Armistice Day Returns to Tapeta for Durham Cup

After finding the competition in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) just out of reach, Armistice Day, owned by Bruce Lunsford and Lansdon Robbins, faces an easier cast of six rivals Oct. 11 in the CA$125,000 Durham Cup Stakes (G3) at Woodbine. 

A 1 1/16-mile test on Tapeta for 3-year-olds and up, the Durham Cup, first run in 1906, goes as race 9 of 11. 

Bred in Kentucky by Glenvale Stud, 4-year-old Armistice Day, a son of Declaration of War, will chase his second stakes score and first in a graded stakes. Campaigned by multiple graded stakes-winning trainer Barbara Minshall, Armistice Day, who took last year's Toronto Cup, has compiled a 3-2-2 record from 15 starts. 

He was fifth in his most recent outing, the Sept. 19 Woodbine Mile, his second consecutive turf engagement. Three starts ago, the chestnut drove clear in the stretch to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a 1 1/16-mile main-track allowance at Woodbine that had been originally scheduled for turf.  

"He's doing really good," Minshall said. "He ran a good race in the Mile and wasn't beaten far. He's come out of it in good order. I think he handles the Tapeta track as good as any, so we'll give it a shot. He really likes (Tapeta). He's always trained well on it, right from when I had him early as a 2-year-old. He's always trained well on it. We've got him good to go, and hopefully it will be a good race for him." 

Armistice Day impressed at 2 when he won at first asking in July 2018 and was second next time out in the Victoria Stakes.  

The biggest win of his career came in the Toronto Cup. After tracking the leader, Armistice Day seized control on the turn and kicked clear in the stretch to win in 1:46.96 over 1 1/8 miles. 

Minshall, who has 58 stakes wins, 17 of them graded, is hoping the gelding can deliver another piece of hardware to his connections. 

"He's a pretty straightforward horse," Minshall said. "He tries every time he runs. He's always going forward, and he's a good-feeling horse. I think he's just a real honest horse. He always gives his best, and you can't knock that in any horse. I expect a good race from him. You always have to have racing luck on your side, but I expect him to run a good race."  

Armistice Day will face stakes-placed Inventing Blame, Pioneer Man, Roaring Forties, multiple stakes-placed Salute With Honor, graded stakes winner Skywire, and supplemented Timeskip.  

Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield has won a record six Durham Cups, most recently with Are You Kidding Me in 2016. He will send out the Charles Fipke homebred Inventing Blame, a 4-year-old son of Blame . 

Entries: Durham Cup S. (G3)

Woodbine, Sunday, October 11, 2020, Race 9

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:42 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Skywire (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	122	Mark E. Casse	5/2
2	2Inventing Blame (KY)	Daisuke Fukumoto	120	Roger L. Attfield	20/1
3	3Salute With Honor (FL)	Patrick Husbands	121	Mark E. Casse	3/1
4	4Pioneer Man (KY)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	121	Mark E. Casse	8/1
5	5Roaring Forties (FL)	Justin Stein	120	Daniel J. Vella	6/1
6	6Timeskip (ON)	Leo Salles	121	Renee D. Kierans	12/1
7	7Armistice Day (KY)	David Moran	121	Barbara J. Minshall	2/1