Pattison Canadian International – Grade I

1 1/2 Mile Turf Stake Purse $600.000 Open 3 Year Olds And Up.

1st      Never Met Me      Mb Stables      Jaramillo E

Originally this horse was set to turf and ran nine races in a row through his two and three year old seasons and whilst he ran with merit it seemed the trainer wasn’t happy he was fulfilling his potential and so switched him to the dirt where he ran 13 consecutive races. During his time on dirt he managed a close second at grade one but still wasn’t finding the results that were hoped for so half way through this season the trainer switched him back to the turf. Since then he has gone three from three with a grade two and a grade one win and an auto qualification for the Breeders Cup Turf. Before the switch in race engine he had tried to make the running and faded but with the new race engine comes a whole new game and now he seems to be able to sustain his effort from the front. Today he got away with soft fractionals whilst others were trying to ignore instructions and just kept trucking on and to be honest never looked like losing. Clearly rejuvenated by the new race engine he has come to hand at the right time to be a serious BC challenger and is a testament to the trainers perseverance.

2nd       Kings Poker         Wood Duck Stables        Stein J

In his last two starts he had laid up closer to the pace on much faster splits so i was surprised to see him slip back from the perfect draw. It was that restraint that gifted the race to Never Met Me as when he finally got going the race was already won. Whether this was all a bit random or the new trainer made a tactical error we will never know but one thing is for sure he lost no kudos after this effort and i feel he is still the best hope a three year old has of winning one of the major BC races this year.

3rd       Slo Mo         Maxmillion Farm        Carrasco V R

It is not often the turf king gets it all wrong but with such a soft pace taking their two runners off the pace was a mistake. Whether that was the trainers mistake or the race engine playing games we will never know but the way this one finished off certainly suggests he may have been unlucky. With one wide draw going forward and one going back it was a bit reminiscent of the old race engine but as we all know it is not so easy to come from behind these days and it never looked like he would make it. This was another great effort though especially considering he was running in cheap claimers last year and i suspect there will be another good win on the horizon.


4th      Stallsome         Maxmillion Farm       Gutierrez Mario

The most popular pick in the pick em lost this race the minute he was restrained from the pretty average pace. Last time out when he won the Sword Dancer he was right on the leaders heels and finished off best to win but this time he was left with too much ground to make up. He is already in the BC Turf so will get another chance but the trainer will either have to hope the race engine works for him there or adjust the instructions. A good effort though ad this will not hurt his big race chances.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES