Highwaytothemoon tries to stretch speed in Plate Trial
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The speedy sprinter Highwaytothemoon will take them as far as he can when stretching out to 1 1/8 miles in Sunday’s $200,000 Plate Trial Stakes, a prep for next month’s King’s Plate.
Trained by Dale Desruisseaux, Highwaytothemoon won his April 19 season opener in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance. He subsequently ran second after participating in a speed duel in the seven-furlong King Corrie Stakes.
Highwaytothemoon took his game to another level June 6 when he led all the way in the seven-furlong Queenston Stakes, earning an 85 Beyer Speed Figure under Rafael Hernandez. Desruisseaux said he decided to remain on the King’s Plate trail due to limited options.
“Our stakes schedule doesn’t really help the sprinting division 3-year-olds,” Desruisseaux explained. “With him being a Canadian-bred, this is the next logical spot. He’s not bred to go two turns but he’s already proven us wrong a couple of times. We’ll cross our fingers and hope for the best.”
Highwaytothemoon has posted two leisurely works since sizzling five furlongs in company with Dixie Law in 57.80 seconds on June 27.
“He’s trained really well,” Desruisseaux said. “He had that good breeze three breezes ago, and then we slowed him down and put the miles under him.”
Expect Powell River and Casson to take up the chase near the pace.
After back-to-back seconds at Gulfstream Park and Churchill Downs, Powell River wired maiden special company going long here June 14 with the aid of an inside speed bias, much to the delight of trainer Katerina Vassilieva.
“I was impressed at how he hung tough,” Vassilieva said. “He was hounded by another horse. He made the lead, but there was a horse on his flank pressuring him for three-quarters of the race. He put that horse away and won the race. He galloped out well and showed us that he has that grit and competitiveness about him.”
Vassilieva said Powell River has exceeded expectations regarding how far he will go.
“There has always been a distance question with him,” she said. “As a 2-year-old, he had some throat issues, and when we first started racing him, we were wondering if that would limit him as far as distance, but that hasn’t been the case so far.”
Trainer Mark Casse sends out Casson and Military Time in the 12-horse field of Canadian-breds.
Casson put away the other speed before fading to third when going long for the first time last out in the Grade 3 Marine. The Marine’s top two finishers, Brachetto and Magical Factor, both bypassed the Trial and will train up to the Plate.
Military Time ran second at a short price in the Queenston after taking his season opener in allowance company. He has yet to win around two turns and has a blend of speed and stamina in his pedigree.
Trainer Kevin Attard, who has won the Plate three of the past four years, runs a trio of longshots – Very Special, Twentytwo Soles, and Baaeed Alynna.
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