Say the Word joins stakes-winning ranks with Northern Dancer Turf

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Say the Word won his first stakes in grand style Sunday at Woodbine, taking the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf under a patient ride from Emma-Jayne Wilson.

Say the Word ($13.60) saved ground while trailing the eight-horse field early in the 1 1/2-mile turf marathon. The 2-1 favorite Admiralty Pier set an honest pace with Peace of Ekati in close proximity, while Say the Word’s more fancied stablemate, Count Again, stalked three-wide in third.

Say the Word overtook Sir Sahib on the outside on the far turn before they both rallied wide in the stretch. Say the Word finished stronger and prevailed by a length over Sir Sahib, in a time of 2:29.87 over the firm ground. Admiralty Pier weakened on end, but managed to edge out Count Again for third.

Trained by Gail Cox, Say the Word was coming off a belated third behind victorious Count Again in the Grade 3 Singspiel, when Wilson rode him for the first time. He broke the 1 3/16-mile course record at Saratoga the time before in a second-level allowance under Junior Alvarado.

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“Last time I rode him, Gail let me know Junior Alvarado said he was a little funny with his mouth,” Wilson recalled. “Last time, we got the one-hole going a mile and quarter, and I just got shuffled back. It took me a bit to get on the same page with him, being as sensitive as he was. He ran well, and was coming on end.

“So today, I was more confident with him, more ground, and I knew where the line was. He settled for me beautifully. I knew when we straightened, he was already in flight, and it was going to be tough to beat him.”

A 5-year-old gelding by More Than Ready, Say the Word earned $216,000 of the $340,200 purse for owner-breeder Sam-Son Farm.