TORONTO, August 11, 2021 – Seven 3-year-olds, including Gretzky the Great, will take to the E.P. Taylor Turf Course in the $125,000 Greenwood Stakes Presented by Stella Artois, Saturday at Woodbine. Bred by Anderson Farms Ontario, and owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, Gretzky the Great will look to get back into the winner’s circle in what will be his eighth lifetime start. Trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Mark Casse, the son of Nyquist arrives at the Greenwood off a fifth-place effort in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 27 at Turfway Park. Prior to that effort, the bay was third in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, also at Turfway, on February 26, in his 2021 debut. Gretzky the Great made his career bow last July at Woodbine, finishing second in a maiden special weight event. He then rhymed off a natural hat trick, including back-to-back stakes wins in the Soaring Free and Grade 1 Summer. The colt ended his 2-year-old campaign with a sixth-place performance in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Juvenile Turf. “He’s a beautiful-moving horse…and he’s an extremely smart horse,” Casse told Woodbine last November. Jockey Kazushi Kimura guides Gretzky the Great to victory in the $250,000 Summer Stakes last September. Gretzky the Great is owned by Gary Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trained by Mark Casse. (Michael Burns Photo) This April, Gretzky the Great was voted Canada’s 2-year-old Champion Male at the annual Sovereign Awards ceremony, outpointing his closest finalist by a count of 152-46. On Saturday, he will take on six rivals, including Red River Rebel, last year’s Frost King Stakes winner, who heads into the Greenwood off a third in the Queenston Stakes. Trained by Kevin Attard, the son of Reload is 1-0-2 from four lifetime starts. Trainer Santino Di Paola sends out Bode’s Tipsy, a son of Bodemeister, who sports a record of 1-2-1 from six races, Artie’s Storm, owned and trained by Paul Buttigieg, seeks his first stakes victory after finishing second to Queen’s Plate contender Tio Magico in the Queenston Stakes on July 11. Graded stakes placed County Final, trained by Steve Asmussen, Oh Say, conditioned by Conor Murphy, and Dyn O Mite, a son of Goldencents, round out the field. The Greenwood is Race 8 on Saturday’s 10-race card. First post time is 1:10 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com. FIELD FOR THE $125,000 GREENWOOD STAKES POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER 1 – Red River Rebel – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard 2 – Gretzky the Great – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse 3 – Bode’s Tipsy – Keveh Nicholls – Santino Di Paola 4 – Artie’s Storm – David Moran – Paul Buttigieg 5 – Count Final (S) – Luis Contreras – Steve Asmussen 6 – Oh Say (IRE) – Justin Stein – Conor Murphy 7 – Dyn O Mite – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Catherine Day Phillips Share This:Share
