Gypsy Ring looking to improve further in the 2011 season, as he goes for the Overskate Stakes at Woodbine
Owned and trained by Paul Buttigieg, 5-year-old gelding Gypsy Ring overlooked the all important $1 million Woodbine Mile for an easier target, the Overskate Stakes worth a purse of $125,000 at Woodbine on 28 September, 2011.
The Overskate Stakes is exclusively for the Ontario sired runners, and it is run over a distance of six furlongs.
The son Where’s the King, out of Gypsy Genna, Gypsy Ring is coming off a fourth place finish in the Grade 2 Play the King, at about seven furlongs over the grass course on 28 August, 2011, at Woodbine Park.
Play the King was won by Havelock, and he covered the seven furlong distance in 1 minute and 21.56 seconds. Riding the River and Fatal Bullet finished second and third, respectively.
The 5-year-old gelding, Gypsy Ring has participated in three other Ontario sired stakes races in his entire career, all of them were run on Poly Track, and he finished a closed second on each occasion.
One of those stakes races was the Shepperton, run over a distance of six furlongs, where the gelding fought heard but was valiant in defeat as he finished second by three quarter of a length from the winner Gazettes Landing on 4 August, 2010.
Despite the defeat, Gypsy Ring managed a career high 100 Beyer Speed Figure in the Shepperton. Gypsy Ring had had a pretty good 2011 season, as the gelding has improved with each subsequent start this year.
Started off the season with an allowance claimer at Woodbine on 5 June, 2011, and rolled in third behind Riding the River and Kid Canuck, over a distance of 6 furlongs.
His next starts were back to back allowance claimers run over a distance of 6 furlongs and 6 ½ furlongs between July and August under jockey J Stein, he finished second and won the his last allowance claimer.
Ahead of the Overskate Stakes, Gypsy Ring has turned in a workout of 5 furlongs twice after the Play The King Stakes, and trainer Buttigieg feels that his runner is in top form going in to the stakes race.
Tags: