Krz Ruckus wins at Woodbine

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Krz Ruckus gamely captured the $136,875 Overskate Stakes for the second year running, at Woodbine on Wednesday evening.

Dino Luciani rode Krz Ruckus, who fought off several challenges on the front-end in the seven-furlong dash for Ontario-sired runners. Classic Manner and Devil Valentine pressed Krz Ruckus on the backstretch through a quarter in 22.43 seconds, and Mighty Quinn joined drew alongside him on the turn through a half in 44.69.

Sambuca on Ice made a bid early in the stretch, but Krz Ruckus began to edge away at the eighth pole and got home on top by a length over Mighty Quinn. The final time was 1:23.56.

"It was a great performance," said trainer Mike DePaulo, who trains Krz Ruckus. "He had to carry 124 pounds. The track seemed to be favoring speed, so we thought we'd let him roll [out of the gate]."

Krz Ruckus returned $12.60 as the fifth choice and earned $82,125 for his owners, Ron Guidolin and partners.

Devil Valentine re-rallied to finish 1 1/2 lengths back in third while Runaway Love, the 5-2 favorite, closed wide to end up fourth in the nine-horse field. Indian Dan was scratched.