Shakespeare wins Woodbine Mile
Today’s $1 million thoroughbred turf race at Woodbine turned out to be the longest mile for Mississauga-owned horses.
Eugene Melnyk’s Host finished fifth in the 14-horse field with 9-to-5 favourite Shakespeare surging along the rail to overcome Kip Deville down the stretch for an impressive one-length victory in the 11th annual Woodbine Mile.
Melnyk is the former Biovail executive who owns the Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.
Truly, it was an impressive win for Shakespeare considering the six-year-old was running eighth with a quarter-mile to go.
Shakespeare won in a time of 1:33:58, followed by Kip Deville and Galantas, a 21-to-1 longshot.
The remainder of the field, in order of finish, was: Remarkable News, followed by Host, Becrux, Awesome Action, Sky Conqueror, Art Master, Arravale, Le Cinquieme Essai, Red Deer, Storm Caller and Estevan.
Awesome Action is co-owned by Mississauga player agent Don Meehan and former Toronto Maple Leaf goalie Curtis Joseph.
Sky Conqueror is owned by Mississauga’s William Sorokolit Sr.