Riding the River, a crafty neck winner in Nijinsky Stakes at Woodbine
David Cotey’s 5-year-old bay gelding, Riding the River, utilised the best of his experience to produce a shocking result in the $318,180, Nijinsky Stakes at Woodbine turf course on Sunday, July 22nd.
In the hands of Todd Kabel, the speedy runner handled the situation quite nicely to ensure the first prize only by a neck’s distance. Malcolm Pierce’s trainee, Hotep, kept him under tremendous amount of pressure all the way through, but failed to add the
finishing touch.
Riding the River made a wonderful finish, keeping himself ahead in the final moments. Todd Kabel saddled the horse brilliantly, and the handler was not reluctant to lavish special praise both on the rider and horse.
He described after the race: "It was a trip of h**l. I warned Todd, 'At some point in time, they're going to shut off and you're going to see a six-inch hole. Point him and hold on,' and that's almost exactly what happened. He just forced his way through
it, he's such a game little guy."
It was Riding the River’s first journey over nine furlongs, and he did not make any mistake whatsoever. On a firm tack, he was timed in 1:48.05, as he outpaced the fast-closing, Hotep.
Despite being blocked, the dashing runner did not lose his determination. He slipped into the inside ahead of Imagining, and eventually attained a handsome lead over Pender Harbour.
While the leading pair battled hard for the first prize, it looked almost impossible for Pender Harbour to fancy his chances. Consequently, the Michael P. De Paulo-trained finished third on the table.
It was a terrible day for Imagining, who was 11-10 favourite in the field of six. Trained by Claude R. McGaughey III, the 4-year-old chestnut colt completely failed to do anything special and as a result, finished fifth in the list.
It was Riding the River’s second consecutive triumph after winning the Grade 2 King Edward Presented BY TVG Stakes at the end of last month. His last success was also a close one, as he secured the top position only by a neck’s distance at the same venue.
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