Miami Deco upsets Breeders’ Stakes at 65-1

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Miami Deco, a 65-1 maiden trying the turf for the first time, graduated in style Sunday at Woodbine in the $503,200 Breeders’ Stakes, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

Miami Deco raced near the back of the pack early in the 1 1/2-mile marathon, under journeyman Richard Dos Ramos. Silent Wisper, the lone filly in the lineup, set fast fractions over a course labeled yielding, before being overtaken on the far turn by second choice Stormy Lord and the 2-1 favorite, Cognashene.

Miami Deco commenced a three-wide rally on the far turn, before going inside the drifting leaders in midstretch. He then surged late to prevail by three-quarters of a length, in a time of 2:34.24. A determined Stormy Lord wound up 2 1/4 lengths clear of Cognashene, the third-place finisher in the 13-horse field of Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

It was the third Breeders’ victory for Dos Ramos, who also won three races on the card.

“I stayed on the rail most of the way, until I needed some room to make a run,” Dos Ramos said. “When I thought I had a shot to get out a little bit, to give my horse a shot to win the race, I started picking up horses very quickly, and I didn’t want to pick them up too quick. When [Stormy Lord] drifted out in the lane, I dropped back to the inside, and then my horse picked up the bridle and went on with it.”

The win gave trainer Brian Lynch a sweep of the last two Triple Crown races. He also captured the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie with Golden Moka.

Miami Deco ($132.10) was supplemented to the race for $12,500 by owners by Jim and Susan Hill. He earned $300,000, which boosted his bankroll to $319,633.

* Impossible Time ($2.50) blew by pacemaker Desire and Fire at the eighth pole, before drawing off to take Sunday’s $126,200 Victoriana Stakes by 4 3/4 lengths. Jono Jones rode the Roger Attfield-trained Impossible Time, who covered 1 1/16 miles over a good turf course in 1:43.15.