After a series of runner-up finishes, Anarchist broke through for his first stakes win with a splendid effort in the $152,100 Jacques Cartier Stakes (G3) on Sunday at Woodbine.
Ridden by Luis Contreras for trainer Josie Carroll, the bay colt, who went off as the 5-2 choice in the six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up, showed plenty of gumption down the lane to win by three-quarters of a length in his first test over the Toronto oval's Tapeta.
Breaking sharply from the outside post eight, Anarchist was joined on the front end by Arzak as the pair led the proceedings through early splits of :22.82 and :45.17.
The battle between the front-runners continued as the field made its way into the turn for home, with Anarchist eventually gaining the advantage. A length ahead at the stretch call, Anarchist and Contreras then braced for the challenges of a trio of rallying rivals but were easily able to fend off their pursuers in the late running.
The final time was 1:08.96.
“He's a very strong and powerful horse,” praised Contreras. “I had no troubles in the race. He broke perfect. I had so much horse the whole way. He did really well. I'm so pleased.”
The 4-year-old son of Distorted Humor out of Vicarious Won, by Elusive Quality, arrived at the Jacques Cartier off four straight seconds, including the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes on March 5 and the Grade 3 Kona Gold Stakes on April 22, both run at Santa Anita.
He debuted with a runner-up finish on March 27, 2022, at Tampa Bay Downs. He's also competed at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Ellis Park, where he broke his maiden last July.
“There was a lot of concern,” said Angelo Freda of Ilium Stables LLC, of Anarchist, who was trying the synthetic surface for the first time in race action. “I had to fight off a lot of people. But I had faith. I knew Josie was going to take care of him and I knew she would give him a run over the track and if he couldn't do it, she would have told me. I had confidence in Josie.”
Bred in Kentucky by Centaur Farms, Inc., Anarchist is now 2-5-0 from nine starts. He returned $7.70 for Sunday's triumph.
Ice Chocolat was second, followed by Old Chestnut, Candy Overload, Ironstone, Arzak, Ready for a Fight, and Red River Rebel.
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