Woodbine: Town Prize comes close to track record in Woodstock win

ETOBICOKE, Ontario—Town Prize ran them off their feet in Sunday’s $155,800 Woodstock Stakes at Woodbine, scoring with ease under Eurico Da Silva.

Town Prize ($9) shook loose on the lead and proceeded to set fractions of 22.14 and 44.51 seconds in the six-furlong sprint. He drew away in the stretch to prevail by 5 1/4 lengths in 1:08.22, a time which threatened 2011 champion sprinter Essence Hit Man’s Polytrack record of 1:08.16.

Hogy, the favored Chicago shipper, rallied wide for second, and Menlo Castle checked in third in the nine-horse field of 3-year-olds.

“He’s a very talented horse,” said Da Silva. “He did everything easy. He didn’t break that sharp, but he put himself on the lead, and from there, he just enjoyed himself running. I didn’t even need to whip him. He just kept running, and he galloped out strong.”

Trained by Darwin Banach, Town Prize banked $90,000 for owner/breeder Bill Sorokolit.