Warp Ride made his first start a winning one when going wire-to-wire to take a six-furlong Maiden Special Weight by two lengths at Woodbine Dec. 4.
The two-year-old Astern gelding, who was overlooked by the bettors, broke alertly, and went straight to the front. Warp Ride opened a one-length lead over his rivals while setting snappy fractions of :22 1/5 and :44 2/5 through the first half-mile. He increased his lead to three lengths at the top of the lane, eventually crossing the wire to win by two lengths.
Bred in Ontario by his owner, Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, Warp Ride is out of the Speightstown mare, Riding Point, and is a half-brother to the Stakes-placed filly, Acting Out. Riding Point herself is a half-sister to G3-winner Onus (dam of recent Stakes-placed juvenile, Gun Boat) and to Hold Harmless (dam of multiple Graded Stakes-placed juvenile Limited Liability). Third dam Meghan’s Joy has produced multiple Graded Stakes winners Ironicus (G2), On Leave (G2), Norumbega (G2), Hunting (G3) and Quiet Harbor (G3).
From his first North American crop Astern is also represented by Sail By, winner of the G2 Miss Grillo Stakes and winners Mainstay (G3-placed), Tom’s Beauty, Grael, Brandon’smylawyer, She’s a Mia (now Stakes-placed), Pearl Earring and The Arcadian Way.
Astern will stand the 2022 breeding season at Jonabell Farm for $10,000, stands and nurses.
