Woodbine: Black Hornet makes due

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Black Hornet, a gelding who had been impressive in winning the seven-furlong Queenston and was supplemented to the Queen’s Plate at a cost of $5,000, had been pointing to the Plate Trial but suffered a brief setback that put an end to that plan.

But Pat Parente, who is the trainer and a part-owner of Black Hornet, picked up a $90,000 consolation prize here last Saturday when the gelding was an impressive winner of the six-furlong Achievement Stakes under his regular rider, Justin Stein.

Black Hornet, a $4,500 purchase at the local yearling sale, has earned $229,280 via a record of 3-1-1 from 6 starts. His Achievement victory yielded a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 92.

Parente’s problem now will be finding a suitable spot for his classy sprint specialist.

“There’s not a lot of sprinting here for straight 3-year-olds,” Parente said. “I’ll nominate him to the Amsterdam and see who’s in there.”

The Amsterdam, a 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-olds that offers Grade 2 status and a purse of $200,000, will be run at Saratoga on July 28.