Admiralty Pier to 'take a shot' on home turf in Woodbine Mile

Admiralty Pier, a four-year-old son of English Channel-Full Steam Ahead, goes after his second career stakes win and first graded stakes crown in the Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile on Sept. 14..

Owned by Hoolie Racing Stable LLC and Bruce Lunsford, the Kentucky-bred has one win from four tries in 2019, the victory coming on January 18 at Tampa Bay Downs in a 1 1/16-mile turf race.

Sporting a career record of 3-1-2 in 13 starts, Admiralty Pier, trained by Canadian champion conditioner Barbara Minshall, heads into the Mile off a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Play the King Stakes on August 24 at Woodbine.

“He’s been a good horse from the get-go,” said Minshall, who was named Canada’s top trainer in 1996. “Unfortunately, he’s had a few breaks in the program, mainly, he’s had some muscle injuries that have recurred. He’s a nice horse, and he’s training really, really well.”

Admiralty Pier launched his career on a winning note, taking a 6 1/2-furlong grass event at Woodbine in August 2017. The chestnut, after getting away sixth, held a head advantage at the quarter-mile mark, eventually going on to a 4 ¾-length win at odds of 11-1.

He finished his 2-year-old campaign with two wins (the other coming in the Display Stakes), one second, a third, and a fourth.

The following season, Admiralty Pier’s best finish in four starts was a third, that coming in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland in April.

Now, he’ll take on some top-notch talent over the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

“It looks like it’s going to be a tough race, but it’s on home ground, so we’re going to take a shot,” said Minshall.

One thing Minshall does anticipate is Admiralty Pier showing up with his best effort on September 14.

“He’s an honest horse. We got sidetracked after the Tampa Bay race (a fifth-place performance in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in February). He ran a really good race in Tampa, just beaten a length. We ended up not being able to find a race for him, so we ended up sprinting him a little bit, just to get him back running. But he’s not really a sprinter. The Play the King, going as quickly as it did, I thought he gave it a good shot, but he’s not a sprinter of that type. He’s got a couple of races under him, and he’s come out of them really well.”

Multiple Sovereign Award-winning rider Patrick Husbands will be in the irons for the Mile. The Bajan native, who has 3,330 career wins, took the 2001 edition of the Mile with Numerous Times.