Speightstown’s versatile sprinter Passsion for Action racked up his third stakes win of 2016 on Sunday with a gallant neck victory in the $200,000 Highlander S. (G2) over the Woodbine turf course.
The bay 4-year-old has been in peak form at Woodbine this summer, winning the Jacques Cartier S. and Vigil S. (G3) and finishing a close second in the Connaught Cup (G2). He is one of Speightstown’s 15 black-type horses this year.
Lady Shipman, who played the role of odds-on favorite, got locked in a spirited duel with Something Extra in the early stages, while Eurico Da Silva had Passion for Action along the rail in last in the field of six. The pace was brisk, : 21.99 for the quarter-mile and :44.44 for the half. Coming into the stretch, Da Silva moved four wide to go around a wall of horses, collared Green Mask in the final sixteenth to stop the timer in an excellent 1:08.05 for the six furlongs on the firm turf.
“He’s nice,” said DaSilva. “I had a lot of speed to run at and I was not worrying about the speed because I knew they would come back to me. They were going very, very fast and there was a pack of three horses together.”
Passion for Action upped his record to 6-4-1 in 16 outings with earnings of $603,641 for owner/breeder Ben Hutzel.
