COOL KISS, the second longest shot in the Durham Cup (G3) field, mowed down Dresden Row, the 2024 Champion three-year-old colt or gelding in Canada, to post a 17-to-1 head-scratcher on Saturday at Woodbine.
The newest Ontario-bred graded stakes winner, claimed for $40,000 on Halloween in 2024, was winning for the first time in his fifth start this year. The Durham was thought by most to be Drseden Row’s race, following a second-place finish in the Grade Seagram Cup on Aug. 2 when he got too far behind the slow pace.
Jockey Ryan Munger didn’t let that happen again and had the Lorne Richards-trained four-year-old colt right at the flank of 2023 Champion three-year-old, 2024 Champion Older Male Paramount Prince, ridden by Patrick Husbands.
Late on the final turn, Dresden Row moved slowly past Paramount Prince and the race looked to be as good as over – except that 2024 Champion Jockey SAHIN CIVACI, on the Martin Drexler-trained Cool Kiss, angled his gelding off the rail and charged towards the two leaders, finally getting by for a a neck win. Dresden Row was second and 4 1/2 lengths clear of Paramount Prince and the time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.74 on a cool, windy day.
His Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form, was 99, bettering his previous top of 86.
Owned by Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman, Cool Kiss was second in the Plate Trial and third in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby in 2023. When he was dropped to claiming for the first race after a series of modest outings in 2024, he was scooped up by Chesney and Hoffman. The gelding won that day and then spent the winter in Ontario.
Cool Kiss debuted this year in the Eclipse Stakes (G3) and was seventh under Pietro Moran. He had a third, fifth and seventh in his three starts before the Durham Cup.
“We took a shot,” said Drexler, who also sent out Classic Mo Town (fifth) and Skyro (sixth). “But this horse has not had any racing luck at all, and I always thought he could run, and I thought when he drew the one-hole that we had a very good chance of getting a good trip. So, that’s kind of what it came down to and ultimately, it couldn’t have set up any better. Sahin just sat there, like I told him, and the pace set up in front of him, and the whole thing worked out well.”
By Kantharos, Cool Kiss was bred by Phoenix Racing and he is one of three foals to race and three winners for his stakes-winning dam Hot Kiss.
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