Alezzandro puts on front-running display in Prince of Wales

Last time out in the Queen's Plate S., the lightly raced ALEZZANDRO (High

Yield) made a bold bid to wire the field and very nearly succeeded in the

Canadian classic, looking the likely winner before tiring late and succumbing to

Mike Fox (Giant's Causeway). Benefiting from that experience, the Kevin Attard

trainee employed the same tactics to brilliant effect in Sunday's C$500,000

Prince of Wales S., the second jewel of Canada's Triple Crown.

Jockey Todd Kabel sent Alezzandro straight to the front, and the dark bay settled

into a comfortable rhythm as he dictated through fractions of :23 3/5, :47 2/5

and 1:11 3/5. Mike Fox tracked in second until the far turn, when he came under

pressure and began to backpedal. Meanwhile, Alezzandro maintained his relentless

gallop, and nearly all of his rivals were toiling. The notable exception was

nearly 2-1 favorite Jiggs Coz (Cozzene), who was just winding up and unleashed a

powerful, circling move on the turn. He couldn't contain his momentum, however,

and floated wide into the stretch.

Alezzandro cornered beautifully and spurted away, clocking 1:36 2/5 for the

mile and opening up by three lengths in midstretch. Although Jiggs Coz gave

gallant chase, the pacesetter had gone beyond recall. Crossing the wire a handy

1 3/4-length winner of the classic at Fort Erie, Alezzandro completed 1 3/16

miles on the fast track in 1:55. The 7-2 third choice rewarded his backers with

payouts of $9.40, $4 and $3.20.

Jiggs Coz finished 4 1/2 lengths clear in second, yielding $3.10 and $2.60

while ending the $25.60 exactor. Daaher (Awesome Again) raced in third for much

of the contest, and the 3-1 second choice gave back $2.70 and rounded out the

$104.60 triactor (6-2-4). Another half-length back came Mike Fox, followed by

Marchfield (A.P. Indy) and Poachers Moon (Woodman).

Campaigned by Knob Hill Stable and the Estate of Steve Stavro, Alezzandro

improved his record to 4-2-1-1 and more than doubled his bankroll to $521,006.

He had telegraphed his inordinate talent as a juvenile in training, but he grew

so large that Attard decided to shelve him, giving him time to develop and

pointing him for a sophomore campaign. Alezzandro was ready to make his career

debut in May, when he defeated older rivals in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden at

Woodbine. He immediately stretched out to 1 1/8 miles while stepping up into

stakes company in the Plate Trial S., and he understandably tired to finish

third. Alezzandro took a great leap forward in the Queen's Plate, just getting

caught by a half-length in the waning yards, and made another giant stride here.

Alezzandro was bred in Ontario by Knob Hill Stable and has an unnamed

yearling half-sister by Megas Vukefalos. His dam, Eseni (Granacus), was a

multiple stakes winner at Woodbine who also placed in the 1997 Chicago Breeders'

Cup H. (G3) at Arlington Park. Eseni is herself a half-sister to Bunbeg

(Mining), winner of the 1996 Chicago Breeders' Cup.

Before the classic generation took to the main track, older sprinters

competed in two dashes on the turf. Harlequin Ranches' BOSSKIRI (Kiridashi) was

last early in the C$50,000

Ernie

Samuel Memorial S. for distaffers, but the 4-5 favorite struck top gear late

beneath David Clark to post a two-length victory. The Reade Baker trainee

blitzed five furlongs in :57 1/5 on the firm turf, returning $3.60 and $2.30 and

keying the $14.90 exactor (5-1) with runner-up Flashy Pink (Bold N' Flashy).

Bosskiri has now won stakes in each of the past four years, with her streak

comprising the 2004 Nandi S., 2005 Lady Angela S. and 2006 Ballade S. before her

Sunday tally. The five-year-old bay mare sports a mark of 16-7-0-4 with $415,821

in her account. Out of Bossy Boots (Academy Award), the Ontario-bred Bosskiri is a half-sister to

multiple Canadian stakes queen Dressed for Action (Bold N' Flashy).

Terra Farm's MARCO BE GOOD (Bold N' Flashy) likewise justified his nearly 2-5

favoritism in the C$50,000

Daryl Wells

Sr. Memorial S. With Emma-Jayne Wilson in the irons, the five-year-old

chestnut gelding stalked the pace, angled out to challenge and drove 1 1/2

lengths clear at the wire. His final time of :57.04 was just .05 seconds off the

five-furlong course record. Conditioned by John Ross, Marco Be Good paid $2.70,

$2.30 and $2.20 while spearheading exotics worth $32.40 (exactor), $199.90 (triactor)

and $682.30 (7-9-4-5 superfecta). Finishing a determined second was the early

leader, Golden Ice (Golden Missile), who rallied after being passed by the

eventual third-place finisher, Vintage Year (Tethra).

By earning his second career stakes victory, Marco Be Good increased his

earnings to $375,844 from his 27-6-4-4 line, which also reflects a score in the

2006 Highlander S. (Can-G3).  The Ontario-bred was produced by the winning

Flying Paster mare Berg Venus.