Pumpkin Rumble Ready to Defend Valedictory Score

Jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva will have time to savor the final stakes start of his career in the 1 3/4-mile, CA$125,000 Valedictory Stakes (G3) Dec. 15 on the synthetic track at Woodbine, where he'll guide Al and Bill Ulwelling's Pumpkin Rumble.

Trained by Kevin Attard, Pumpkin Rumble and da Silva will look to win the race a second consecutive year after edging Melmich by a half-length in 2018. An 8-year-old English Channel  gelding, Pumpkin Rumble enters off a fifth-place finish in the Pattison Canadian International Stakes (G1T) Oct. 12 on the Woodbine turf. He'll return to the Woodbine synthetic surface for the first time since running third in the Dominion Day Stakes (G3) in late June.

"As for Eurico retiring and being on him for this race, it is a bit symbolic," Attard said. "The Valedictory being our final stakes of the season and a marathon race, if he could possibly win—how great a farewell and fitting end to a great career he's had."

With three straight long-distance wins under his belt, High Noon Rider will return to stakes-level competition Sunday. A veteran of 43 starts with $509,952 in earnings, High Noon Rider has raced in claiming and starter conditions this year, but the 7-year-old Distorted Humor gelding does boast a win in the 2015 Better Talk Now Stakes on the turf at Saratoga Race Course. 

GenStar Thoroughbreds' High Noon Rider enters off victories in a 1 3/16-mile turf race at Colonial Downs, a 1 1/2-mile turf race at Laurel Park, and, most recently, a 2 1/4-length win in a two-mile starter optional claiming race on the synthetic track at Presque Isle Downs. Trained by Brittany Russell, High Noon Rider set a track record in that Oct. 7 race in 3:28.64.

Sunday's Woodbine card features 192 horses entered to compete in 16 races, making it the biggest Thoroughbred card Woodbine has held in its recent history. Post-time for Sunday's card is 1:05 p.m. ET and the races will have an average field size of 12 horses. 



 

Entries: Valedictory S. (G3)

Woodbine, Sunday, December 15, 2019, Race 9

• Grade III
• 1 3/4m
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:08 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Itstartswithadrink (ON)	Keveh Nicholls	115	Renaldo Holder	50/1
2	2Changi (LA)	David Moran	113	Jeanne Marie Dolan	15/1
3	3High Noon Rider (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	115	Brittany Russell	12/1
4	4Auntie Katherine (ON)	Juan Crawford	112	Jennifer Davis	30/1
5	5Pumpkin Rumble (PA)	Eurico Rosa Da Silva	115	Kevin Attard	1/1
6	6Surprise Twist (KY)	Patrick Husbands	115	Arnaud Delacour	3/1
7	7Theregoesjojo (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	117	Michael P. De Paulo	10/1
8	8Fearsome (GB)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	117	Cyril Murphy	8/1
9	9Above All Names (KY)	Justin Stein	110	Blair A. Miller	30/1
10	10Ammunition (KY)	Angel Serpa	115	Brett T. Santangelo	50/1
11	11Sir Sahib (KY)	Luis Contreras	115	Kevin Attard	12/1