Hillstar won the Pattison Canadian International at Woodbine but Black Panther was withdrawn
Last Updated: 19/10/14 11:44pm
Hillstar gained the first Group One victory of his career by winning the Pattison Canadian International at Woodbine, but there was misfortune for the Brown Panther team.
Having looked fractious during the preliminaries, Tom Dascombe's Irish St Leger winner dumped Richard Kingscote on the way to the start and bolted.
To the disappointment of everyone, including owner Michael Owen, the former England footballer who had flown out for the race, Brown Panther was withdrawn from the race.
There were no dramas for Sir Michael Stoute's Hillstar, however, and everything went like clockwork in the race.
Ryan Moore was in the perfect position throughout, as is so often the case, and swung three wide off the bend in a slingshot manoeuvre, shooting clear.
While the American raider Big Blue Kitten closed inside the final furlong, Hillstar had the race won a long way out.
“He jumped the gates good and landed in a nice position,” Moore told www.drf.com. “He was very relaxed, very comfortable all the way around. With Brown Panther out of the way, he was pretty clear on figures.
"He had a big class edge on the whole field, and it was just a matter of being in the right spot and keeping it straightforward. I moved a bit too early, but he was the best horse. He idled and changed leads 100 yards out.”
A disappointed Owen tweeted: "Long way to come for nothing! Thank goodness horse and jockey are both okay."
There was more success for the raiding party as Caspar Netscher took the following Grade Two Nearctic Stakes under jockey Andrew Mullen.
The five-year-old hadn't got his head in front since taking the German 2000 Guineas for former handler Alan McCabe in 2012 and had even had an abortive spell at stud but rolled back the years to provide current trainer David Simcock with yet another trans-Atlantic success.
Mullen held his mount up some way off a strong early pace set by Black Hornet who made a valliant bid to lead from pillar to post only for Caspar Netscher to weave through the field under strong pressure and hit the front inside the final furlong.
Moore had to settle for second aboard Odeliz in the Grade One EP Taylor Stakes as the pair failed to reel in Just The Judge who put herself in line for a tilt at the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 1 with a game display.
Jamie Spencer found himself short of room aboard Charles Hills' filly and 'made his own room', pushing Meri Shika out of the way with his filly then quickening up well to haul in the leaders and repel the late challenge of Odeliz.
Supporters would have had their hearts in their mouths but to the surprise of some observers there was no stewards' klaxon ensuring that the daughter of Lawman gained a deserved success, her first since winning the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2012.
Deceptive Vision finished third to deny the Europeans a clean sweep with Tom Dascombe's Wall of Sound back in fourth and Andre Fabre's Eyeful in fifth.