Touch'n Ride nips Elysian Field in Breeders' Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Touch’n Ride emulated his half-brother, Neepawa, and gave Chiefswood Stables a second Breeders’ Stakes victory by taking the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Crown in dramatic fashion over Elysian Field at Woodbine on Sunday.

Favored Paramount Prince pressed longshot Hemlo Gold through quick fractions in the 1 1/2-mile turf event, which encompassed one lap around the roomy main course at Woodbine.

Touch’n Ride ($10.20) stalked the leaders in the two-path in fourth on the backstretch as Elysian Field sat three-wide in fifth. Touch’n Ride awaited room on the far turn while Elysian Field swept to the lead entering the stretch, and then took dead aim at the Woodbine Oaks winner on the outside.

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Elysian Field herded Touch’n Ride out three or four paths through the final three-sixteenths before Touch’n Ride prevailed by a nose in a time of 2:27.56.

Sahin Civaci, on Elysian Field, lodged a claim of foul on Kazushi Kimura and Touch’n Ride that was dismissed by the stewards.

“Last week, I got on him in the morning time and he was a really nice horse on the turf,” Kimura said. “I was quite comfortable to stay behind King’s Plate winner Paramount Prince.”

Chiefswood, which won the 2018 Breeders’ with Neepawa, banked $240,000 of the $403,000 purse. Winning trainer Layne Giliforte had confidence in the son of Candy Ride, who bypassed the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie after finishing a wide fifth in the Aug. 20 Plate.

“I had a great feeling coming into the race,” Giliforte said. “For him to come through the way he did, and for Kazushi to give him the ride he did, it’s fantastic. We talked about this race for a long time, since the first time he ran when he finished third (on the turf). With his pedigree, and being related to Neepawa, we always felt that it was something he could do and something ideal that we could point him towards.”

Twowaycrossing, at 51-1, finished third, and reigning Canadian champion male 2-year-old Philip My Dear checked in fourth. Paramount Prince faded to 13th in the 14-horse field of Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

*** Forever Dixie ($6.40) came inside from third to capture Sunday’s $125,750 Ontario Damsel with ease in her first stakes success under Patrick Husbands.

Trained by Mark Case, Forever Dixie covered the 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta in 1:42.96 while scoring by 3 1/4 lengths over her favored stablemate, Solo Album. Love to Shop finished another 3 1/4 lengths back in third in the five-horse field of 3-year-old fillies.

A daughter of Quality Road, Forever Dixie earned $75,000 for owner John Oxley, who also campaigned her dam, the 2012 Prince of Wales winner Dixie Strike.

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