On Sunday, the gates opened at the Canadian racecourse Woodbine where the spectators saw the triumph of Artie’s Storm in the 2022 Eclipse Stakes. The four-year-old bay outran all the more preferred participants, including Frosted Over and the local hero, Mighty Heart.
2022 Eclipse Stakes
On the all-weather track, six four-year-old and older horses vied for the purse of $175,000. In this mile and a half of a furlong-long G2 race, Mighty Heart (31-20) set the pace in the beginning and was pursued most closely by Frosted Over (21-10), and he led the pack to the final stretch. Although he tried to put up a fight with his rivals, he couldn’t hold a candle to Frosted Over but, most importantly, to Artie’s Storm (758-100).
The four-year-old bay bolted up from the third place, smoothly passed by the mentioned horses, and bagged the victory in 1m 42.40s. Under David Moran, Artie’s Storm won by a length in front of Frosted Over, with Mighty Heart crossing the wire in third.
The Paul Buttigieg bound victor hinted some talent as a three-year-old, collecting places at the Listed and black-type scene while improving considerably throughout the season. In October, he finished third in the G3 Ontario Derby behind Frosted Over and Riptide Rock (77-20), upon which the son of We Miss Artie scored two black-type races.
Therefore, he entered the season 2022 with two wins in a row and attempted to complete a hattrick, which he managed due to a fine ride given by David Moran. After sitting in third place, the gelding just needed a slight nudge in the final stretch to leave his rivals behind, and judging by the impression that he really wasn’t all out, Artie’s Storm might add another big victory to his premiere one in the future. Still, he carried a bit less weight than second Frosted Over who had a basically ideal trip yet couldn’t find an apt answer to his rival’s finish and had to settle for second place, while Mighty Heart once again seemed lacking some fitness.
The Canadian horse of the year in 2020 and 2021 was unable to keep up with the rest of the field on his seasonal reappearance, and on Sunday, he once again boasted energy initially but weakened in the closing stages. He might’ve needed another race to bounce back to form, but this performance definitely wasn’t one he usually delivers. Mentioned Riptide Rock had to settle for fourth place with Seventyseven Stone (237-10) running in fifth.
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