Hammerhead notches first stakes triumph with Valedictory

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Hammerhead made a bold move on the backstretch to take the lead under Daisuke Fukumoto and never looked back to win his first stakes going 1 1/2 miles in Saturday’s Grade 3 Valedictory at Woodbine.

Hammerhead ($9.70) raced in mid-pack for the first mile while long-winded Passing Game set a dawdling pace under Austin Adams, with Cool Kiss stalking in second.

Sensing the slow pace, Fukumoto let Hammerhead roll approaching the half-mile pole and they opened up a clear lead on the far turn. Passing Game battled back before weakening in the final furlong as Jokestar came rolling on outside from far back.

Hammerhead held on to prevail by a length over Jokestar, in a final time of 2:34.40.

“He’s a nice horse and he loves distance,” Fukumoto said.

Passing Game dead-heated for third with the other Maryland shipper in the field, Eff Thirty Five. Junipero Serra, Cool Kiss, Zabo, 5-2 favorite Tosen Wish, and Lost Ark completed the order of finish.

A 3-year-old by War Front, Hammerhead was eligible for a first-level allowance heading into the Valedictory and gave trainer Kevin Attard his fourth win in the historic event.

“We always thought marathon-type races would be up his alley,” Attard said. “Things never went well for him, in a sense. Every time we were in a spot we thought we could win, it didn’t pan out. He’s always sat a trip where he looked like he’s got a lot of horse and he’s going by. I really thought when he made that (early) move, it would instill a lot of confidence in the horse and (he would) just keep rolling. That’s exactly what he did.”

Hammerhead earned $90,000 of the $156,500 purse for owner Gold Square.

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