Judiths Wild Rush simply the best

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Regardless of how he does in Sunday's $125,000 Kennedy Road Stakes, Judiths Wild Rush has probably already locked up the Sovereign Award for Canadian champion sprinter, an honor he won last year.

Judiths Wild Rush was competitive in several American graded stakes this year, which has given him the upper hand on Woodbine's other leading sprinters, who have taken turns beating each other.

Judiths Wild Rush was third in the Grade 3 Deputy Minister Handicap at Gulfstream, and perhaps the highlight of his campaign was a runner-up placing in the Grade 2 Vanderbilt Breeders' Cup Handicap at Saratoga. He won two local stakes in April, the Jacques Cartier and the Grade 3 Vigil, both with a Beyer Figure of 105.

Last time out in the Grade 3 Phoenix BC Stakes at Keeneland, Judiths Wild Rush was impeded in the stretch while trying to make some headway, and finished a fading seventh. Trainer Reade Baker said the race is a throw-out.

"I didn't think he was going to win it, but I thought he was going to be close," Baker said. "He got slaughtered at the eighth pole. A horse drove into the side of us and stopped us in our tracks."

Baker said Judiths Wild Rush came out of the Phoenix body sore.

"He got jarred up, and we gave him a little break," Baker said. "He's doing well now. He's had two five-eighths works in a minute and change. He hasn't run on Woodbine's Poly, so we'll see what happens. If it was on the dirt, I'd be extremely confident, but on the Poly, I don't know."

Main Executive, who won the New Providence Stakes in May, figures to shake loose on the lead under Todd Kabel. He went into a slump after being declared a non-starter because of a problem at the gate in the Aug. 6 Shepperton Stakes, but rebounded with a victory in the allowance prep for the Kennedy Road.

"He won [the prep] very impressively," said trainer Radlie Loney. "He had three tough races before, all going seven-eighths, and he struggled during the last part. He had that little incident at the gate, and the first two times I ran him back, he hesitated a bit before going into the gate. Last time, he walked in like his old self. He left the gate wanting to run, and just kept running. I thought he ran one of his best races."

Gangster, a fast-closing second in the prep, is also in the eight-horse field.

Sunday's card also features the $125,000 Glorious Song, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies.