Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber's Gretzky the Great found his way to victory down the rail Sept. 20 and punched his ticket to the Breeders' Cup World Championships with a victory in the CA$280,500 (US$212,452) Summer Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine.
Ridden by Kazushi Kimura and trained by Mark Casse, Gretzky the Great stalked the pace from the break behind Ready to Repeat, who led the field through fractions of :24.10 and :47.82 for the first half-mile. Guided by Luis Contreras, Ready to Repeat maintained a comfortable pace along the rail through the backstretch and into the turn. Gretzky the Great held back in second and was still in the two path as the field turned into the stretch.
With Ready to Repeat in his sights, Gretzky the Great was urged forward and collared the leader as they buckled down for the drive home. Putting his powerful turn of foot on display, Gretzky the Great kicked home and pulled away to a half-length lead. In the final furlongs, Kimura angled his mount back in toward the rail, and the duo continued to surge to the finish line. Gretzky the Great was well clear of his rivals at the end, crossing the wire 3 1/4 lengths in front.
The final time for the mile was 1:34.53. Ready to Repeat finished one length in front of Dolder Grand for second, with American Monarch finishing fourth.
“He is such an amazing horse,” said Kimura, who recorded his first grade 1 win in the Summer Stakes. “He's an easy horse—I mean to control. If I want to do something, I can do anything. When I came to the final turn then come through the final stretch, he had a tremendous explosion. He sometimes was a little bit lugging in, but he's just still a baby."
Following the race, Contreras lodged a complaint against Gretzky the Great, claiming foul in the stretch. Following a stewards' inquiry, the claim was dismissed and the result was upheld.
Gretzky the Great entered the Summer Stakes off a win in the Aug. 23 Soaring Free Stakes at Woodbine. The Summer Stakes victory ensures that the 2-year-old son of Nyquist receives an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) Nov. 6 at Keeneland.
"First time out, it was only five furlongs on the (Woodbine inner) turf, then when he won the first time, I was like, 'Oh, that will be a stakes horse for the future," said Kimura, who has been aboard for all of Gretzky the Great's four starts. "And then winning a stakes and now a grade 1, he's such a nice horse."
Gretzky the Great is the second grade 1 winner for Nyquist, who broke through at the top level when his daughter Vequist took the Spinaway Stakes (G1) Sept. 6 at Saratoga Race Course.
Bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms, Gretzky the Great was offered to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale by his breeder but did not reach his reserve on a final bid of $295,000. The colt has won three of his four starts and earned $252,205.
