Mr Ritz leads all the way in Seagram Cup

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The favored Mr Ritz led all the way to take the Grade 3, $134,000 Seagram Cup for the second year in a row under Patrick Husbands at Woodbine on Sunday.

Mr Ritz broke alertly in the 1 1/16-mile route. He was soon pressed by the Hastings shipper Explode through fractions of 24.28 and 47.95, while Skywire and Cooler Mike raced in third and fourth.

Explode faded on the far turn as Cooler Mike took aim at Mr Ritz, who repelled the challenge and went on to score by two lengths over Skywire. Cooler Mike wound up third, and Avie’s Flatter came wide for fourth in the eight-horse field.

Mr Ritz covered the distance in 1:43.28. He was coming off a flat third in his season debut in the Grade 2 Eclipse, a somewhat disappointing performance to trainer Josie Carroll.

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“He definitely got a little tired, and needed that race,” Carroll said. “He had all winter off, and it showed a little bit. We thought he was very, very tight. He’d been excelling in his works, but there’s nothing like a race to really tighten them up, especially at this level of competition.”

Carroll said Mr Ritz was on his game this time.

“When he made the lead, I was a little worried with (Explode) pressuring him, but you could tell he was so relaxed,” Carroll said. “And then when he got a :24 (quarter), I said: ‘you know what, they’re not going to catch him today’.”

A son of Oasis Dream bred in Great Britain, Mr Ritz ($4.60) earned $75,000 for owner Earle Mack LLC.