Sky Mesa put a special stamp on the final running of the Canadian Derby (G3) on Saturday when Sky Promise came from next-to-last to capture the $200,000 race for 3-year-olds at Northlands Park.
Racing for the partnership of Rick and Clayton Wiest, R 6 Stable and Norman Tremblay, the steel-gray colt was near the back of the nine-horse field after a half-mile that went in a slow :51.13. He began his steady advance with five furlongs to run to make the lead in upper stretch, ultimately winning by a length over Day Raider.
The final time for the 1 3/8-miles on a fast track was 2:20.11.
“I had horse from the start. He was even more on the bit then he was in Winnipeg,” said rider Rico
Walcott. “I got him to the outside, tipped him out and he fired.”
Winner of the Manitoba Derby last time out, Sky Promise is now 3-3-3 in 17 starts and has earned $221,772. He was bred in Kentucky by Normandy Farm LLC.
Trainer Robertino Diodoro said that depending how Sky Promise comes out of the race he will probably now run in just two weeks in the British Columbia Derby at Hastings Park in Vancouver.
Sky Promise is Sky Mesa’s fifth stakes winner and 10th black type horse overall this year, while his lifetime stats stand at 120 stakes horses with more than $52 million in progeny earnings.
