Walton Street, invading from England, waltzed to his first Grade 1 victory under the popular Frankie Dettori in Saturday’s 83rd running of the Grade 1, $600,000 Pattison Canadian International here at Woodbine.

The 7-year-old gelding, conditioned by Charlie Appleby, scuttled a bid for a third consecutive Canadian International win by Desert Encounter, who rallied from far back early to finish 5 ¾ lengths back as a brave runner-up under substitute rider Emma-Jayne Wilson.

“I think to be honest it worked out perfectly how we thought it would,” said Alex Merriman, assistant to trainer Charlie Appleby, after watching Walton Street’s dominant performance. “I thought he would go forward and slot in.

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