The unlikely Breeders’ Cup winner, Afleet Again, will flex his muscles in the Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine
The 4-year-old colt, Afleet Again, before the Breeders’ Cup hadn’t won a single race in about 22 months and when he came out as a solid victor in the Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Marathon over at 1 ¾ miles sent at 41 to 1, he shell shocked the entire field and the crowd after his prominent run down the stretch to seal his second win in almost 2 years.
The Robert E. Reid Jr. trained Afleet Again would like to carry this winning form into his next race in Canada at Woodbine in the Valedictory Stakes, which promises grade 3 status with the purse of $150,000 and the race is run over a distance of 1 ¾ mile.
“We’re packing our bags right now,” said trainer Butch Reid on 29 November from his base Parx Racing in Pennsylvania.
“We’ll get him up there and train him over the track for a couple of days, get him ready for the race.”
The Valedictory was an obvious choice for Afleet Again after his major Breeders’ Cup win, mainly because both races are run over the same distance and on top of it the Valedictory Stakes offer a respectable purse and status.
“The distance was the biggest factor,” said Reid, who trains the 4-year-old Afleet Again for Kasey K Racing Stable. “It’s so hard to find races of that length, you kind of have to go wherever they are.”
The only difference in the Valedictory Stakes from his other races is the major switch to synthetic surface from dirt, on which he has started 18 times in his 4-year-old career and he has run over grass six times.
“That’s a bit of a concern,” said Reid, who will be saddling his first horse in Canada and visiting the country for the first time. “We thought about taking him down to Fair Hill, to train on the track down there.
This season Afleet Again, has raced eight times and managed a single win with two finishes on the board. Apart from that, there is nothing for him to write home about. It has been a dismal season but a win in the Breeders’ Cup and if he can conjure up something in the Valedictory Stakes than it might cover for all the losses this season.
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