Nijinsky Stakes
| Grade II race | |
| Location |
Woodbine Racetrack Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1998 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | Woodbine Racetrack |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds & Up |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | $154,180 (2015) |
The Nijinsky Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually on the last Sunday of August at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. In 2015 it was run in midJuly.
The Grade II race is open to horses aged three years and up and is run on Woodbine Racetrack's E. P. Taylor Turf Course at a distance of one and one eight miles. The race currently offers a purse of $154,180.
Inaugurated as the Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy Stakes in 1998, it was raced during the third week of July on turf at a distance of 1 3⁄8 miles. In 2002, the Chinese Cultural Centre sponsored the race and it was renamed the Chinese Cultural Centre Stakes. In 2006, the race was renamed the Nijinsky Stakes and the Chinese Cultural Centre assumed sponsorship for the Seagram Cup Stakes .
The race honors the Canadian-born Nijinsky, the 1970 English Triple Crown champion and a son of Canada's most famous horse, Northern Dancer.
Originally run at 1 3⁄8 miles, as the Nijinsky Stakes it was contested at 1 1⁄2 miles in 2006 and 2007. In 2008 and 2009 it was run at 1 1⁄4 miles and beginning in 2010 at 1 1⁄8 miles.
Records
Time record: (at current distance of 1 1⁄4 miles)
- 2:00.60 - Seaside Retreat (2008) (new stakes and course record)
Most wins by a horse
- 2 - Windwards Islands (2010, 2011)
Most wins by an owner:
- 6 - Sam-Son Farm (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2014)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 3 - Todd Kabel (2003, 2004, 2012)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 5 - Mark Frostad (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011)
Winners of the Nijinsky Stakes
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Are You Kidding Me | 5 | Alan Garcia | Roger L. Attfield | Kirk/Bates/Riordan | 1:46.59 |
| 2014 | Up With the Birds | 4 | Eurico Rosa Da Silva | Malcolm Pierce | Sam-Son Farm | 1:45.74 |
| 2013 | So Long George | 4 | Emma-Jayne Wilson | John Charalambous | Up Hill Stable | 1:45.28 |
| 2012 | Riding the River | 5 | Todd Kabel | David Cotey | Dominion Bloodstock/HGHR/Linmac Farm | 1:48.05 |
| 2011 | Windward Islands | 7 | Emma-Jayne Wilson | Mark Frostad | Sam-Son Farm | 1:49.82 |
| 2010 | Windward Islands | 6 | Chantal Sutherland | Sam-Son Farm | 1:53.58 | |
| 2009 | Rahy's Attorney | 5 | Slade Callaghan | Ian Black | Ellie-Boje Farm, et al. | 2:08.42 |
| 2008 | Seaside Retreat | 5 | Patrick Husbands | Mark E. Casse | William S. Farish IV | 2:00.60 |
| 2007 | Last Answer | 7 | Emile Ramsammy | Michael Keogh | Gus Schickedanz | 2:31.25 |
| 2006 | Rush Bay | 4 | David Clark | Tom Amoss | Mueller Thoroughbred Stable | 2:33.89 |
| 2005 | A Bit O'Gold | 4 | Jono Jones | Catherine Day Phillips | The Two Bit Racing Stable | 2:15.94 |
| 2004 | Shoal Water | 4 | Todd Kabel | Mark Frostad | Sam-Son Farm | 2:12.37 |
| 2003 | Strut The Stage | 5 | Todd Kabel | Mark Frostad | Sam-Son Farm | 2:13.85 |
| 2002 | Strike Smartly | 5 | Laurie Gulas | Mark Frostad | Sam-Son Farm | 2:13.16 |
| 2001 | Allende | 4 | Na Somsanith | Macdonald Benson | Augustin Stable | 2:16.98 |
| 2000 | Quiet Resolve | 5 | Robby Albarado | Mark Frostad | Sam-Son Farm | 2:13.20 |
| 1999 | Crown Attorney | 6 | Mickey Walls | John MacKenzie | Tony & Mary Jane Lamb | 2:18.53 |
| 1998 | Buck's Boy | 5 | Earlie Fires | P. Noel Hickey | Quarter B. Farm | 2:15.40 |