Ryan Munger and Runaway Again played the role of spoiler to perfection Tuesday.
Runaway Again overtook Mansetti just before the wire to capture the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes by half a length at Fort Erie Racetrack. Mansetti, with apprentice jockey Pietro Moran aboard, were chasing the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown after winning last month's $1-million King's Plate at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack.
“He's a quirky horse,” said Munger. “You can't bully him.
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"He doesn't like to be told what to do, so you have to kind of treat him like your wife or your girlfriend. You have to be very, very nice to him, and he’ll be nice back to you.”
It was a calculating trip for Munger, who kept Runaway Again off the pace behind leaders Mansetti, Scorching and Ashley's Archer throughout the 1 3/16-mile dirt race. Runaway Again moved to third at about the 3/4-mile mark and to second, two lengths behind Mansetti coming down the stretch.
And with Mansetti, the 4/5 favourite seemingly headed to the victory, Munger had Runaway Again surge ahead just before the wire to secure the win in 1:55.3. Faber was third in the seven-horse field.
"He broke quite good and when I saw Mansetti and a few of the pace horses go like I thought they would, I thought, 'Aww, I'm in a golden spot,'" Munger said. "I didn't panic, I just followed through.
"I said, 'Wherever Mansetti is, I'm just going to follow him through and at the top of the straight if I've got horse he'll beat him.' Fortunately Mansetti just started to tread water at the end and that's when he knuckled down and found his feet for a very good one."
Wando remains the last horse to win the Triple Crown, achieving the feat in 2003.
The Prince of Wales win was sweet redemption for Runaway Again and trainer Sid Attard. The horse finished a distant 10th in the Plate, with jockey Javier Castellano aboard.
"Sid Attard, thank-you so much," Munger said. "He said, 'If we come to Fort Erie, you're riding him.'
"I got my mount back. He (Attard) did all the hard work, he got the horse right and well. I just jumped on him a couple of times to feel all was good and in order."
Having only ever raced twice going into the Prince of Wales Stakes, Munger knew he was riding an inexperienced horse, but said that worked to his advantage.
“This horse, he's got no miles on him,” said Munger. “So the other horses, they've maybe got some aches and pains, but ours was physically perfect.”
Runaway Again paid $18.50, $8 and $4.30. Mansetti returned $3.90 and $2.50, while Faber paid $2.90.
"He came to this race really good," Attard said of Runaway Again. "He was very quiet and good and here we are."
The third and final jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown is the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, which will be run Sept. 28 at Woodbine. When asked if Runaway Again would chase a second Triple Crown title, Attard took a wait-and-see approach.
"We'll see how he comes back and we'll play it by ear," Attard said. "We ask the boss and if he says, 'Go,' we go."
