Canadian Turf

Saturday's $100,000

Canadian

Turf H. (G3) featured the return of recently crowned champion turf horse

Miesque's Approval (Miesque's Son), but the 4-5 favorite never got in the hunt

as the 16-1 outsider GIANT WRECKER (Giant's Causeway) posted a brave

front-running victory beneath Javier Castellano. The Mark Hennig charge stopped

the teletimer in 1:39 3/5 for the 1 1/16 miles over Gulfstream Park's firm turf

to record his first stakes triumph.

A homebred sporting the colors of Edward P. Evans, Giant Wrecker was pestered

by Jet Propulsion (Double Honor) through an opening quarter in :23 1/5.

Shrugging off that rival, he opened up a daylight margin while reeling off

splits of :46 2/5 and 1:10. Jambalaya (Langfuhr) loomed menacingly leaving the

far turn, but Giant Wrecker quickly rebuffed his bid. A more alarming threat

proved to be Host (Chi) (Hussonet), who charged from far back in deep stretch,

only to fall a head short at the wire. Jambalaya kept on resolutely for third,

another three-quarters of a length back.

"He had a beautiful trip," Castellano said. "There wasn't too much speed in

the race, and he settled down and got comfortable down the backside. He was a

little rank the first part and we had wanted to cover him up, but with the lack

of other speed, I just let him go ahead and he held on until the end."

"He's been a little slow developing, but he's been coming around," Hennig

said. "I told Javier that if he does break sharp, 'Don't try to fight him.'

We'll look at our options."

Giant Wrecker furnished healthy mutuels of $34.20, $12.80 and $7.40. Host,

the nearly 7-2 second choice, returned $5 and $4.40 in a sharp effort off a

lengthy layoff, and Jambalaya gave back $4.60 to show as the third choice at

nearly 4-1. The $1 exotics totaled $92.40 (exacta), $328.10 (trifecta), and with

the 19-1 Kiss the Kid (Lemon Drop Kid) just a neck further adrift in fourth, the

3-4-2-6 superfecta ballooned to $2,507.90.

Miesque's Approval, toting the top weight of 123 pounds, loped along at the

tail of the field through the first half-mile, but the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1)

winner didn't produce his usual late kick and wound up crossing the wire in

fifth. Next came Jet Propulsion and Demeteor (Dehere). Better Than Bonds (Sweetsouthernsaint)

was withdrawn.

The Kentucky-bred winner improved his record to 15-6-0-2, $203,910. In three

previous stakes attempts, the five-year-old chestnut's best finish was a third

in the Knickerbocker H. (G3) at Aqueduct two starts back. Giant Wrecker was

exiting a ninth-place effort in the Ft. Lauderdale S. over this course and

distance.

He was produced by the Buckaroo mare Homewrecker, who is also the dam of

Grade 1 victor Prenup (Smarten); Grade 2 hero Cat's at Home (Tabasco Cat);

multiple Grade 3 winner Honor the Hero (Hero's Honor), successful in 13 stakes;

stakes hero and Grade 3-placed Capitalimprovement (Dixieland Band); and Marital

Spook (Silver Ghost), herself the dam of Grade 1 winner and young sire Yonaguska

(Cherokee Run). Giant Wrecker has a juvenile half-sister named Divorce

Settlement (Stormin Fever).