Shirl's Speight, Lucky Curlin Prominent in Marine

Three-year-olds command the stakes spotlight at Woodbine July 25 with the $125,000 Marine Stakes (G3) for males and $125,000 Selene Stakes (G3), both on the track's Tapeta surface. 

A key prep for the Sept. 12 Queen's Plate Stakes, the 1 1/16-mile Marine has attracted some noteworthy Canada-breds, as well as talented Kentucky-breds in Lucky Curlin and Shirl's Speight who have won races at the meet. The former captured an allowance, and the latter was an eye-opening first-out maiden winner by eight lengths on turf.

Queen's Plate eligibles Dotted Line, Glorious Tribute, and Perfect Revenge are entered in the Marine.

John Oxley's homebred Lucky Curlin chases his second consecutive win after a sharp score June 14 when racing seven furlongs at Woodbine. The Mark Casse trainee—in his ninth start and first test on the Toronto-oval Tapeta—rallied from fifth at the stretch call to win by a length under Kazushi Kimura. It was the second win for the chestnut son of Curlin  who broke his maiden in December at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. 

"He's a horse that's disappointed me, to be honest," Casse said. "We were always thinking, 'If he ever gets his act together.' He was a horse early on that we thought was as good as Enforceable. And, of course, Enforceable is going to the Kentucky Derby (G1). 

"His last race, from a Beyer standpoint, was very good. I wasn't surprised, but it was pleasant. He's been extremely frustrating for us because we've had high hopes for him. There are horses whose abilities are limited. He hasn't been that way. So we'll see how he handles two turns. I'm still not positive that he isn't a come-from-behind sprinter. But we're going to give it a try." 

Casse's other Marine starter is Untitled, a Florida-bred son of Khozan  owned by Gary Barber and Michael Sebastian. The bay colt is 2-3-0 in seven starts and in his first Woodbine appearance June 13 ran second to Newstome in the Woodstock Stakes.

"He's kind of a mystery horse," said Casse, who won the 2017 Marine with Souper Tapit. "He won very impressively first time out, and he's run some good races."

The Selene, also at 1 1/16 miles, is an important fixture for 3-year-olds ahead of the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser Aug. 15.

Queen's Plate prospects Merveilleux and Owlette are among the Selene notables, though favoritism might go to

Ten Broeck Farm's Owlette, a bay daughter of Frac Daddy  who has excelled in sprints but was beaten in her only route attempt.

The Wesley Ward trainee took last year's Shady Well Stakes and Victorian Queen Stakes and then added another stakes win to her record in the Star Shoot Stakes June 13. She now sheds blinkers on the stretchout from six furlongs.

Merveilleux, owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, seeks her first added-money win in what will be her seventh start.

The daughter of Paynter  lost by a neck to Cool Shadows in last year's Princess Elizabeth Stakes and by a head to Curlin's Voyage in the Ontario Lassie Stakes.

Owlette and Merveilleux will face five other rivals, including the Casse trio of American Tap, Diamond Sparkles, and Two Sixty.

Diamond Sparkles, a Kentucky-bred daughter of War Front , made her North American debut in last year's Natalma Stakes (G1T), finishing fourth to Abscond. The bay's most recent race, seven furlongs on the Woodbine main track June 13, yielded a second-place finish.

"She came over from Europe, ran pretty good in the Natalma, and then struggled a little bit through the winter," Casse said of the filly owned by Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. "I thought her last race was good, and she's training well. We're going to give her a shot." 

American Tap, bred by Tall Oaks Farm, is also owned by Barber.

Casse and Barber teamed to take the past two runnings of the Selene. Miss Mo Mentum won in 2018, while Power Gal was victorious last year. 

Entries: Marine S. (G3)

Woodbine, Saturday, July 25, 2020, Race 3

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 3 yo
• 2:03 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Lucky Curlin (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	117	Mark E. Casse	3/1
2	2Glorious Tribute (ON)	Leo Salles	117	Barbara J. Minshall	12/1
3	3Lookinatamiracle (KY)	Patrick Husbands	117	Sandra Dominguez	6/1
4	4Dotted Line (ON)	Justin Stein	121	Sid C. Attard	8/1
5	5Perfect Revenge (ON)	Daisuke Fukumoto	117	John Charalambous	20/1
6	6Untitled (FL)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	117	Mark E. Casse	9/2
7	7Shirl's Speight (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	117	Roger L. Attfield	6/5

Entries: Selene S. (G3)

Woodbine, Saturday, July 25, 2020, Race 8

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 4:53 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Owlette (ON)	Luis Contreras	117	Wesley A. Ward	9/5
2	2Saratoga Vision (KY)	Simon P. Husbands	117	Alexander P. Patykewich	30/1
3	3Livin in the Six (ON)	Justin Stein	117	Michael P. De Paulo	15/1
4	4Diamond Sparkles (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	117	Mark E. Casse	6/1
5	5American Tap (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	117	Mark E. Casse	7/2
6	6Two Sixty (FL)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	121	Mark E. Casse	12/1
7	7Merveilleux (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	119	Kevin Attard	8/5