Never Retreat did it for the second time on the Woodbine turf, as she landed the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes
The six-year-old mare, Never Retreat, went on to land the Grade 2 $309,145 Canadian Stakes at Woodbine racecourse on 18 September, 2011, as she outlasted the field of 14 fillies and mares, and bagged her second grade 2 win on the Woodbine turf this season.
Trained by Chris Block for Team Block and Jeff Singer, Never Retreat was ridden by jockey Julien Leparoux and the mare was sent off as the 6 to 1 favourite to win the race.
The over flowing field of 14 older fillies had some talented runners in it, with the likes of Zagora, the French bred who earlier went on to win the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga on 30 July, 2011, and was a 3 to 1 slight favourite.
The Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner, Shared Account was also a threat to the title, with the defending champion Miss Keller looking to repeat her winning performance of last season.
However, as the famous saying goes “When the race is on, all bets are off” and with the belief and determination, Never Retreat broke sharply from post number 9.
Woolly Bear took on Never Retreat early and picked up the pace while she was at it. The 60 to 1 shot narrowly edged past Never Retreat to lead the lot.
It all shaped up pretty well right after the field swung for home, Woolly Bear couldn’t keep up with the pace and started weakening, which gave Never Retreat the chance to overhaul her.
The daughter of Smart Strike, Never Retreat than had William Buick’s ride, Stars to Shine to contend with, but it wasn’t much of a challenge as Never Retreat kept charging for the wire.
The first two protagonists’ to wilt were Shared Account and Zagora, who couldn’t make an impact in the closing stages of the race and flattened out to everyone’s surprise.
Long shot Perfect Shirl looked threatening when she entered the deep stretch with intent, and made up good ground just behind Never Retreat.
Patrick Husbands guided Perfect Shirl impressively to go past Stars to Shine, but unfortunately the power run came a little too late, as the filly ran out of time to catch Never Retreat.
Out of Lisieux by Steady Growth, Never Retreat completed the one turn test in 1 minute and 45.13 seconds and with the win her lifetime earnings went up to $1,050,667.
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