TORONTO, July 2—Go Bro, the longest shot in the field at 44-1, prevailed by a short head under a rousing ride by Jesse Campbell in Sunday’s Grade 2 King Edward Stakes. The King Edward a one-mile turf race, had lured nine contestants and offered Grade 2 status and a purse of $202,000 which included a $21,000 Ontario-bred bonus for the winner. Go Bro, a 6-year-old gelding, had made 19 starts prior to the King Edward but only two came in stakes races. “If you go back to his 2-year-old year, he was second in the Summer Stakes ,” said Mike Keogh, who conditions the homebred Go Bro for owner Gustav Schickedanz. “So we knew he had the talent but we have had so much trouble keeping him sound. Gus finally let me castrate him and he lost all that top-heavy weight and we’ve been able to keep him sound now. “ Go Bro had tracked the pace from third early in the King Edward as Shakhimat led through a quarter in :24.07, a half in :47.07, and six furlongs in 1:10.59 with Hootenanny in second. Shakhimat still held a marginal advantage turning for home but Hootenanny had his measure and Go Bro was in the clear while racing third. Go Bro had taken a narrow advantage from Hootenanny at the furlong grounds and battled on for the fractional victory in a final time of 1:34.09. Hootenanny, looking for his first stakes win since capturing the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, raced very gamely only to lose the bob on the wire. “He broke sharp and I knew we were going slow so let him be there,” said Campbell . ” I didn’t design to be there but I was really confident that we weren’t running that fast so I let him be there. “And he is a bit tricky because if you pull the trigger too soon, you have moved too soon on him. It set up very good.” Tower of Texas, the 6-5 choice, was closer than usual early but had dropped back to last at the quarter pole and his customary late charge fell just a half- length shy of the top pair. Unbridled Juan and Hollywood Hideaway, who had raced in striking distance throughout, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Dragon Bay, Ikerrin Road, Shakhimat, and Monster Bea completed the order of finish. Go Bro returned $91.30, $34.20 and $10.20 and topped a 7-9 exacta with Hootenanny ($8.20, $4.70) worth $669.10. The 7-9-5 trifecta with Tower of Texas ($2.50) paid $1,121.35 and the 7-9-5-4 superfecta ending with Unbridled Juan was worth $8,050.15 for $1. Share This:Share
