TORONTO, October 17, 2024 – My Boy Bruce, a last-time out winner, steps up to the stakes ranks in Sunday’s $100,000 Frost King, a 6 ½-furlong main track event for Ontario-sired 2-year-olds, at Woodbine.

Trained by Bill Tharrenos for owners Beclawat Stable and Zona Pereira, the son of Seattle Serenade out of the Flatter mare My Christini broke his maiden in a 5 ½-furlong main track race at the Toronto oval on Sept. 8.

Sent off as the 1-5 choice, My Boy Bruce was given his cue with seven sixteenths to go and went on to notch a one-length score in a time of 1:05.75.

The dark bay colt, bred by Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, debuted on Aug. 18, a runner-up effort in a six-furlong race on the Toronto oval main track.

“He has had two nice races,” said Tharrenos. “He’s shown a lot of speed, so we’d like him to harness that a bit and have something left in the tank down the lane.”  

What has Tharrenos learned about his rookie from those two starts?

“Just that he is a horse who shows up and brings his top effort. We like him a lot. We are excited about him and hopefully, he can build off those two starts and make his first stakes race a memorable one.”

My Boy Bruce, who was RNA at the 2022 CTHS (Ontario Division) Winter Mixed Sale, and the 2023 CTHS Ontario Premier Yearling Sale, had a pair of five-furlong works this month, including a 1:00.20 breeze on Oct. 12.

“Very happy with the breeze. He came out of his last race very well and he’s showing all the signs of a good horse. We’re looking for good things.”

Antonio MacDonald is the groom.

Tharrenos, who had a career-best 2023 and is enjoying another outstanding campaign, was tempted to run the unraced Go Jimmy Go in the Frost King but opted instead for a six-furlong maiden optional claiming race, also on Sunday.

“We really like him a lot,” he said of the chestnut son of Society’s Chairman out of the Perigee Moon mare Night Fever. “We won the [2018] Frost King with a maiden, My Silencer, but we decided to take a different route with this guy.

“We have some nice ones in the barn, so hopefully, the best is yet to come.”

Frost King won stakes races in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta and competed at many of the leading tracks in the U.S., winning stakes at Keeneland and Chicago’s Sportsman’s Park and placing in major events in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan. In 1981, at age 3, Frost King represented Canada in the inaugural running of the Japan Cup, finishing second. He was Canada’s champion 3-year-old in 1981, and the following year was named Horse of the Year, champion grass horse and older horse. During a 55-start career, he was never worse than third on 40 occasions. Of his 27 victories, 21 came in stakes races.

$100,000 Frost King (Race 8)

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Shadow Realm (S) – Eswan Flores – Sid Attard

2 – Awesome Rainbow – Leo Salles – Norm McKnight

3 – Heard a Ghost – Sofia Vives – Laura Krasauskaite

4 – Dark Screen – Juan Crawford – Bev Chubb

5 – Kekoa – Rafael Hernandez – Catherine Day Phillips

6 – My Boy Bruce – Sahin Civaci – Bill Tharrenos

7 – Ride for the Purse – Patrick Husbands – Mike Mattine

8 – Unbridled Weather (S) – Fraser Aebly – Angus Buntain

9 – Magic Power (S) – Kazushi Kimura – John Mattine

Chris Lomon, Woodbine 

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