Military Time Outlasts Brachetto in Prince of Wales

Although King's Plate winner Luster skipped the middle jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the form from Canada's feature race held up 23 days later as runner-up Military Time bounced back to take the $346,989 Prince of Wales Stakes Sept. 7 at Fort Erie. Like all eight runners in the field, the 3-year-old son of Gun Runner was making his first start on dirt in the Canadian classic, and he handled it well while racing in an inside position. Breaking well from post 2 under Fraser Aebly, Military Time raced comfortable in third on the rail as Keepmypowderdry and Fire and Wine—third when the pacesetter in the Aug. 15 King's Plate—set fractions of :23.48, :47.28, and 1:11.32. As Fire and Wine began to retreat at the 3/8th pole, Aebly slid up to the outside of Keepmypowderdry as they approached the stretch. That move almost cost him as Brachetto, who was eighth in the King's Plate after a win in the Marine Stakes (G3), took advantage of the opening and rallied up the fence. Both runners looked like they had a shot as the pacesetter finally relented in the final 16th, but it was Military Time who pulled through to win by a half-length, completing 1 3/16 miles in 1:56.02 and paying $5.80 to win as the favorite. Buium would run on for third. The victory was a fifth in the Prince of Wales for trainer Mark Casse, a Hall of Famer in both Canada and America. Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, Military Time was a $350,000 purchase by Monique Delk out of the Hidden Brook consignment at the $350,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Racing for St. Elias Stable and Gary Barber, he now holds a record of 3-3-1 from 8 starts for earnings of $512,614. The final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the CA$400,000 Breeders Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on Woodbine's turf course, takes place Sept. 27.