Shamaree Muir won the biggest race thus far in his career when he brought Ready Intaglio from off the pace to beat compatriot Dane Nelson aboard Solve by less than a length in the 87th running of the Northlands Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton, last Saturday.

The Grade Three event, which is confined to three-year-olds, was run over one and three-eighth miles for a purse of CAN$150,000.

Both Muir and Nelson had to survive an inquiry and a jockey’s objection lodged by fourth-placed Rico Walcott on Inside Straight.

The objection was overruled and the inquiry was cleared.

“Wow, what can I really say right now? I am really happy for the victory.

“To win the Canadian Derby, the first time riding in Canada is really great.

“It is really amazing and I am grateful for everything.

“This victory means everything to me, and I must thank the trainer and connections of this horse for trusting me and giving me the ride in such a big race,” Muir told the Complete Racing Guide.

“So far everything is going well for me. It took me some time to get off the mark and once that happened, I am getting things rolling.

“I will continue to do the hard work as I want to win more big races and stamp my name at this track,” he said.

Ready Intaglio, owned by Robbin Martens and trained by Amber Meyaard, was sent off as the 7-2 favourite in the field of 12 runners in the four-turn event.

The winning time was 2:19.11 minutes behind splits of 23.38, 47.82, 1:13.74, 1:40.22 and 2:06.11 minutes.