Stephen Cheney and Cory Hoffman’s Calgary Cat pounced on a freewheeling Parise in the final strides to capture Sunday’s $132,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes, at Woodbine.

Trained by Kevin Attard, Calgary Cat, recently honoured as Canada’s champion sprinter of 2014, made his seasonal debut a winning one with a tremendous turn of foot under regular rider Eurico Rosa da Silva.

Parise, with Emma-Jayne Wilson up, set splits of :21.82 and :44.18 in the six furlong ‘Poly’ sprint opening up a three-length lead at the half-mile mark. Calgary Cat, eighth in the early running in a field of 10, was urged into contention through the turn settling into third position behind Black Hornet.

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