Riding the River still king in the King Edward

Riding the River (black hat) just held to repeat in the King Edward (WEG/Michael Burns Photography) Dominion Bloodstock, HGHR Inc. and Linmac Farm’s Riding the River, the reigning Canadian turf male champion, held on by a head to repeat in the Grade 2, $195,808 King Edward Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday. The David Cotey pupil stalked the pacesetter and eventual eighth-place finisher, Incredicat, through fractions of :23 2/5, :46 1/5 and 1:09 1/5. Riding the River started to close three-wide on the far turn and captured the lead while in the stretch. The six-year-old gelding was all out at the end to score his third stakes. Riding the River crossed the wire in 1:33 1/5 for the one-mile test over the firm turf with Todd Kabel aboard. The even-money favorite paid $4, $2.80 and $2.10 to his supporters and boosted his lifetime earnings to $836,296 from a 22-9-3-2 career line. “He hasn’t had any respect in the past,” Cotey noted. “When I saw 6-5, I thought, ‘Oh no,’ but the old guy took care of him there and bailed us out. I was almost under the table with my eyes shut the last few yards. Kabel was pleased with the effort of the hard-knocking Riding the River. “He made the lead quite easily and then he pulled up and hung on me,” the jockey explained. “He had me pretty nervous coming down the lane, but once he saw the one-horse (Valentino Beauty) come up on the inside, he started digging back in again and wouldn’t let him by.”

With front-runners enjoying success on the E.P Taylor Turf
Course of late, Kabel was intent on keeping Riding the River close to the pace.

“I was hoping to be closer today, just because of the way the track has been
playing,” he remarked. “It tightened up a lot, more than I
thought it would have in the last day. We did put speed into him in his last
couple works. He’s working like he’s a three-year-old. He had me sitting perfect
and when I called on him he went with me easily enough.”

Valentino Beauty took second by a neck over third-place finisher Hotep, while
So Long George was another neck back in fourth. Any Given Royal, Lockout,
Prospective, Incredicat and Pender Harbour rounded out the order of finish.

Riding the River broke his maiden at first asking over the Polytrack at
Woodbine as a three-year-old in April 2010. He went on to win a claimer,
allowance and optional claimer later that year before finishing eighth in his
stakes debut in the Ontario Derby. The bay took a shot against graded company as
a four-year-old in the Highlander Stakes in June over Woodbine’s turf course and
finished fourth.

Riding the River placed in the Bold Venture Stakes back over
the Polytrack the following month and missed by a head in the Play the King
Stakes over the grass. He then stepped up to Grade 1 competition in the Woodbine
Mile and Neartic Stakes, both on the turf, but failed to hit the board.

Riding the River stayed on the turf as he captured his first stakes in last
year’s running of the King Edward and followed that up with a win in the
Nijinsky. He would race only twice more as a five-year-old, finishing second in
the Play the King Stakes and fourth in the Woodbine Mile. Riding the River was
coming off a second-place finish in the Connaught Cup last month in his only
start this year.

Bred in Kentucky by Juliana Orem, the son of Wiseman’s Ferry is out of the
Rubiano mare Glow Ruby Go. Riding the River’s granddam is Tiara Glow, who is a
sister to Grade 3-placed stakes victress Crown Quest. He is descended from the
blue-hen mare Shy Dancer.

Riding the River sold as a yearling for $3,500 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky
Fall sale.

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