Woodbine: Group 1 Champion next for Northern Dancer winner Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall, the Northern Dancer winner, was scheduled to return to England on Tuesday evening and currently is scheduled to make his next start there Oct. 15 in Ascot’s Group 1 Champion Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile turf race worth more than $2 million.

While Wigmore Hall had never raced beyond 1 3/16 miles, the 4-year-old colt came with solid International credentials and rallied up the inside to score under jockey Jamie Spencer.

“I thought he’d get the trip, but I was a bit concerned about the pace,” said Gillian Dollman, an assistant to Wigmore Hall’s trainer, Michael Bell. “Jamie said that for once he came out of the gates well, and it all worked out in the end.”

One Euro will remain for Keeneland’s Shadwell Mile

Side Glance and Dance and Dance, both European invaders for the Woodbine Mile, finished fourth and sixth, respectively, and now are scheduled to head in different directions.

Andrew Balding, who trains Side Glance, said the 4-year-old would be going home with an eye toward the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a one-mile turf race on the Champions Day program which will offer a purse of more than $1.5 million.

“He ran well; he was just a bit keen,” said Balding, after watching Side Glance race forwardly early and finish just 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner.

“He was traveling a bit strong early. If he’d drawn a little inside, I think he would have relaxed.”

Dance and Dance, the hard-luck horse of the Woodbine Mile, is scheduled to make his next start in the Shadwell Turf Mile.

“We’re delighted that he’s proved he’s up to his level,” said trainer Ed Vaughan, who was saddling his first North American starter. He came from a long way back, got up to them and had nowhere to go.

“The jockey was adamant that he’d have won if he’d have got clear.”