March to the Arch rallies late in Toronto Cup

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – March to the Arch ($7.70) closed strongly to take the $107,000 Toronto Cup Stakes under Gary Boulanger at Woodbine Saturday.

March to the Arch raced in seventh near the back of the pack through the turn. He mounted a wide rally in the stretch, and ran down the Chiefswood Stable colts Rose’s Vision and Neepawa in the final furlong, winning by 1 3/4 lengths over Rose's Vision, who was the 2-1 favorite.

Over a turf course labeled as good, the final time was 1:48.07.

“When I called on him, he came down the lane as hard as he could,” Boulanger said. “He’s just a nice horse, who can handle anything. He’s got a pretty big move. You have to get him back and settled, and he’ll come [with a run].”

March to the Arch gave trainer Mark Casse his fifth win in the Toronto Cup. The Arch gelding earned $60,000 in his first stakes success for Live Oak Plantation.

Wyatt's Town shows the way in King Corrie

Wyatt’s Town ($3.30) went straight to the front and never looked back to notch his first stakes in his local debut in Saturday’s $104,800 King Corrie.

Wyatt’s Town set quick fractions on a four-length lead in the six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds. His advantage dwindled in the final sixteenth, but he got home on top by a length over Hemp Hemp Hurray, in a time of 1:09.73.

Eurico Da Silva rode Wyatt’s Town for trainer Norm McKnight, who claimed the son of Speightstown from his $50,000 maiden win on May 17 at Churchill for the partnership of Henley Thoroughbreds and Newtop Stables.

“The clients were looking for a young horse,” McKnight recalled. “I was looking through the form one day, and saw this horse in for $50,000. I looked at his pedigree. On paper, he just jumped out at me. I wasn’t there when we claimed him, but my assistant down there was, and he said the horse looked fine. I said to go ahead and drop the slip, and it’s worked out really well.”