Generous Touch takes early lead and never looks back in Eternal Search
Norseman Racing Stable's Generous Touch made every pole a winning one in Wednesday night's $125,000 Eternal Search Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Sid Attard and perfectly handled by leading rider Eurico Rosa da Silva, Generous Touch left quickest of all in the 1 1/16-mile Tapeta route for Ontario-sired sophomore fillies and set moderate splits of :25.42 and :51.65 with Pure Purity and Sugar Jones stalking her early pace.
Sugar Jones, the 3-2 mutuel favourite under Luis Contreras, was urged closer to the front-runner down the back straight but had no response at the top of the lane. Crumlin Spirit, dropping into further restricted company following a fourth-place run in the Woodbine Oaks and a sixth-place effort in the Bison City, rallied from last of six but could not make a dent in the lead of a bounding away Generous Touch who scored by two lengths. Pure Purity stayed on for place by 1 1/4-lengths over Crumlin Spirit. Generous Touch covered 1 1/16-miles in 1:46.86.
Generous Touch, out of the Outflanker mare Springledge, was making her first start around two turns in the Eternal Search. The talented chestnut arrived at the added-money test from a determined 1/2-length score over Sugar Jones in the grassy Passing Mood Stakes held July 2.
Owner-breeder Howard Walton provided da Silva with a key form note regarding Springledge, a prominent routing type, who won 12 of 67 career starts.
"Howie told me her mother (Springledge) used to take the lead going a mile and a sixteenth and just go all the way," smiled da Silva. "I kept that in mind and tried to do the same as her mother did and the daughter ran just like the mother."
Generous Touch, bred in Ontario by her owner, banked $75,000 in victory while improving her record to 3-3-0 from eight starts.
She paid $9.10, $5.40 and $3.40, combining with Pure Purity ($5.60, $3.20) for a $35.10 (6-2) exactor. A 6-2-1 triactor (Crumlin Spirit, $2.60 to show) was worth $86.30.
Source: Woodbine Communications Office