Favorite Delegation, owned by Gary Barber, made every post a winning one while speeding to a 1 1/4-length victory in the Oct. 14 $150,300 Durham Cup Stakes (gr. III) to open a day of stakes action at Woodbine (VIDEO) .
The 3-year-old son of Speightstown was coming off a five-length score in an allowance/optional claimer Sept. 23 following a third-place finish on the grass in the grade II Play the King in late August.
The Durham Cup, for 3-year-olds and up, was run over the Woodbine Polytrack at nine furlongs, and Delegation, though jostled leaving the gate, sprinted straight to the lead under jockey Patrick Husbands.
He went two lengths clear of City Wolf , the defending victor of last year's Durham Cup who hasn't won since, through an opening quarter in a pokey :25.45. Delegation got an easy half-mile in :50.59 with City Wolf still a length and a half back. That margin stayed the same as Delegation got six furlongs in a comfortable 1:15.18 before lengthening his lead to two lengths at the mile time of 1:38.65.
Husbands drove the winner home in 1:50.60, with City Wolf holding the place and James Street up for third, 4 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up. Alpha Bettor, Vertiformer, and Mobilizer completed the order of finish.
Sent off as the 6-5 choice, Delegation returned $4.50, $2.80, and $2.10. Wolf Power returned $4.30 and $3.30, while James Street paid $3.20 to show. The $2 exactor was $18.30.
Delegation, a bay gelding conditioned by Mark Casse, was bred in Kentucky by Tom and Elizabeth Baxter out of the Sea Hero mare Cindy's Hero.