Woodbine: Metaphysical leads Royal North after impressive win

Metaphysical, a daughter of American Freedom out of the Haynesfield mare Another Ghazo, takes to the Woodbine turf for Saturday’s Grade 3 Royal North Stakes for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up.

Set for 6 1/2 furlongs, the Royal North is Woodbine’s first turf stakes race of the season. The race drew 10 starters, including Metaphysical, who will contest her eighth career Grade 3 engagement and fifth in her last six starts.

Trained by Tony Gattellaro for owner John Ryan, Metaphysical arrives at the Royal North off an impressive 5 1/4-length score in a 6 1/2-furlong main track allowance optional claiming race Dec. 14 at Woodbine.

“I was very happy to see that performance,” said Gattellaro. “We were waiting for her to do that. She was in a good spot, and she showed us who we think she is. We knew we had that condition, and it was beneficial for us and the horse to have that when you do need a confidence-boosting race.”

The Royal North will mark the seventh time Metaphysical has taken to the turf. In six previous starts, she has posted a trio of thirds, including the Penn Oaks on June 2, 2023. Her most recent turf test came in the 2023 Tepin Stakes, a fourth-place finish over one mile of good ground at Ellis Park.

Gattelaro is looking forward to her return to the green scene.

“She has run against some very tough horses on the turf in the U.S. when she was a 3-year-old. We have always wanted to get her back on the turf here. It was just timing last year, it didn’t work out to do that. I do think in watching her replays that she does stride out the best on the turf, of all the three surfaces she has tried.”

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones, Metaphysical made her Woodbine debut a winning one last May, a 1 1/4-length triumph over seven furlongs on the main track.

Her career bow came on Aug. 6, 2022, at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where she finished fourth. A fifth at Kentucky Downs was followed by a fourth and a sixth, respectively, at Churchill Downs that October.

Methaphysical’s maiden score came in her fifth start when she notched a half-length win at 1 /16 miles over the Gulfstream all-weather track on Boxing Day 2022.

The 5-year-old chestnut has produced a mark of 19: 3-4-0, to go along with US$315,400 in purse earnings.

“She’s doing fantastic right now. She wintered in King City (just north of Woodbine). She has come back looking phenomenal. Her coat is shining.

“Her breeze last week (five furlongs on the dirt training track in 59.0 seconds May 21) was the best work she has had with us. On race day, she comes in on her toes, kind of like a boxer coming into their match. We’re looking forward to seeing her take on some top horses. We feel she definitely belongs here.”

Metaphysical was purchased by Ryan for US$240,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November breeding-stock sale.

Other starters include multiple stakes winner Toupie, trained by Graham Motion, and Whimsical Stakes (G3) winner Earhart (FR).

Blushing Katy, under Gunnar Lindberg, won the inaugural running in 1989. Last year, Play the Music, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Patrick Husbands, took top prize in the Royal North.

The race is named after the daughter of Reviewer out of the Titan mare Repercussion. Royal North, trained by Gil Rowntree and bred by Marvin L. Warner, had a record of 18: 14-3-1. She won seven straight races from August 1978 to May 1979.