Stayers' Watch: Valedictory Stakes · 14.12.11

Woodbine’s traditional closing-day feature is the 1 3/4 mile Valedictory Stakes (Gr. III). Run on 4 December, this year’s winner was Eagle Poise, who ran down Harrods Creek in the stretch to score by a head.

Coming into the race, Eagle Poise was the 3-1 third choice behind Eye of the Leopard and Breeders’ Cup Marathon winner Afleet Again. In the Valedictory, he raced in fourth through the early furlongs, as longshot Getta Rhythm set a moderate pace for the first 10 furlongs(49.81 for the half-mile, 1:41.77 for the mile). Harrods Creek sat in second, then challenged as the field approached the final turn and took over at the quarter pole. Meanwhile, Eye of the Leopard and Eagle Poise both rallied on the turn, but in the stretch it was Eagle Poise who nailed Harrods Creek approaching the wire. Eye of the Leopard finished third and Afleet Again a distant fourth. The running time was 2:57.62 — .65 faster than the previous Polytrack record, set by Marsh Side in the 2006 Valedictory.

Champion Stayer Award standings — update:

No changes among the leaders. The final stayers’ stakes of 2011 is the Gallant Fox, scheduled for 31 December at Aqueduct.

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What do you think?

  1. Top two looked a bit past due from the onset…Because so few of these are run nowadays, there are few horses regularly prepped for the necessary stamina so they wind up riders contests. Ashamed

    — humphrey · Dec 15, 06:36 AM · #

  2. So glad that the forces that be have revived the Gallant Fox, named for a Triple Crown winner too.
    Used to be a real fixture of the marathon set. Maybe SOME people in the business sense the loss of tests of stamina and are trying to keep it there.

    — monarchos · Dec 18, 07:50 AM · #

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