Channel Maker wins Breeders’ Stakes in photo finish to spoil Contreras’ bid
TORONTO — Rafael Hernandez and Channel Maker spoiled Luis Contreras’s second run at Canadian horse-racing history Sunday.
Hernandez rode 8/5 favourite Channel Maker to a photo-finish victory in the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. That spoiled the day for Contreras, who was attempting to win a personal Triple Crown for the second time since 2011 aboard Cool Catomine.
Contreras had Cool Catomine second for much of the 1 1/2-mile race, the horse’s first-ever on turf. But Cool Catomine faded badly down the stretch, finishing last in the 10-horse field.
Contreras won the $1-million Queen’s Plate with Holy Helena before riding Cool Catomine to a stirring win in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes as a 14/1 longshot. In 2011, Contreras became the first jockey to capture all three Triple Crown races with different horses, securing the Plate with Inglorious before claiming the Prince of Wales and Breeders’ Stakes titles with Pender Harbour.