Walton Street a different class in G1 Canadian International

Walton Street gained a first G1 success at the age of seven with a dominant display in the Canadian International over a mile and a half at Woodbine on Saturday, 18 September.

The Cape Cross homebred headed out to Canada on the back of a string of fine performances in the UAE and Germany this year, including a fourth behind international stars Mishriff, Chrono Genesis and Loves Only You in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic.

After breaking on terms, Walton Street soon settled in a clear second under Frankie Dettori as Primo Touch opened up a significant lead over the rest of the field.

Primo Touch’s advantage was reduced as the chasing pack closed in rounding the far turn, with Walton Street cruising up to take up the running at the top of the straight.

The Godolphin runner quickened clear approaching the final furlong before being eased close home to beat Desert Encounter by nearly six lengths.

Alex Merriam of Godolphin said: “I think the race worked out as perfectly as we thought it would. We felt that one would go forward, Walton Street would slot in and Frankie had his game plan. Turning in, we always knew that Frankie was going to kick on and Walton Street has seen it out nicely.

“Walton Street has some great form out in Dubai and ran well in Germany last time. He has put in another good performance today and we are delighted for him to win a G1. He is a horse who has been with us a long time and is an old favourite in the yard.

“He settled in very well here and has taken all the training in his stride. He has done plenty of travelling to Dubai and has coped with this trip nicely. We will get him back to England now, see how he comes out of the race and then make a plan.”