Silent Poet and Justin Stein win the Connaught Cup 2020.
Caravel tried his hand at the Grade 1 stakes company for the first time and climbed to the top early in the Highlander Stakes, but Silent Poet ended up in the final stakes race on the Queen’s Plate card at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, the fastest. The 6-year-old gelding by Stronach Stables lagged third in the first five stages of the Highlander and took the lead in the course to be the first to find the wire and take his first Grade 1 win.
Chuck Willis was the fastest after the start, but Caravel, fresh from her Grade 3 win at the Caress in Saratoga, took the lead in the first quarter of the Highlander, leaving Chuck Willis on the rail in second place and Silent Poet in third on their outside. The filly kept the lead through early fractions of: 22.35 for the first quarter and: 45.16 for the half mile, but when the field reached the top of the track, Silent Poet put the gear into gear and overtook the filly by the Run to the middle of the route with Admiralty Pier to complete its challenge. On the wire, Silent Poet was half a length ahead, Admiralty Pier overtook Caravel in second, the filly held off City Boy in third. Honey Will’s, Chuck Willis, Old Chestnut and Turned Aside rounded out the field.
The last time for the six furlongs on a fixed EP Taylor turf course was 7/1/98. You can find the charts for this race here.
Silent Poet paid $ 21.90, $ 9.80, and $ 4.70. Admiralty Pier paid $ 9.60 and $ 5.20. Caravel paid $ 2.10.
Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, Silent Poet is by Silent Name, sired by Sunday Silence, out of the unrated mare Cara Bella, by Ghostzapper. Trained by Nicholas Gonzalez, he was ridden by Justin Stein. The G1 Highlander marks Silent Poet’s first win in three starts in 2021 for a lifetime record of 11 wins out of 21 starts.
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This post was posted in Racing and tagged Adena Springs, Admiralty Pier, Cara Bella, Karavelle, Ghostzapper, Highlander Stakes, Justin Stein, Nicholas Gonzalez, Silent Name, Silent Poet, Stronach Stables, Woodbine Racetrack by Jennifer Kelly. Bookmark the permalink.
