Patiently ridden by Frankie Dettori, Sulamani, seventh in the early going of the mile and one-half classic over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, was able to find a seam after the field swung into the long stretch. At the quarter pole, longshot Simonas swept to the front with jockey Kieren Fallon and briefly appeared headed for a surprising win as a 21-1 longshot. But Sulamani and Dettori found room outside of Mubtaker after Simonas had cleared, swung out six wide, kicked into gear with an electrifying burst, collared the leader inside the eighth pole and went on to a one and one-half length score, in 2:28.64. Brian Boru, ridden by Jamie Spencer, came on for third (the same position he finished in last year as the favourite), two lengths further back and three-quarters of a length in front of Mubtaker.
Sulamani, who went postward the prohibitive 4-5 choice, came to Woodbine as the star of the show, recognized as one of the world's best turfers, a five-time Group 1 winner (in France, England, Dubai and the United States) and a career earner of over $4.3 million. The five-year-old son of Hernando will now leave Toronto with an even greater reputation, as his connections indicated the Pattison may be the last race in his brilliant career before he heads to stud. He also became the first favourite to win since Chief Bearhart in 1997, the eighth Irish-bred to turn the trick and the 10th five-year-old to get the job done.
"He's got an explosive turn of foot but I was concerned at the time," explained Dettori, about the traffic congestion he faced turning for home. "Kieren kept me pretty boxed in and when he kicked, he opened the race up for me. I knew with (the horse's) tremendous acceleration, I would get it. That was probably one of the reasons he (Sulamani) came here, because he's always guaranteed 'good' racing surfaces or 'soft.' He excels on it and he won really well like we thought. Kieren had first run on me. It took three lengths out of me but I managed to close the gap and go past him pretty easily. He's got a tremendous turn of foot." Added trainer bin Suroor, "(Godolphin owner) Sheikh Mohammed decided to run this horse today. After he won in England, we knew this track would suit him. Sulamani has to be in behind and when he won, he came from behind. The last two furlongs, he was close and the horse has a good turn of foot."
Further plaudits came from Godolphin Racing Manager Simon Crisford, who said, "He would match with the very best of them (turf horses in the world). He's a top-notch performer and his record is superb. He's won Group 1 races in so many different nations, he's a great international horse, top, top class. We've really enjoyed having him in the stable. He's done so well for us. I think now maybe is the right time that he'll retire to stud. Obviously Sheikh Mohammed will make that call. But he's really a top international racehorse."
If, as suggested, Sulamani retires to stud, he'll leave the game with nine wins, three seconds and one third in 17 starts. Other than his career debut, when he finished seventh in April of 2002, he's never been worse than fifth, including last year's Breeders' Cup Turf, when he clipped heels and didn't relish the hard Santa Anita turf course, while competing against the best in the world.
Also on the card were the $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1) for the fillies and mares on the turf at 1 1/4 miles and the $250,000 Nearctic Handicap (G2) at six furlongs on the turf. Bobby Frankel trained Commercante shipped in off a 3rd place finish in the Flower Bowl Invitational to win the E.P. Taylor Stakes over Godolphin's Punctilious and local favorite Classic Stamp. I Thee Wed came out on top of a four horse blanket finish in the Nearctic with Chris's Bad Boy and favorite Hour of Justice behind him.
