Hicksy catches Ironstone late for Display triumph
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Hicksy ($6.60) wore down the speedy favorite Ironstone late to win Saturday’s $130,000 Display under Antonio Gallardo, notching his first stakes in the historic event for 2-year-olds at Woodbine.
Ironstone was headstrong on the lead in the seven-furlong sprint, as Hicksy stalked him about 2 1/2 lengths back in second until the stretch. Hicksy began to cut into the margin nearing the eighth pole, and got home on top, by three-quarters of a length, in a time of 1:23.38.
Ironstone finished second, and was followed by Optigogo, Heat Merchant, Souper Legacy and Twenty Four Mamba.
After ending up fourth in his debut, Hicksy graduated impressively second time out, and the Display was his third start for trainer Kevin Attard.
“He’s come a long way,” Attard said. “We always thought highly of him. When he came to me from Kentucky, (owner Donato Lanni) said this horse is really eager. He’s been showing some promise. When he got here, he had a few little hiccups. Then, he started to put it together. His first race, we were expecting a little bit more out of him, but he pulled a shoe off, and that was a good enough excuse.
“Obviously, his last start, he put it together. It was an impressive win. The horse who ran third came back and won. He had trained really well heading into this race. We thought (Ironstone) would be tough to beat, but we had a good trip and Gallardo rode him well.”
Hicksy earned $75,000 for Lanni Bloodstock. The son of Hootenanny was a $45,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale.