Woodbine: Phil's Dream gets tough test in Kennedy Road Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – As usual, owner-trainer Paul Buttigieg said he would not be in attendance Saturday when his red-hot stable star Phil’s Dream runs in the $150,000 Kennedy Road Stakes at Woodbine.

“Let’s not ruin a good thing,” joked Buttigieg, who will watch the race from his farm.

Phil’s Dream will face his sternest test to date in the six-furlong stakes, which includes two-time Canadian sprint champion Essence Hit Man and the good sprinter Go Blue Or Go Home, along with shippers Summer Breezing and Admiral Perry.

Phil’s Dream has won his last four starts, including three stakes, most notably the Grade 1 Nearctic on grass. He earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure after outfinishing Go Blue Or Go Home when he took the six-furlong Ontario Jockey Club Stakes on Polytrack on Nov. 2.

“He’s in good order,” Buttigieg said. “He’s got such a long stride, and he’s kind to train. He’s not a tough horse.”

Buttigieg has campaigned a host of talented horses, but when asked if Phil’s Dream is the best he’s ever had, he didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Definitely, I would have to think so,” Buttigieg said. “He can run on anything. You don’t have to chase him with a vet, either. His legs are ice cold every day. It doesn’t matter what you do with him.”

Essence Hit Man could garner his third consecutive Sovereign Aware as the country’s top sprinter with a victory in the Grade 2 event, an award that is probably Phil’s Dream’s to lose.

Essence Hit Man has won twice in just three starts this year, all in stakes. His loss, a second in the Grade 3 Vigil, was to Laugh Track, who was runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

Trainer Larry Cappuccitti said Essence Hit Man got a freshening on the farm after capturing the Grade 3 Bold Venture on July 17 and has been idle this fall because some local races for him failed to fill.

“He’s doing great,” Cappuccitti said. “He had a light little three-eighths work [Monday] and did it in 35 [and change]. He’s in good shape. It’s a pleasure to work with such a beautiful horse.”

Trainer Reade Baker entered stakes winners Go Blue Or Go Home, Fatal Bullet, and Bear No Joke.

Baker lost last year’s Kennedy Road winner, Bear Tough Tiger, to trainer Sid Attard via a claim for $62,500 on Nov. 8, when the 5-year-old won an optional claiming race.

Summer Breezing and Admiral Perry are both coming off a strong showing in optional-claiming company at Keeneland.