follow us onCITY BOY trained by Mike Keogh 2nd in the Neartic Stakes G2
$290,000 Nearctic Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario
It was Silent Poet who was ushered immediately to the front by Stein in the Nearctic, the 5-year-old son of Silent Name (JPN) engaged quickly by last year’s winner City Boy.
The front-running pair took the field of eight (Reconfigure was scratched) through an opening quarter-mile carved out in :23.65. Blind Ambition, in third, and Kanthaka, in fourth, tracked the pacesetting duo.
Silent Poet and City Boy continued their front-end battle through a half-mile clip timed in :46.16. The two continued to go head-to-head around the final turn as their rivals endeavored to keep them in their sights.
As the field straightened for home, it became a two-horse race for all the spoils with Silent Poet to the inside and City Boy to the outside, both digging in for the final push to the wire.
After almost every step of the 1,320 yards run, Silent Poet came out on top a half-length winner in a time of 1:08.57. City Boy finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Kanthaka, who fended off Olympic Runner by a neck for third.