Trainer Mark Casse's Brazilian-bred Filo Di Arianna led at every point of call and kicked clear in the stretch to win the $200,000 King Edward Stakes (G2) Sunday at Woodbine.
Hounded through the early stages by Town Cruise, Filo Di Arianna was unfazed along the rail while setting fractions of :23.49, :46.47 and 1:10.12 for six furlongs, keeping his head in front.
Ridden by Kazushi Kimura, Filo Di Arianna came out to the three path to uncoiled his rally into the stretch, opened a 2 ½-length lead, and continued on to score by two lengths.
As Town Cruise weakened in the stretch, Harlan Estate, last of six early, came on strongly to be best of the rest, finishing 1 ¾ lengths in front of third-place finisher Haddassah.
The 6-5 favorite in the six-horse field, Filo Di Arianna covered one mile 1:34.69 on turf rated as firm, winning his third consecutive race, all in front-running fashion, including the Connaught Cup (G2) July 23 in his previous outing.
The 6-year-old son of Drosselmeyer, owned by Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, and Peter Deutsch, has seven wins from nine career starts and $284,776 in earnings. His record includes a pair of group wins in his native country, where he was perfect in three 2019 starts before he was sent to the United States.
Filo Di Arianna, who returned $4.40 Sunday, did not race in 2020 but won his North American debut at Woodbine June 27, 2021, in a seven-furlong turf allowance, his only start of the year. After another extended break, he returned with a unplaced finish in the Shakertown (G2) at Keeneland this April and followed by another poor performance in the Jaipur (G1) June 11 at Belmont in June. Sent to Woodbine, he subsequently showed his affinity for the Toronto-area racetrack Sunday in the King Edward.
The post Filo Di Arianna Wires King Edward At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.