My Boy Prince, Victory Achieved meet again in Kennedy Road
Mark Casse trainees My Boy Prince and Victory Achieved will meet again, this time in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes for 3-year-olds and up Saturday at Woodbine.
A 5-year-old son of Cairo Prince out of the Silent Name mare Hopping Not Hoping, graded-stakes winner My Boy Prince returns to Woodbine after nine races at various racetracks across the U.S., a stretch that included victories in the Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in February, a Grade 2 score in the Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland in April, and his most recent triumph, a rallying head win over Victory Achieved in the Van Clief Stakes at Colonial Downs in August.
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“What an amazing horse,” assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan said. “And talk about a horse who is getting better with age. We had pre-entered him and Victory Achieved in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. They were both on the also-eligible list and didn’t make it in, so we had this race as his backup. It’s tough when they are on the AE list because they will draw to the outside, but we know they always run a huge race wherever it is and whatever the circumstances are."
Owned by Gary Barber, the 2023 Sovereign Award winner as Canada’s champion 2-year-old colt has crafted a record of 29: 10-6-2 and $1,611,425 in purse earnings.
My Boy Prince’s résumé also includes victories in the 2023 Cup and Saucer Stakes, a third in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, three consecutive stakes wins in 2024, a runner-up finish in the 2024 King’s Plate and a win in the 2025 Elusive Quality Stakes.
“He can make you stress a bit because you think, ‘How can he come from way back there and win?’ ” Sullivan said. “But he finds a way to do it, and that’s how he’s been throughout his career. He likes to run at the back early and then he is able to produce this fantastic late kick.
“I look back to the Van Clief, where he won by a head over Victory Achieved and I wouldn’t have thought either one of them had a chance to win at the top of the stretch, but they ended up right there together at the wire. They were both amazing that day.”
Victory Achieved rolls into the Kennedy Road off a three-length triumph in the Nearctic (G3), which earned the 5-year-old son of Street Sense out of the War Front mare Lady of Victory his first graded badge.
“It was a stellar field and the way he did it was so impressive,” Sullivan said. “He likes to be close to the pace, but he doesn’t necessarily have to be on the lead. If he’s on the lead, he’s won from there and if he’s sitting off it, he can win that way as well. It’s nice to have that balance and he certainly does."
Fashioning a record of 14: 5-4-1, Victory Achieved, who won three straight races at Woodbine in the fall of 2024, has recorded $343,097 in career purse earnings.
A homebred for Live Oak Plantation, the bay gelding is 2-3-0 over his five starts this year.
“This has been a wonderful year for him – he’s just been so consistent,” said Sullivan. “He’s another one who goes over and gives you that 100 per cent effort. You always know what to expect.”
For Sullivan, having two top contenders clash in a graded stakes is a plus.
“It’s always a good thing to have horses in these types of races. You have two horses who are very competitive and very talented. That is such a wonderful thing to have. Obviously, you want them both to win, but the most important thing is that they are each able to run the race that suits them and they get a chance to run an uncomplicated race.” ? ?
Multiple graded stakes winner Nobals, who won the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Kennedy Road, will look to join Pink Lloyd as the only three-time winner of the race. The son of Noble Mission has a record of 36: 13-7-4 for trainer Larry Rivelli and owner Patricia’s Hope.