Town Cruise made it look easy in his upset win in the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile, taking the field gate to wire to earn a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile. Over the familiar turf of Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, the 6-year-old gelding followed up his runner-up showing in the G2 King Edward Stakes with a victory for co-breeder/trainer/owner Brandon Greer.
Breaking from the first post, jockey Daisuke Fukumoto hustled Town Cruise out to the lead in the race's opening strides, with Duke of Hazzard and Change of Control settling in second and third. Through opening fractions of :24.01 and :47.10, Town Cruise stretched his lead out to two lengths, running easily on the lead. Into the stretch, the field bunched up behind Town Cruise; Avie's Flatter tried to challenge in the stretch, but the Ontario bred was too much for him. After leading at every call, Town Cruise hit the wire 2 1/4 lengths in front, with Space Traveller and Raging Bull coming on late to finish second and third.
The final time for the G1 Woodbine Mile was 1:35.41. Find this race's chart here.
Town Cruise paid $19.30, $10.10, and $6.10. Space Traveller paid $10.20 and $6.30. Raging Bull paid $3.70.
As a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, the winner of the Woodbine Mile receives a fees-paid, guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.
Co-bred by trainer Greer and his father Terrance, Town Cruise is by Town Prize out of the Candy Ride mare Candy Cruise. The Woodbine Mile is Town Cruise's third win in four starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in 14 starts and career earnings of $700,106.
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