Spadina Road, patiently handled by Eurico Rosa da Silva, came on strong down the lane to capture Wednesday night’s $125,000 Deputy Minister Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Bob Tiller for owner Rolph Davis, Spadina Road arrived at the seven furlong ‘Poly’ stake for Ontario-sired sophomores from a third-place finish behind Deputy Minister rivals Eighty Nine Red and Flashy Margaritta in the six furlong Achievement Stakes.
Flashy Margaritta, carrying a field-high 128 pounds, led the seven-horse field through swift splits of :22.25 and :44.82 with Forester’s Destiny and Marten Lake stalking his early pace.
Eighty Nine Red was urged up the rail approaching the turn with Spadina Road, racing from fifth position, following his lead. Flashy Margaritta maintained a precarious lead at the top of the lane, as da Silva, waiting patiently behind rivals, angled Spadina Road off the rail as the field straightened to surge home a 3/4-length winner.
Forester’s Destiny stayed on for place money over Eighty Nine Red. Spadina Road covered seven furlongs in 1:22.94.
“It was a very beautiful pace for us today,” said da Silva. “I just waited, but by himself he closed. I didn’t even move. He ran very strong in the end.”
The victory marked the second added-money score for Spadina Road having captured the 1 1/16-miles Kingarvie Stakes in December which put the gelding briefly into the frame as a Queen’s Plate contender.
“We’ve been pointing for these races,” said Tiller. “We could have gone the Plate route with him, but this horse has had a lot of little issues this spring. Just one thing after another, so we decided to keep him for the Ontario-sired program.”
Spadina Road banked $75,000 in victory while improving his record to 4-1-3 from nine career starts.
He paid $8.10, $3.40 and $2.90, combining with Forester’s Destiny ($8.90, $5.60) for a $122.90 (2-5) exactor. A 2-5-4 (Eighty Nine Red, $3.30) triactor was worth $529.10, while a $1 Superfecta [2-5-4-6 (Marten Lake)] came back $959.10.
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