Canada
CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL
(CA$2,000,000) Woodbine G1 1½m 3-y-o and upwards
Originally run in 1938, its race conditions and distance have changed several times over the years. It was originally open only to Canadian-owned horses and was run on dirt until 1958. Previous winners include Snow Knight (1975), successful in the Epsom Derby earlier in the same year, and Luca Cumani's Infamy (1988). Other British and Irish trained horses to capture the race have been Royal Anthem (1998), Mutafaweq (2000), Mutamam (2001), Ballingarry (2002), Phoenix Reach (2003) and Sulamani (2004). Relaxed Gesture secured the 2005 trophy for owner/breeder Moyglare Stud when he was first past the post with four and a half lengths to spare. Alan Swinbank secured the biggest success of his career when Collier Hill won the 2006 contest. Dean McKeown rode like a demon to hold off a late challenge from Go Deputy to just get home by a nose. It was another close finish in 2007 when Cloudy’s Knight, trained by Frank Kirby, denied Ask in a photo-finish. The seven-year-old gelding had to dig deep to hold off Ask, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, to secure victory by a nose.
2008 saw jockey Javier Castellano guide Marsh Side to a two-length shock victory for US-based trainer Neil Drysdale. The five-year-old horse came back from a long losing streak to clinch his first victory since December 2006. Champs Elysees, bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms, concluded his racing career with success in the 2009 renewal holding off the Mark Johnston-trained Jukebox Jury by half a length in the closing stages of the race. It was Juddmonte's third win in Canada's richest horse race, after taking the 1990 edition with French Glory and the 1994 version with stakes record-holder Raintrap in 1994.