Black Hornet, the longest shot on the board at 16-1, set a lively pace en route to his first added-money score in Saturday’s $150,000 Queenston Stakes, at Woodbine.
It was also a first stakes score for trainer Pat Parente and owner Winview Racing Stable, who entered Black Hornet into the seven furlong ‘Poly’ event off a fifth-place finish in the Woodstock Stakes.
Kitten Candy broke quickly from the gate under Tyler Pizarro, but Justin Stein urged Black Hornet into the lead as the field of six left the chute.
Black Hornet, winging it on the front end, set splits of :22.92 and :45.14 with Kitten Candy and Star Contender in close contention.
Kitten Candy surged into the lead briefly at the top of the lane, but a resurgent Black Hornet dug in and held off a swarm of rallying rivals to score by a length in a final running time of 1:21.44. Jagger M was up in time for place money over Dynamic Sky.
Stein was pleased with Black Hornet’s demeanour while setting a pressured pace in a key prep for the Queen’s Plate.
“He’s a really fast horse, speed oriented, and he has a lot of stamina as well and he used that to his advantage,” said Stein. “He was really settled in the early stages of the race, and when I asked him to run on down the lane he really kicked for me.”
Parente saddled Black Hornet, a dark bay son of Pioneering, in the walking ring, away from the rest of the field, in an effort to steady the gelding’s nerves.
“We took him outside where he could relax and be nice and calm. He was as cool as a cucumber and it paid off today,” said Parente.
A key equipment change, removing the hood, also paid dividends for Black Hornet.
“He’s been so speed minded that we decided to take the blinkers off and see how he does,” noted Parente. “He worked fantastic (without blinkers) so we took them off for the race.”
Black Hornet, bred in Ontario by Jus Luk Stables, banked $90,000 in victory while improving his record to 2-1-1 from five career starts.
He returned $35.70, $12.30 and $5.40, pairing with Jagger M ($10.40, $4.40) for a $351.40 (5-1) exactor. A 5-1-3 (Dynamic Sky, $2.50 to show) triactor was worth $803.90.
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