'Wake' in top form for Kennedy Rd.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wake at Noon will try to win the Kennedy Road Stakes for the second year in a row Saturday, when he runs against some of Woodbine's top sprinters at six furlongs.

Wake at Noon will be coupled with another Abraham Katryan-trained runner, Deputy Carson, who has won his last six races. The entry should single numerous tickets in the pick six, which will be offered on races 5 through 10.

Wake at Noon reeled off a string of marvelous races during the first half of the year. He captured the Jacques Cartier Stakes, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 113, and was second to Say Florida Sandy in both the Grade 2 True North Handicap and the Grade 3 Philadelphia Breeders' Handicap.

Wake at Noon was fourth behind Delaware Township and Left Bank in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga on Sept. 1, but finished well back just eight days later in Woodbine's Grade 1 Atto Mile. After coming up flat again here in the Highlander Handicap, he got back in the zone with a victory in a Nov. 3 allowance.

Katryan said Wake at Noon is in peak form heading into the $110,500 Kennedy Road. "He's as good as he's ever been," Katryan boasted. "I think running him on turf in the Atto Mile was a mistake."

Wake at Noon is vying with Highlander winner Mr. Epperson for champion sprinter honors this year, but a win in the Kennedy Road won't aid his cause, because the Sovereign Award voting is already over.

Rounding out the field are Krz Ruckus, Praise From Dixie, Olympian, Hopeful Moment, Nikie Your Honor, and Hoptuit Bud.

Krz Ruckus notched a pair of Ontario sire stakes early in the meet, and had a five-race win streak snapped when he finished second to Hopeful Moment in the Shepperton Stakes.

Krz Ruckus rebounded with an allowance score Sept. 9, and was then fourth in the Highlander. He was beaten just a half-length by Wake at Noon after getting cooked in a pace duel Nov. 3.

Krz Ruckus's trainer, Mike DePaulo, said he thinks the Kennedy Road will help determine divisional honors.

"It's unfortunate that the voting for the Sovereigns is already over," DePaulo said. "The Highlander was sort of the deciding race, although Mr. Epperson didn't run any good in his next two starts. Mr. Epperson had five weeks off when he won the Highlander, and was getting weight. You didn't see the real Wake at Noon that day, and I'm not sure that you saw the real Krz Ruckus then either."