Emmanuel victorious once again in the Canadian Turf (Coglianese)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.— Emmanuel, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., took the lead from the pacesetter Saratoga Flash down the stretch and held off a late rally by Siege of Boston to successfully defend his title in the $150,000 Canadian Turf (G3) Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Owned by Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC, Emmanuel covered the 1 1/16-mile in 1:39.04. The 5-year-old son of More Than Ready has won seven of 13 starts and is undefeated in three starts at the distance.
Emmanuel, fourth in the 2022 Fountain of Youth (G2) and first in the Poker (G3) in June, was making his first start since finishing fifth in the Fourstardave (G1) in August.
Racing third down the backstretch while Saratoga Flash set fractions of :23.95 and :47.16, Emmanuel and Ortiz moved three-wide around the turn and took the lead above the eighth pole before holding off a late run by Siege of Boston. Ice Chocolat was a game third despite a wide trip.
The Canadian was Pletcher’s fourth win of the day. Ortiz Jr. won the Canadian in 2018 with Hogy.
$150,000 Canadian Turf (G3)
Winning trainer Todd Pletcher (Emmanuel): “We were really pleased with his effort today, and really looking forward to getting him going. He had been training really well. The team at WinStar did a great job giving him a freshening and he came in looking really good. He’s trained better than ever. I was a little concerned he was a little sharp early and it took [jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] a little time to get him settled down but once he did it was a big effort. I thought it was unfolding pretty well and at the top of the stretch he kicked on and then you just hope that he had enough to get there off the layoff.”
Winning Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Emmanuel): “He broke fresh and showed a little more speed than he did last year. He helped me on the first turn to hold my ground, hold my spot all the way to the three-eighths pole. I told the boss, Todd [Pletcher], that when I asked him, he was there for me.”
