Yorkton captured the second straight running of the Bold Venture S. (G3) Saturday at Woodbine, giving the 5-year-old son of Speightstown his second career graded stakes win.
As he did in the 2018 running of the 6 1/2-furlong contest, Yorkton went straight to the front as pre-race favorite stood in the gate at the break, and was eventually declared a non-starter. Yorkton, meanwhile, sped through a quarter-mile in :21.68 and the half in :44.29, then dug in gamely in the lane to hold of Ikerrin Road by about a half-length in a swift 1:14.96 on the synthetic surface.
“I’m really not (surprised by the outcome),” said trainer Stuart Simon. “He had some things go wrong all the way along earlier this year. He grabbed a quarter really bad in his last race and, talking it over with the guys, we wanted to totally regroup and start over kind of with him and the horse has just been training out of this world. He’s just in good order.”
With Saturday’s win, the Chiefswood Stable homebred now has seven wins, two seconds, and a third in 24 career starts, including five stakes wins, and has earned $498,090.
Yorkton is Speightstown’s ninth stakes winner this year and the third in this month alone. A top-10 sire once again this year, Speightstown has 112 individual winners with progeny earnings just under $8 million.
