The CA$179,300 Ontario Derby (G3), run over the 1 1/8-mile Tapeta course at Woodbine, was not without its fair share of drama.
The Layne Giliforte trainee Touch’n Ride finished second under the wire but was placed first via disqualification after front-running Solo Album was ruled by stewards to have cut off Twin City entering the first turn. After the disqualification, Solo Album was placed fifth behind eventual fourth-place finisher Twin City, moving longshot Cool Kiss from third to second and Twowaycrossing from fourth to third.
The promoted winner, a son of Candy Ride , sat a perfect stalking trip under leading rider Kazushi Kimura and rallied determinedly through the last furlong, grinding away at the disqualified winner’s dwindling length margin.
It was jockey Kazushi Kimura’s fifth consecutive victory in the Ontario Derby and the second in a row for the Chiefwood Stables homebred Touch’n Ride, who took the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Stakes on turf Oct. 1.
Touch’n Ride ($6.80) was timed in 1:48.93. He has a record of 3-0-1 from five starts with earnings of $317,257.
Reaction
- “He has natural early speed, so I tried to stay close, and he tried hard to the wire. I’m so proud of him,” Kimura said.
- Rob Landry, a retired Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and general manager for Chiefwood Stables, added, “I’m very proud of him. He was slow developing and wasn’t even nominated for the Triple Crown. He ran a tremendous race today.”
Video: Ontario Derby (G3)
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