Cloudy’s Knight was enjoying something of a homecoming at the Toronto oval,
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Early on in the 1 3/4-mile Valedictory, Cloudy’s Knight was hard held just
off the pace through splits of :26 1/5 and :52 1/5. Homeister allowed the
gelding to stride forward on the Polytrack, and he happily assumed command while
clocking fractions of 1:18, 1:43 4/5 and 2:10.
By this time, Eagle Poise, a son of 1997 Oaks (Eng-G1) heroine Reams of Verse
(Nureyev), advanced and wrested the lead away three-eighths of a mile from home.
Cloudy’s Knight bided his time in a close second as Eagle Poise reached 1 1/2
miles in 2:34 2/5.
The pair engaged in earnest in the drive, with Eagle Poise trying to maintain
his tenuous half-length lead, and Cloudy’s Knight battling on determinedly to
his inside. The veteran ultimately had too much strength for the sophomore,
inching away late in a final time of 2:59 1/5.
“He was in such tip-top form,” Homeister said. “Usually, he’s very quiet in
the post parade. He was bouncing happy and wanting to do something. He broke out
of the gate pretty sharp and was on the bit right away. I was trying to hold him
and sit in behind horses. I was almost clipping heels a couple of times. Usually
I can get him to relax, but he had his mind made up. He wanted to win both times
around.
“When I got to the front coming to the second turn, I said, ‘I hope this
doesn’t kill my race because he might have thought it was over,'” she revealed.
“When the 10 (Eagle Poise) came up next to him, I kind of let him pass him a
little bit because I didn’t want to ask him again yet. It just made him fight
that much harder. He does not want to get beat. That was all horse the last
quarter-mile. He’s just a game, aggressive horse.”
Eagle Poise, the 5-2 second choice, returned $3.10 and $3.10 and ended the
$9.70 exactor. Another three-quarters of a length adrift came Pool Play (Silver
Deputy), who yielded $3.90 to show at 9-1. The triactor was worth $35.10, and
with the 28-1 Torquay (Deputy Commander) 8 1/4 lengths back in fourth, the
2-10-5-7 superfecta swelled to $226.10.
Cloudy’s Knight improved his mark to 40-13-9-4, $2,430,685. His resume for
Kirby includes scores in the 2004 John Henry S., the 2005 Rossi Gold S. and the
2007 Fair Grounds H. (G3), along with 10 stakes placings, notably the Mervin H.
Muniz Jr. Memorial H. (G2), Nijinsky S. (Can-G2), River City H. (G3) and two
runnings of the Stars and Stripes Turf H. (G3).
After failing to hit the board in four starts in 2008, Cloudy’s Knight was
rested and transferred to Sheppard. He made his first start for his new
conditioner off a year-long layoff in the September 19 Kentucky Cup Turf S.
(G3), where he closed with a flourish to win going away by 2 1/2 lengths.
Cloudy’s Knight followed up with an up-in-time verdict by a head in the October
22 Sycamore S. (G3) at Keeneland. The grass campaigner then tried synthetic for
the first time in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon. Driving to the lead and staying on
strongly down the center of the track, he was just nipped in a photo by Man of
Iron (Giant’s Causeway), who hugged the rail well away from the old warrior.
Bred by Jerrold Schwartz in Kentucky, Cloudy’s Knight is out of the winning
Cloudy Spot (Solar City), making him a half-brother to the multiple
stakes-winning Stormy Impact (Major Impact). His fourth dam is the influential
matron Grass Shack (Polynesian), whose descendants include Deputy Minister (Vice
Regent), a Canadian Horse of the Year and top stallion, and Charismatic (Summer
Squall), the 1999 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winner and Horse of the
Year.
“It was the last race of the year for ‘Cloudy’,” said Shirley Schwartz, who
owns Cloudy’s Knight with her husband, Jerrold. “I certainly wanted to come back
to Woodbine. It’s our favorite track and his favorite track. It gives us
something to shoot for next year.”