March to the Arch rallies for King Edward triumph

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — March to the Arch ($9.60) rallied powerfully from well back to win his return to Woodbine in Saturday’s Grade 2 King Edward, giving jockey Rafael Hernandez his third straight stakes success on the Woodbine Oaks card.

Other than Admiralty Pier, nobody wanted the early lead, and he set moderate fractions while being pressed along the inside by Silent Poet, who had won his two previous races.

March to the Arch trailed the eight-horse field on the backstretch, saved ground through the turn, and then kicked in strongly through the lane after Hernandez angled him outside. He won off by 2 1/4 lengths in a quick 1:32.28 over the firm ground, a time that wasn’t far off Wise Dan’s course record of 1:31.75.

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Silent Poet weakened to third, and was followed by Mr Ritz, the favored shipper Delaware, Dream Maker, Eskiminzin, and Argentello.

March to the Arch captured his only other local start when he was a 3-year-old, the 2018 Toronto Cup Stakes, for trainer Mark Casse.

“He’s such a lovely little horse,” assistant Kathryn Sullivan said. “He tries every time. He’s just really special. Rafael rode a great race.”

A gelded son of the late Arch, March to the Arch earned $105,000 of the $178,850 purse for Live Oak Plantation.