey Kazushi Kimura his third winner on the card.
Gretzky the Great linked up with Red River Rebel through honest fractions in the seven-furlong turf sprint, before taking control early in the stretch.
County Final and a wide-closing Artie’s Storm joined Gretzky the Great up front in a slugfest through the final furlong. Gretzky the Great dug in gamely to prevail by a head, in a time of 1:20.70 over the firm ground.
County Final nosed out Artie’s Storm for second in the seven-horse field of 3-year-olds. Dyn O Mite, Bode’s Tipsy, Oh Say, and Red River Rebel competed the order of finish.
Kimura also rode Gretzky the Great to victory in last year’s Grade 1 Summer Stakes, a win that secured him the Sovereign Award for Canadian champion male 2-year-old. Kimura said the son of Nyquist was on the muscle on Saturday in his return from a layoff, during which he nursed a quarter crack.
“I was supposed to be sitting second, because it looked like (there were) so many front-runners, but he was pretty sharp today,” Kimura said. “When I asked him so many times, he was coming back, just kept his head (in front). He just had extra passion.”
Trained by Mark Casse, Gretzky the Great returned $4.90 and earned $90,000 for the partnership of Eclipse TB Partners and Gary Barber.