Runaway Again nails Mansetti late to win Prince of Wales
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The lightly raced Runaway Again caught the favored King’s Plate winner Mansetti in the final strides to take the 90th running of the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, the middle leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, on Tuesday at Fort Erie.
The rail was the place to be on the main track on the card. Jockey Ryan Munger saved ground on Runaway Again in fourth while Mansetti was pressed by Scorching and Ashley’s Archer through quick fractions in the 1 3/16-mile dirt route for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.
Mansetti assumed command on the far turn under Pietro Moran while Munger angled Runaway Again outside. Runaway Again made up ground steadily through the stretch and Mansetti tired late to come up a half-length short. Faber rallied wide for third and was followed by Scorching, Ashley’s Archer, Humber River, and Dewolf.
Munger rode Runaway Again in his 9 1/4-length debut victory going long July 13, but opted to ride another horse in the Aug. 16 Plate, in which the gelding was a non-threatening 10th.
“The way he won first-time out -- that’s what I was expecting coming to the race today,” Munger said. “The King’s Plate second-time out, it’s a very tough race, but I managed to get on him after the race and he came out of the run so good.
“He broke good, and when I saw Mansetti and a few of the pace horses go like I thought they would, I thought I was in a golden spot. I just followed Mansetti, and at the top of the straight, if I had horse, he’d beat him. Fortunately, Mansetti just started to tread water at the end, and that’s when [Runaway Again] knuckled down and found his feet.”
The supplemented Runaway Again gave trainer Sid Attard his first Prince of Wales victory and was the second consecutive winner of the race for owner Stronach Stables, who won it last year with Vitality. Attard said the son of Hard Spun could contest the anchor leg of the Triple Crown, the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Stakes on the inner turf at Woodbine on Sept. 28.
“We worked him once on the grass and he worked very good,” Attard said. “We’ll see how he comes back. We’ll play it by ear.”
Runaway Again ($18.50) covered the distance in 1:55.64 and earned $240,000.
* Jockey Sofia Vives swept both $100,000 Ontario-sired stakes for 3-year-olds on the card on a pair of front-running favorites -- Takemybourbonneat ($7) in the Rondeau Bay for fillies and Go Kart Mozart ($6.20) in the Lake Erie for the boys.
Takemybourbonneat was competing just 10 days after a win at Woodbine and a $25,000 claim by trainer Anthony Adamo. She covered the 6 1/2-furlong distance in 1:16.43 in a 2 3/4-length score over 20-1 shot Ruthless Action.
Go Kart Mozart tracked the leading longshot Video Evidence before taking control and then held off the 64-1 bomb Back River to win by a half-length, in a time of 1:17.32 for the 6 1/2 furlongs. It was the second stakes victory for the Robert Tiller trainee.
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