All eyes will be on the very fast PATCHES O’HOULIHAN (#9) in Saturday’s Kennedy Road Stakes (G2), a six-furlong sprint on the Tapeta surface at Woodbine. Can this Ontario-bred and -sired gelding remain unbeaten in 2023 while meeting his toughest field to date?
He’s just a three-year-old, but Frank DiGuilio’s homebred Patches O’Houlihan, trained by Robert Tiller, has caused a stir this year with six wins in six races including four stakes, two of them graded. Some have even mentioned him in the same sentence as Tiller’s great Pink Lloyd, considered one of the best sprinters in Canadian history.
Okay, it’s a little early to be comparing Patches to Pinkie, who, by the way, won the 2017, 2019 and 2021 editions of the Kennedy Road in his illustrious career. But Patches O’Houlihan comes into the Kennedy Road fresh, having not raced since the September 16 Vigil Stakes (G3) which he won by a nose.