Town Prize dismissed his foes with a runaway 5 1/4-length victory in the $150,000 Woodstock S. April 15 at Woodbine, marking the second time in eight days that a son of Speightstown won a six furlong stakes at the Ontario, Canada track. Essence Hit Man, the 2011 Canadian champion sprinter, was a sharp winner of the $168,000 Cartier S. on April 7.
Three-year-old Town Prize turned in one of the most impressive runnings in the 144 year history of the Woodstock. Coming out of the gate very quickly, the William Sorokolit homebred went right to the front, with a length and a half lead going into the turn. Getting the half-mile in a very brisk :44.51, Town Prize kept pouring it on for the final two furlongs under a hand ride by Eurico Da Silva to stop the timer in 1:08.22.
Town Prize’s dominating performance was just .06 seconds off Essence Hit Man’s track record of 1:08.16.
“He’s a very talented horse,” said Da Silva. “He did everything easy. He didn’t break that sharp, but he put himself on the lead, and from there, he just enjoyed himself running. I didn’t even need to whip him. He just kept running, and he galloped out strong.”
Kentucky-bred Town Prize banked $90,000 in his first career stakes victory to up his lifetime earnings to $185,422. In five starts, Town Prize has two wins at Woodbine and thirds in both the $150,000 Colin S., also at Woodbine, and in the $100,000 Spectacular Bid S. at Gulfstream Park.
