The Woodbine weekend stakes parade includes a trio of complementary added-money events on Ricoh Woodbine Mile Saturday, including the $125,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3).
Trainer Roger Attfield, who won five consecutive editions of the turf race, and eight overall runnings, will look for back-to-back Singspiel victories with Tiz a Slam.
Inaugurated in 2005 as a 1 ½-mile grass marathon, the Singspiel, for three-year-olds and up, will now go as a 1 ¼-mile race, still contested over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
After three stakes triumphs last year, including the Louisville (G3) at Saratoga in May, and the Nijinsky (G2) at Woodbine in July, Tiz a Slam has finished fourth, seventh, along with a pair of sixth-place efforts in his two most recent outings. Attfield is hoping the six-year-old son of Tiznow can get back on track and into the winner's circle with a second straight Singspiel title.
“He hasn't been the horse he was last year but right now he's training as well as he ever has,” said the veteran conditioner.
Tiz a Slam, bred and owned by Chiefswood Stables, was sixth in his latest engagement, the 1 1/16 mile main track Seagram Cup (G3), on July 26 at Woodbine. A winner of nine races from 30 starts, Attfield believes the bay millionaire will appreciate the return to turf.
He doesn't see the shorter Singspiel distance as an issue.
“I don't think it matters much. I've never been totally convinced he was a mile and a half horse.”
Nine rivals will challenge Tiz a Slam for top prize in the Singspiel, a group that includes multiple stakes placed Sir Sahib (2-3-7 from 19 starts), multiple stakes placed Standard Deviation (3-2-4 from 13 starts), graded stakes winner Skywire (4-2-0 from 11 starts), graded stakes placed Jungle Fighter (3-3-1 from nine starts), and multiple stakes placed Nakamura (4-3-4 from 16 starts).
The race is named after the Irish-bred son of In the Wings, whose nine victories in 20 lifetime starts include the 1996 Canadian International Stakes.
The $135,000 Woodbine Cares Stakes and the $135,000 Ontario Racing Stakes are also on tap for Ricoh Woodbine Mile Day.
Scheduled as race 10, one race after the Mile, the Woodbine Cares Stakes has drawn seven two-year-old fillies.
Contested at five furlongs on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, the race features Dirty Dangle, who won her debut for trainer Ralph Biamonte, Forest Drift, also a winner first time out, and Live Oak Plantation's Souper Munnings, who has posted a win and a second in her first two outings.
Last year, Fast Scene took the inaugural running of the race in a time of :56.96. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Fast Anna is owned by Blazing Meadows Farm LLC and Three Chimneys Farm LLC.
Seven two-year-old hopefuls are set to clash in the seven-furlong turf Ontario Racing Stakes, the first added-money feature on Sunday's card (race three).
Souper Classy, an Ontario-bred son of Souper Speedy won his debut on August 27 at Woodbine. Michael De Paulo trains the dark bay for owner Mickey Demers.
Credit River will make his debut in the Ontario Racing, Wesley Ward trainee Amsden looks to go two-for-two to start his career, and Quick Tempo heads north off a strong curtain-raising effort at Arlington on August 20, winning a 4 ½-furlong dash over the main track.
Old Chestnut won the inaugural running of the race last year, notching a 3 ¾-length triumph in a time of :56.85 on the Inner Turf.
First post for Saturday's 12-race card is 1:10 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.
FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 $125,000 SINGSPIEL
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Say the Word – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Gail Cox
2 – Sir Sahib – Daisuke Fukumoto – Kevin Attard
3 – Admiralty Pier – David Moran – Barbara Minshall
4 – Standard Deviation – Justin Stein – Graham Motion
5 – Skywire – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
6 – Woodbridge – Sahin Civaci – Mike Keogh
7 – Tiz a Slam – Steven Bahen – Roger Attfield
8 – Count Again – Luis Contreras – Gail Cox
9 – Nakamura – Kazushi Kimura – Graham Motion
10 – Jungle Fighter – Patrick Husbands – Michael Doyle
FIELD FOR THE $135,000 WOODBINE CARES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Silent Mamba – Jeffery Alderson – Harold Ladouceur
2 – Dirty Dangle – Sheena Ryan – Ralph Biamonte
3 – Forest Drift – Rafael Hernandez – Robert Tiller
4 – Chatelet – Kazushi Kimura – Arnaud Delacour
5 – Souper Munnings – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
6 – Rocket Reload – Justin Stein – Michael De Paulo
7 – Illegal Smile – Luis Contreras – Wesley Ward
FIELD FOR THE $135,000 ONTARIO RACING
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Souper Classy – David Moran – Michael De Paulo
2 – Credit River – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Breeda Hayes
3 – Sky's Not Falling – Luis Contreras – Michael Trombetta
4 – Amsden – Justin Stein – Wesley Ward
5 – Ready to Repeat – Kazushi Kimura – Gail Cox
6 – Too Legit – Daisuke Fukumoto – Barbara Minshall
7 – Quick Tempo – Rafael Hernandez – Christopher Davis
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