Ride a Comet Leads Casse Exacta in Kennedy Road

TORONTO, ON – Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse’s barn nailed the exacta when Ride a Comet led stablemate Souper Stonehenge across the wire in Saturday’s $175,000 Kennedy Road Stakes (G2) at Woodbine.

Ride a Comet broke from post 2 under Patrick Husbands as the 2/1 second choice and settled well off the pace at the rear of the field, where he watched Silent Poet post opening fractions of :22.77 and :44.79.

Skimming the rail through the far turn as he advanced inside of rivals, Ride a Comet tipped out three-wide at the top of the stretch and swept to the lead at the 1/8 pole.

Easily the best in the stretch, Ride a Comet crossed 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Souper Stonehenge while completing the 6-furlong fast synthetic sprint in 1:08.25.

“He’s my favorite horse of all time,” said Husbands, who was aboard for all 4 local starts prior to Saturday. “He went a good race. He showed he’s all class.”

Souper Stonehenge was 2 lengths clear of the even-money favorite Pink Lloyd, the local legend who won last year’s running but suffered a wide trip throughout the 2020 edition.

Silent Poet, Eskiminzin, Roaring Forties (who lost all chance at the start when he stumbled out of the gate), and Dixie’s Gamble completed the order of finish.

Ride a Comet’s win was his second straight since returning from a 25-month break that dates back to his final start in 2018 when he won the Del Mar Derby (G2). The 5-year-old son of Candy Ride improved his overall record to 12-7-0-1 with $418,944 earned for co-owners John Oxley and My Meadowview Farm.

“The last time I rode him, it was the first time we sprint and his first time in two years going 7/8,” Husbands said. “Pink Lloyd, you have to respect him. He’s a legend at Woodbine and it’s a great honor to run against him and try to beat him. When you beat him, you’ve got to be really happy, but you have to respect him.”

Ride a Comet returned $6.90 to win, $3.70 to place, and $2.40 to show. Souper Stonehenge brought back $7.20 to place and $3.20 to show, while Pink Lloyd paid $2.10 to show.