Tone Broke runs down favorites to win Prince of Wales Stakes

FORT ERIE, Ontario – Tone Broke wore down the favorites in the stretch to capture the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, the middle leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, on a gorgeous Tuesday evening in front of a packed house at Fort Erie.

With Ricardo Santana Jr. riding for trainer Steve Asmussen, Tone Broke ($13.20), raced three wide in third on the backstretch in the 1 3/16-mile route for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

The favored One Bad Boy broke a length slow from the inside and then rushed up to set fractions of 23.50 seconds, 48.02, and 1:12.59, while Avie’s Flatter pressed him all the way.

Avie’s Flatter assumed a slim lead early in the stretch as Tone Broke was in the midst of his wide rally. Tone Broke made the lead at the sixteenth pole, en route to a two-length score in a time of 1:56.56 over the fast track.

Avie’s Flatter edged One Bad Boy by a neck for second. He’s a Macho Man finished a distant fourth, and Skywire rounded out the order of finish.

In his first mount at the border oval, Santana said everything went smoothly for him in the 84th running of the Prince of Wales.

“I put him in a great spot,” Santana said. “He broke really sharp today. He was nice and comfortable outside the speed. Turning for home, he gave me a nice kick.”

Assistant trainer Darren Fleming said Tone Broke could contest the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the 12-furlong Breeders’ Stakes on the grass Aug. 17 at Woodbine.

“That will be up to Steve and the owners to decide, but I kind of think he’ll go ahead and finish out the Canadian Triple Crown,” Fleming said. “I think the further, the better. And he’s versatile. He’s been on the [Tapeta] one time, and he liked it. I don’t think the turf will bother him a bit. I think he’d run on broken glass.”

A son of Broken Vow, Tone Broke earned $240,000 in his first stakes victory for L and N Racing LLC.

Jockey Flavien Prat said One Bad Boy, the decisive winner of the Queen’s Plate on the synthetic Tapeta surface at Woodbine, didn’t bring his “A” game on the dirt.

“It’s probably not his best surface, and the start might have cost him a little bit, too,” Prat said.