queen's plate | Horse Racing Free Tips

Munnyfor Ro Takes on the Boys in Queen’s Plate

Munnyfor Ro (Munnings) looks to become the fifth filly in the last 10 years to beat the boys in Woodbine's most prestigious race, the $1-million Queen's Plate S. for Ontario-breds. Breaking her maiden on the grass while part of the Brian Lynch's shedrow this spring, the chestnut was third in a turfy allowance at Churchill May 8 and was sixth in the GIII Regret S. three weeks later. Sent back to Kevin Attard, she checked in second on the local synthetic in the GIII Selene S. and followed that with a late-closing victory in the Woodbine Oaks Aug. 1. Four of the last five fillies to win the Queen's Plate entered off a win in the Woodbine Oaks and the fifth, Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d'Oro), was runner-up in that event.

The top male contender is Joshua Attard's Keep Grinding (Tizway). Graduating at third asking in November, the dark bay was third behind Tidal Forces (Malibu Moon) and Harlan Estate (Kantharos) in a local optional claimer June 19. He was second next out in the GIII Marine S. at this venue July 11, in which Haddassah (Air Force Blue) finished third. Tidal Forces was fifth next out in the Marine, meanwhile Harlan Estate returned to win a nine-panel event here July 16, besting Dance Some Mo (Uncle Mo) by a nose.

Avoman (Old Forester) broke his maiden at second asking in the Ontario-bred Bull Page S. on the local lawn in September. Off the board in the state-bred Frost King S. sprinting on the synthetic in November, the gelding was third when trying two turns in an optional claimer here July 3. He won the local prep for this event, the nine-panel Plate Trial S. for Ontario-breds Aug. 1.

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Weekend Lineup Presented By NYRA Bets: Alabama Rematch, Pacific Classic Showdown

Highlighting this weekend's racing action are Grade 1 races from coast to coast. On Saturday, a big rematch is in the cards for Saratoga's Alabama, while a Breeders' Cup Classic berth is on the line in Del Mar's million-dollar Pacific Classic. On Sunday, Woodbine will put on a trio of graded stakes races as well as the $1 million Queen's Plate, first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

Maracuja posted a big upset over Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat in the CCA Oaks last month, and the two sophomore fillies face off again in Saturday's Grade 1 Alabama. It's far from a two-horse race, however, with graded stakes winners Clairiere, Army Wife, and Crazy Beautiful also part of the seven-horse field.

The Pacific Classic features East Coast shipper Dr Post for trainer Todd Pletcher, while the local favorite Express Train will look to add the elusive Grade 1 score to his growing resume. Royal Ship, Tizamagician, and Independence Hall are also in the nine-horse lineup.

Sunday's Queen's Plate drew a field of 13 sophomores for the 1 1/4-mile classic, with 19-year-old Joshua Attard's Keep Grinding, trained by his grandfather, the 4-1 morning line favorite.

The New York Racing Association has planned an all graded stakes cross country pick 5 for Saturday, encompassing three Grade 1 contests and two Grade 2 events from Saratoga and Del Mar. Past performances are free here for this 50-cent base wager.

Here's a quick snapshot of this weekend's graded stakes schedule, starting with Saratoga's big races (all times Eastern):

Saturday

5:39 p.m. – $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes at Saratoga

In the Lake Placid, Technical Analysis will look to duplicate her effort from the G3 Lake George on July 23 over the Saratoga inner turf, where she tracked in third position before kicking away from Fluffy Socks to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a one-mile contest. The Chad Brown trainee has compiled a 3-0-1 record in five starts but did not face stakes competition until her sixth-place effort in the 1 1/8-mile G3 Wonder Again on June 3 at Belmont Park. After winning at a mile, the Irish-bred daughter of Kingman will be stretched back out, drawing post 2 with Jose Ortiz aboard for the fifth straight start.

Spanish Loveaffair faced top-flight competition last out, running last-of-eight in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in the opening leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series on July 10. Entering off a two-month respite, the daughter of Karakontie has alternated between solid stakes efforts and disappointing finishes in her four 2021 starts.

Runaway Rumour won her first three starts for trainer Jorge Abreu, including an off-the-pace half-length victory in the Wild Applause in June at Belmont Park going one mile. After running fourth in the Lake George in her first run over the Saratoga grass, the Flintshire filly will return to the Spa, where she has worked since June, including a four-furlong work on the Oklahoma training track on Aug. 7 in 50.83 seconds.

Lake Placid Entries

6:13 p.m. – $600,000 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga

Malathaat saw Maracuja snap her five-race undefeated record in the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 24, where the blue-blooded daughter of Curlin went into the gate as the 1-5 favorite and set a pressured pace down the backstretch before engaging in a dramatic stretch rally, coming up a head shy of victory. Malathaat will attempt to regain her status as division leader when she again faces Maracuja in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama.

Steve Asmussen will saddle Clairiere in search of her first Grade 1 triumph. Fourth beaten three lengths in the Kentucky Oaks, Clairiere seeks her first victory since the G2 Rachel Alexandra on Feb. 13 at Fair Grounds Race Course.

Following a victory in the G2 Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 27, Crazy Beautiful was never a factor in the Kentucky Oaks finishing a distant tenth. But her brilliance was recaptured in her following two efforts, winning the G3 Summertime Oaks on May 30 at Santa Anita ahead of a six-length romp in the G3 Delaware Oaks on July 3 at Delaware Park.

Army Wife boasts four lifetime wins all over different tracks and will seek to add Saratoga to her list of oval conquests for leading trainer Mike Maker. The bay daughter of Declaration of War was a fourth out maiden winner going seven furlongs in October at Churchill Downs before defeating winners at Gulfstream Park two starts later. After a distant third in the Gazelle, she picked up scores in the G2 Black Eyed Susan on May 14 at Pimlico and the G3 Iowa Oaks on July 2 at Prairie Meadows.

Alabama Entries

8:00 p.m. – $300,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Mile at Del Mar

Six will go hard and heavy at the classic flat mile in the Del Mar Mile and each and every one of them is a major stakes winner. Their purse earnings got past the $5.4-million mark and they're all seasoned racehorses eligible to fire a big shot Saturday.

Mo Forza is the 8-5 favorite having won his last two in a row, though both of those races came at the end of 2020 and he hasn't raced since. Of course, Peter Miller is known to have his horses ready off the layoff. The son of Uncle Mo won this race last year.

Smooth Like Strait will start at 9-5 on the morning line; he won the G1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita back in May, and ran second by a neck when stretched out to nine furlongs in the G2 Eddie Read. Shortening up to a mile could put the Michael McCarthy trainee back on top.

Hit the Road won four races in a row through March of this year, and has gotten a break from the races after finishing fifth in the G1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland in April. Dan Blacker has been working him at Del Mar since mid-July, and he appears ready for a comeback.

Del Mar Mile Entries

9:00 p.m. – $300,000 Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks at Del Mar

The Oaks has lured a field of nine including a pair of shippers: Head of Plains Partners' Fluffy Socks in from New York and Yuesheng Zhang's Soaring Sky aboard from her native Ireland.

The key prep race for the Del Mar Oaks was the G2 San Clemente Stakes, run at Del Mar at a mile on the turf on July 24. The one, two, three finishers from the race — Madone, Going Global and Tetragonal – are all back to try their luck in the more demanding and more lucrative Oaks.

Del Mar Oaks Entries

9:30 p.m. – $1 million Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar

The Pacific Classic is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event providing its winner an all expenses paid entrance into the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run this year at Del Mar on Saturday, Nov. 6.

Express Train earned his role as the Pacific Classic favorite by compiling and ultra-steady mark of 12-4-4-2 with earnings of $659,300. He also was the horse home first in Del Mar's key prep for the Classic, the G2 San Diego Handicap on July 17. He finished a half length to the good that afternoon going a mile and one-sixteenth and beat four of the runners he'll be facing Saturday. John Shirreffs trains Express Train and he's once again named regular rider Juan Hernandez aboard the 4-year-old Union Rags colt.

Royal Ship is a Brazilian-bred gelding by Midshipman (winner of the Del Mar Futurity in 2008 and 2-year-old champion that year) who has steadily gotten better since coming north from his native land last year. He's won six of 14 starts and earned $293,305 in his career so far and was third, beaten a length and a quarter, in the San Diego. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has once again named Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith to guide Royal Ship on Saturday.

Dr Post is in from the East Coast where he's proven to be a solid stakes competitor with four victories in nine starts for earnings of $700,635. His most recent outing was a tally in the G3 Monmouth Cup at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on July 17. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has commissioned Joel Rosario to ride the Quality Road colt in the Classic. Rosario, a three-time Del Mar riding champ prior to shifting his tack to the east, has twice come west to capture the Classic – with Dullahan in 2014 and Accelerate in 2018.

Pacific Classic Entries

10:00 p.m. – $300,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at Del Mar

The Del Mar Handicap will bring out 10 competitors and sets up for a clash of titans between two of the best grass route horses in the country in LNJ Foxwoods' United and Donegal Racing, Bulger and Coneway's Arklow. The Del Mar Handicap is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge race that guarantees the winner all expenses paid admission into the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf, which will be run at Del Mar on Saturday, Nov. 6.

The likely battle royale between United and Arklow will be a fitting nightcap to Pacific Classic day. The pair of turf behemoths bring plenty of bragging rights to the race: United, a 6-year-old gelding by Giant's Causeway, has won nine races and $1,675,549. He was second, beaten a head, in this race last year. Arklow also has won nine races, but his bankroll goes past his chief rival at $2,755,746. The long-winded stretch kicker shipped to Del Mar last fall and made short work of the Hollywood Turf Cup at a mile and a half. Both runners will have their regular riders – Flavien Prat on United and Florent Geroux on Arklow.

Del Mar Handicap Entries

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Here's a look at the remainder of the weekend's graded stakes, courtesy of NTRA:

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Graded Stakes Trio Part Of Woodbine’s Stellar Queen’s Plate Card

A trio of graded stakes, the Highlander (G1), Dance Smartly (G2), Ontario Colleen (G3), complement the 162nd running of the $1 million Queen's Plate, Sunday at Woodbine.

Seven fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, will vie for top spot in the $175,000 Dance Smartly Stakes, a 1 ¼-mile test over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Graham Motion will send out Blame Debbie, a 4-year-old daughter of Blame, as the multiple graded stakes winning trainer looks to notch his first Dance Smartly crown.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Cloonan and Timothy Thornton, the well-traveled bay has assembled a 4-1-3 mark from 13 career starts.

Having raced at Delaware, Keeneland, Aqueduct, Tampa, Belmont, Saratoga, Kentucky Downs, Del Mar and Pimlico, Blame Debbie's racetrack passport will now include Woodbine.

Bred by Tim Thornton and Tony Holmes, Blame Debbie won her debut at Delaware Park on August 29, 2019, finishing second in her next start at Keeneland, prior to a third in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct to close out her rookie campaign.

Last year, she went 2-0-2 from eight starts, the back-to-back victories coming at Keeneland, including her first stakes win, the Grade 3 Rood and Riddle Dowager on Oct. 18.

After a victory in the Searching Stakes this June at Pimlico to launch her 2021 campaign, Blame Debbie was fifth in her most recent start, Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes.

“She ran well first time back at Pimlico, then she was a little disappointing last time at Delaware,” offered Motion. “Maybe the first race took something out of her.”

Motion thinks the Kentucky-bred will fare well running over the Toronto oval grass.

“She's training well, and I think she'll like the turf course up there.”

The race is named after the Sam-Son Farm superstar who went undefeated in 1991 while taking the Canadian Triple Crown, and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to win a Breeders' Cup race (G1 Distaff, 1991). She is a member of both the Canadian and American Racing Halls of Fame.

Sam-Son Farm has three wins – tops among all owners – in the race that was inaugurated in 1986 (Bessarabian won the first edition).

The race is also the first event in Woodbine's Ladies of the Lawn Series, in support of ReThink Breast Cancer. Next up is the $250,000 Canadian Stakes (G2) on Saturday, September 18, culminating with the $600,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1) on Sunday, October 17. At the conclusion of the points-based series, the winning connections will receive a $50,000 bonus. The inaugural winner of the 2019 Ladies of the Lawn Series was Starship Jubilee, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 2 $175,000 DANCE SMARTLY

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Blame Debbie – Kazushi Kimura – Graham Motion

2 – Merveilleux – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard

3 – Afleet Katherine – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

4 – Al Naseem – David Moran – Edward Vaughan

5 – Etoile – Irad Ortiz Jr. – Chad Brown

6 – Mutamakina – Dylan Davis – Christophe Clement

7 – Court Return – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

Trainer Mark Casse, a four-time winner of the Ontario Colleen Stakes, will be launching a three-pronged attack on Sunday's renewal with Our Flash Drive, I Get It and Salty As Can Be heading postward in the one-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies.

The Ontario Colleen, which offers Grade 3 status and a purse of $150,000, attracted eight entrants.

Our Flash Drive, a Live Oak Plantation homebred, is the only graded stakes winner in the Ontario Colleen lineup, having annexed the Grade 3 Selene over 1 1/16 miles of Tapeta last time out. The runner-up there, Munnyfor Ro, came back to take the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser and is a leading contender for Sunday's Queen's Plate.

“She's done everything right this year,” said Casse, who had also watched Our Flash Drive win her maiden in authoritative fashion here at seven furlongs in her first appearance this year, but will be racing the Florida-bred on grass for the first time.

“We've breezed her a couple of times on the turf; she gets over the turf really well. She'll be extremely tough, I think.”

I Get It was purchased privately for owner Gary Barber prior to winning the listed Sanibel Island Stakes over one mile of firm turf at Gulfstream on March 27.

In her only subsequent outing, the Maryland-bred was well-beaten In Belmont's Grade 3 Wonder Again over 1 1/8 miles of “good” going.

“I probably shouldn't have ran her,” said Casse, recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at Saratoga to match his Canadian honors. “She wasn't a happy horse at the time. We've just kind of given her a break; she's doing much better now. I think she should run well.”

Salty As Can Be, owned by Gary Barber and Baccari Racing Stable, is a half-sister to Salty, who was a Grade 1 stakes winner for the same connections.

“She's a beautiful filly,” said Casse, who has seen the Kentucky-bred sandwich two wins around a disappointing stakes try. “She had to have throat surgery after her poor performance at Churchill.”

Salty As Can Be, who had debuted victoriously at Churchill Downs, returned to win a six-furlong Tapeta sprint at Woodbine. The Ontario Colleen will be her first try on grass.

“She ran really well there,” said Casse. “She's breezed well on the turf. She's a bit of a guess… I think she's good enough, but we'll just see. This is not an easy race.”

Chad Brown, who captured the 2019 edition of the Ontario Colleen with Seek and Destroy, will be looking to duplicate that feat with Misspell, who was supplemented at a cost of $3,000 including the $1,500 entry fee.

Seasons, third in the Grade 1 Natalma over one mile of turf here last September, adds to the depth of a field which also includes stakes winner Sweet Souper Sweet, third last time out in the Selene, plus Speightstown Shirl and Perseverancia, both maiden winners on the turf at the current meeting.

Trainer Michael Doyle currently holds the Ontario Colleen record with five wins, the latest in 2001.

The most famous alumnus of the race is the Casse trainee Got Stormy, who captured the 2018 renewal and recently notched her second win in Saratoga's Grade 1 Bernard Baruch, defeating males in that one-mile turf race.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 $150,000 ONTARIO COLLEEN STAKES

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Sweet Souper Sweet – Antonio Gallardo – Michael Trombetta

2 – Our Flash Drive – Patrick – Husbands – Mark Casse

3 – Salty as Can Be – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

4 – Perseverancia – Luis Contreras – Darwin Banach

5 – I Get It – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

6 – Seasons – Shaun Bridgmohan – James Toner

7 – Speightstown Shirl – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Roger Attfield

8 – Misspell – Irad Ortiz Jr. – Chad Brown

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Caravel, winner of three straight including Saratoga's Grade 3 Caress at 5 ½-furlongs on the turf last time out, will be cruising into Woodbine on Queen's Plate day seeking a grand slam in Sunday's Grade 1 Highlander Stakes.

The Highlander, a six-furlong turf race, offers a purse of $350,000 and attracted a field of eight.

Caravel, a 4-year-old filly, will be facing males for the first time and making her first start for trainer Graham Motion. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay purchased a majority interest in Caravel following her impressive score two starts back in Monmouth's Goodwood Stakes at five furlongs on the turf.

Breeder/owner/trainer Elizabeth Merryman retains an interest in Caravel, who is Pennsylvania's reigning Horse of the Year and has fashioned a record of 7-0-2, including five stakes scores, from nine starts. Merryman is based at Fair Hill in Maryland, as is Motion.

“I've tried not to change too much, since I've had her,” said Motion. “I kept her at Saratoga, we kind of kept her on the same schedule she would have at Fair Hill with Lizzie.”

The Highlander is the next marker for Caravel on the path which her connections hope will lead to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, which will be run over five furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

“This is kind of the race we'd planned on, if she ran well at Saratoga,” said Motion. “The six furlongs is a really good distance for her.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., who piloted Caravel for the first time in the Caress, retains the mount.

Looking to hold the shipper at bay will be locally-based Silent Poet and City Boy, who were the 1-2 finishers in last year's Grade 2 Nearctic Handicap over six furlongs of the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Silent Poet, a homebred who is owned by Stronach Stable and trained by Nick Gonzalez, also has victories in another pair of seven-furlong Grade 2 turf stakes, the 2019 Play the King and the 2020 Connaught Cup, but has yet to find his best form in two starts this season.

City Boy, conditioned by Mike Keogh for The Estate of Gustav Schickedanz, had become a stakes winner in the 2019 running of the Nearctic. The City Boy gelding will be making his second appearance of this season after opening up with a second-place finish under allowance terms.

“He came out of his first start really well,” said Keogh. “He ran well enough, and I think he needed the race. He missed a bit of time going into it. He always has little foot issues.”

Trainer Mark Casse, seeking his first Highlander victory, will send out a capable threesome in Turned Aside, Chuck Willis and Old Chestnut.

Rounding out the field will be Admiralty Pier, who has kept top company throughout his eclectic career, and Honey Won't, who was supplemented at a cost of $7,000, including the $3,500 entry fee.

The Highlander has been run over its current distance and surface since 2004 when Soaring Free, who went on to be Canada's Horse of the Year, captured his first of two consecutive renewals. The race was not run last year on a COVID-19-impacted stakes schedule.

The Turf Endurance Series also gets out of the gates on Aug. 22. The series is made up of three races, two of which are on the inner turf. The opening leg, at a distance of 1 3/8 miles, is slated for Sunday, followed by a 1 ½-mile trek Sept. 12, and a 1 ¾-mile marathon on the main course Oct. 3.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 1 $350,000 HIGHLANDER STAKES

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Old Chestnut – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

2 – Admiralty Pier – Antonio Gallardo – Barbara Minshall

3 – Turned Aside – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

4 – Chuck Willis – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

5 – Honey Won't – Jeffrey Alderson – Angus Buntain

6 – City Boy – David Moran – Mike Keogh

7 – Caravel – Irad Ortiz Jr. – Graham Motion

8 – Silent Poet – Justin Stein – Nick Gonzalez

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Woodbine Starts Queen’s Plate Weekend With Quartet Of Saturday Stakes

Woodbine's weekend stakes showcase launches Saturday afternoon with four stakes contests to lead into Sunday's Queen's Plate card.

A pair of Grade 3 $150,000 events, the Singspiel Stakes and Seaway Stakes, and two $125,000 stakes, the Catch A Glimpse and Soaring Free, makeup Saturday's stakes quartet.

After blazing to a course record in the $150,000 Buckland for 3-year-olds and older on the Colonial Downs' inner turf, Eons will make his Canadian debut in the 1 ¼-mile Grade 3 Singspiel, for 3-year-olds and up, to be contested over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Trained by Arnaud Delacour for owner Mark Grier, the chestnut covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.14, heading Kentucky Ghost for the Buckland victory.

A 5-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, Eons returned $13.20 for the win.

“He ran a very, very good race,” said Delacour. “I was [expecting him to run well]. I was happy with the horse and happy with the ride because it was a patient ride. He always runs well. It was such a long time since he went to the winner's circle, but not by lack of good effort. He was running well against good horses.

“He's always on edge, but he is great. You can do what you want with him. He's really athletic, but he has a lot of energy, for sure.”

Eons launched his career with a pair of starts at Tampa Bay Downs in early 2019, before making four consecutive trips to the winner's circle, including a victory in the Grade 3 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park.

His win in the Buckland was his first since the Kent triumph. Overall, he sports a mark of 5-2-1 from 17 career starts.

“The key with him is always the same… I'm always hoping for a fast pace, where the other horses can come back a little bit,” said Delacour. “He needs a lot of stretch to get going and that's probably one of the reasons I would love to try him at Woodbine. The stretch is very long and horses have time to really get into a rhythm.”

Patrick Husbands, who won the 2016 Singspiel aboard Danish Dynafomer, will ride Eons on Saturday.

“We've been lucky with Patrick in the past. He's done well for us. I'm very happy with how we're going into the race.”

Bred in Kentucky by Camas Park Stud out of the multiple stakes-winning Hansel mare Golden Antigua, Eons is a full brother to graded/group stakes winners Giant Gizmo and Tableaux, and a half brother to the dam of multiple graded stakes champ Cheermeister.

Clancy Bloodstock purchased Eons for $300,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment to the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

His rivals in the Singspiel include Belichick, who won last years' Breeders' Stakes, third jewel in the OLG Triple Crown, and multiple graded stakes placed Corelli, a 6-year-old son of Point of Entry, who is 4-3-3 from 17 starts.

The Singspiel is named after the Irish-bred son of In the Wings, whose nine victories in 20 lifetime starts include the 1996 Canadian International Stakes.

Trainer Roger Attfield won five consecutive editions (2009-13) of the Singspiel, and eight runnings in all.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 $150,000 SINGSPIEL (Race 8)

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Eons – Patrick Husbands – Arnaud Delacour

2 – Theregoesjojo – Rafael Hernandez – Michael De Paulo

3 – Woodbridge – David Moran – Mike Keogh

4 – Peace of Ekati – Steven Bahen – Ashlee Brnjas

5 – English Conqueror – Antonio Gallardo – Darwin Banach

6 – Belichick – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

7 – Primo Touch – Justin Stein – Harold Ladouceur

8 – Corelli – Kazushi Kimura – Jonathan Thomas

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Set for seven furlongs on the Woodbine Tapeta, the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes, for fillies & mares, 3-year-olds and up, has drawn seven starters, including Mark Casse trainee Our Secret Agent.

Owned by Gary Barber, the 4-year-old daughter of Secret Circle is as consistent as they come, assembling a record of 2-5-4 from 11 career starts.

Our Secret Agent is no stranger to Woodbine, having competed at the Toronto oval on seven occasions, compiling a 2-3-2 mark in the process.

The only thing missing from her résumé is a trip to the stakes winner's circle.

“What a nice filly,” praised Casse. “She comes to play every time.”

The dual Hall of Fame conditioner believes the Kentucky-bred (Paul Tackett Revocable Trust) will appreciate the seven-panel Seaway distance.

“I think seven furlongs will be perfect for her,” offered Casse.

Standing in her way is a solid group of rivals, including multiple graded stakes winner Amalfi Coast and graded stakes champ Boardroom.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 $150,000 SEAWAY (Race 10)

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Golden Vision – Omar Moreno – Tino Attard

2 – Hell N Wild – Antonio Gallardo – Lorne Richards

3 – Amalfi Coast – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

4 – Fiduciary (GB) – Kazushi Kimura – Josie Carroll

5 – Toffen – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard

6 – Our Secret Agent – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

7 – Boardroom – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

Mark Casse conditioned Catch A Glimpse, who was Canada's Horse of the Year, Outstanding Two-Year-Old Filly, and Outstanding Turf Female of 2015 after winning Woodbine's Grade 1 Natalma and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland.

On Saturday, the dual Hall of Fame trainer will be will be looking for his first win in the stakes race named for his champion runner as he fields half of the eight entrants in the $125,000 tilt for 2-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs on the grass.

Diabolic is perfect in two starts, having scored first time out over five furlongs of turf at Gulfstream Park and returned to action more than two months later with a smart score here at 5 ½ furlongs on the Tapeta in the My Dear Stakes.

“She's got to be considered one of the favourites, I would think,” said Casse. “I don't think the added ground will be a problem. She finished strongly, and galloped out well in her last start.”

Lois Len also has raced twice, scoring at five furlongs here first time out and then ending fourth as the favourite in the My Dear following a troubled beginning.

“I actually thought she ran very well, given her break,” said Casse, who trains Lois Len for D.J. Stable LLC, Aron Yagoda, and Quintessential Racing Florida LLC. “I'm not sure about the turf – I think she'll be fine, we breezed her over it – but we're looking for more ground more than anything. She wants to run farther.”

Mo Touring, a homebred owned by Gary Barber, was a front-running winner of her only start to date, a five-furlong maiden turf race at Gulfstream back on June 3.

“She was impressive,” said Casse, of the Ontario-bred.

Mrs. Barbara, a homebred who races for Spruce Stable, is winless in two starts but was a close second when making her local debut at 5 ½ furlongs on the main track.

Rounding out the field will be locals Curlin Candy and Silver Magnatize along with shippers Royal Engagement and Miz Jameson.

Curlin Candy, the first foal of Canadian Horse of the Year Caren, ran second to Diabolic when debuting in the My Dear. Caren won three turf stakes here in her 2016 championship campaign and finished third to Catch A Glimpse in the previous year's Natalma at one mile on the grass.

The Catch A Glimpse was run for the first time in 2018. Shippers have won the last two editions with Alda connecting for trainer Graham Motion in 2020 following Fair Maiden's score for conditioner Eoin Harty the previous season.

FIELD FOR THE $125,000 CATCH A GLIMPSE STAKES (Race 6)

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Curlin Candy – Justin Stein – Mike De Paulo

2 – Diabolic (IRE) – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse

3 – Mrs. Barbara – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

4 – Royal Engagement – Kazushi Kimura – Timothy Hamm

5 – Mo Touring – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

6 – Miz Jameson – Luis Contreras – Steve Asmussen

7 – Silver Magnatized – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard

8 – Lois Len – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

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Trainer Mark Casse won last year's Soaring Free Stakes with Gretzky the Great, who went on to capture Woodbine's Grade 1 Summer Stakes en route to being voted Canada's champion male 2-year-old.

On Saturday, Casse will send out the duo of First Empire and Twenty Four Mamba as he seeks to follow that blueprint in the $125,000 Soaring Free, a 6 ½-furlong race for 2-year-olds on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, which lured a field of six.

“Hopefully, if they run good, it will set us up for the Summer Stakes,” said the trainer.

First Empire, a Canadian-bred who races for Harlequin Ranches, faltered to finish fifth here when debuting on the Tapeta but rebounded with a front-running score at six furlongs on the main turf course.

“We were disappointed in his first start but he came back and ran well on the turf,” said Casse. “He should run well.”

Twenty Four Mamba failed to make much of an impact in his first two starts at Churchill Downs but struck from off the pace in his local bow and then ended the runner-up behind the very sharp shipper One Timer in the 5 1/2-furlong Victoria.

“He's a horse that I had a lot of hopes for early on, and he was disappointing at first,” said Casse. “But, I thought he broke his maiden impressively. And in his last start, that horse (One Timer) was just too fast. I thought he ran a good second.”

Casse believes that the Soaring Free distance, at least, will be in Twenty Four Mamba's favor.

“He wants more ground,” said Casse.” I have no idea whether he'll turf, but so far, what I've seen of the Classic Empires, they've run pretty good on it.”

Classic Empire, trained by Casse during a career which included a Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Eclipse Award-winning juvenile campaign plus a victory in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and a near-miss in the Preakness, is off to a promising beginning at stud.

Silent Empire, runner-up to First Empire when debuting for The Estate of Gustav Schickedanz and trainer Mike Keogh, will be looking to turn the tables in this rematch.

“I think he should have won first time out,” said Keogh. “It's not the rider's fault – he just got boxed in for the longest time. When he did come up the rail the other Casse entrant came in on him, and stopped him from getting out.”

Degree of Risk, coming off a smart maiden score on Arlington's synthetic surface, and Heaven Street, a last-out front-running winner over 7 ½ furlongs of turf at Indiana Downs for trainer Steve Asmussen, adding intrigue to the Soaring Free lineup.

Locally-based Concealed Carry, victorious in his debut here before ending third in the Victoria, completes the lineup.

Soaring Free, who lends this stakes his name, was Canada's Horse of the Year and Outstanding Turf Male in 2004 after capturing the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. The Sam-Son Farm homebred finished a close second in the previous year's Woodbine Mile and was honoured as Canada's Outstanding Sprinter.

First post for Saturday's 11-race card is 1:10 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE $125,000 SOARING FREE STAKES (Race 3)

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Twenty Four Mamba – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

2 – Concealed Carry – Shaun Bridgmohan – Barbara Minshall

3 – Silent Farewell – David Moran – Mike Keogh

4 – Heaven Street – Luis Contreras – Steve Asmussen

5 – First Emperor – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

6 – Degree of Risk – Justin Stein – Eoin Harty

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