CT Classic – Grade II
1 1/8 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $1,250.000 Open 4 Year Olds And Up.

1st Edwin Drood, trained by Sanny Village
As the other wide draws were shot out of the gate this gelding stumbled and for a moment looked like he was going to be taken back to his normal position at the back of the field. But the wide gate speed push and maybe some instructions from the trainer kicked in to send him zooming round the field and into the lead. Normally when that sort of thing happens we see the leader weakening again but this tight circuit suits on speed runners and he managed to slip his field by enough to hold on pretty comfortably at the end. I wonder whether an inside draw and his usual closing style wouldve seen a different result today but none of that matters in the big picture as this turned into his biggest career triumph so far. I am pretty sure he will be a major player come BC Classic time and it will be fascinating to see whether he adopts these tactics in future races.

2nd Atomic Twister, trained by Blushing Meadows
From this draw and a good position throughout this race he looked like he could pick up the leader whenever he liked. But on this tight track he just couldnt get his power going and had to settle for second today.

3rd Gentile ll Buono, trained by Sc Lanciano
Ran the race of his life to get into third just a neck behind Atomic Twister who beat him easily and gave him weight last time. This horse seems to be improving at a rate of knots and i suspect there is a big win in his locker.

4th Copper Beast, trained by John Henry
Found himself wide for much of this race but did well in the end to keep on for fourth. This was a much better effort after his SA Handicap run and he should be competitive for the rest of the year.

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