Pender Harbour Wins His Second Jewel In The Breeders'

Photo: WEG / Michael Burns Photography

Pender Harbour won his second Triple Crown race in a row with a photo-finish victory in the 121st running of the Breeders' Stakes on Sunday Afternoon at Woodbine. Pender Harbour became the first horse since A Bit O'Gold in 2004 to win two legs in the Canadian Triple Crown.

The 2011 Breeders' Stakes began with Born to Boogie and Delawana, rushing out to the early lead. They continued to lead throughout the first six furlongs, setting opening fractions of 24.28 for the opening quarter-mile, 48.75 for the opening half-mile and 1:14.64 for the opening six furlongs. The duo would go on to lead clear by several lengths over the rest of the field tightly bunched together. Along the backstretch, the leader of the rest of the pack, Celtic Conviction, began to close the gap on the leaders. His run towards the leaders was followed by Hippolytus, Stunning Split, Pender Harbour and Crown's Path.

The gap on the leaders got smaller and smaller as the field progressed through the far turn, and when Celtic Conviction, Stunning Split and Hippolytus caught the two frontrunners at the top of the stretch, the race for the line was on.

Celtic Conviction quickly took the lead, but Stunning Split and Hippolytus were right on him as the three battled in close quarters. Pender Harbour angled off of the rail and began to make his run down the middle of the turf course. As the field continued down the E.P. Taylor course, Crown's Path ducked to the inside of Celtic Conviction along the rail, and Stunning Split began to fade, making it a four-horse race to the wire.

Pender Harbour continued to avoid trouble down the centre of the track, but the three to his inside would stir up a bit of controversy. Hippolytus and Celtic Conviction, running right next to each other, began to drift in towards the rail, forcing Crown's Path to check slightly. Celtic Conviction would emerge from the group and went head-to-head with Pender Harbour in the final furlong. Having to make the slimmest of margins, Celtic Conviction could not quite get there as Pender Harbour won the Breeders' Stakes in a photo finish. Crown's Path cross the line third, also in a photo, over Hippolytus, who finished fourth. The final running time for the one-mile and one-half was 2:36.31 over a soft Woodbine turf course.

After the race, the inquiry sign was posted and Celtic Conviction would be taken down to third, penalized for the interference caused to Crown's Path, who was moved up to second.

"I wasn't sure," winning trainer Michael DePaulo said of the head-bob finish in the race. "For a second there, I thought we got beat, but Luis [Contreras] rode him great. He's a great horse. He's tough. He's a real nice horse. I walked the course in the morning and I thought the rail was pretty good. The turf was actually pretty good, surprisingly. I just thought, stick on the fence as long as you can, and on the turn for home angle him out and get a clear run. That's what he did."

Contreras emphatically put his stamp on the Breeders' Stakes, capping a day to remember for the 25-year-old Mexican-born jockey. With the victory, Contreras swept the Canadian Triple Crown and became the first jockey in the Triple Crown era to win the series aboard two different horses. Contreras has also won the Woodbine Oaks this season and dominated Sunday's program, winning the first five races of the day along with the Breeders' Stakes.

"[The Triple Crown sweep] is the best thing that's happened to me," Contreras said. "I was excited before but this is absolutely amazing."

Contreras won the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie with Pender Harbour on July 17th, and helped add to Pender Harbour's strong three-year-old resume with the Breeders' Stakes win, the son of Philanthropist's first career turf start.

"He was comfortable the whole way," Contreras said. "I just tried to keep him in the race. I was in a good position, and I tried to keep my position. Turning for home, when I put my horse outside and really asked him, he gave me everything. He was a little tired at the end, but I was tired too.

Pender Harbour paid $6.20, $4.50, $3.20, combining with Crown's Path ($18.30, $10.00) for a $127.10 exactor. Celtic Conviction ($4.00 to show), the 6-1 third choice, rounded out the $1,129.90 triactor. Hippolytus, at 8-1, was fourth and rounded out a $3,710 superfecta.

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