Article published on 8 December 2010
Pool Play Sinks Rivals in Valedictory Stakes
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However, the race was not a walkover for the Mark Casse-trained 5-year-old horse, who had to overcome the cold and windy conditions. At the start Village Drive set a slow early pace while Pool Play dropped back.
Village Drive set fractions of 50.35s, 1:16.75 and 1:43.61 while second favorite Eye of the Leopard challenged for the lead with Pool Play roughly five lengths back. However, that all changed coming into the final turn.
Jockey Patrick Husbands took Pool Play five wide and asked him for more and the thoroughbred responded with a great burst of speed. So much so that by the eighth pole, he was neck and neck with Eye of the Leopard.
The Woodbine crowd could not take their eyes off the battle that was taking place at the front of the pack in the final furlong. But it was Pool Play who eventually prevailed, and who crossed the line first by 3/4 of a length.
Eye of the Leopard held on for second, while Florida-bred Helicopter snatched third place 1 1/4 lengths behind him. The victory earned Pool Play's connections a purse of $108,000 - not a bad way to end the season.
Sadly for Woodbine racing fans, the Valedictory Stakes was the final stakes race of the 167-day Woodbine meet, and they will have to wait until next year to get their next stakes fix.
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