Two-Year-Olds Showcased Oct. 30 in Stakes at Woodbine

Fourteen hopefuls, including Dan Vella's charge The Minkster , square off in the CA$250,000 Coronation Futurity, which headlines a trio of stakes Oct. 30 at Woodbine.

The 1 1/8-mile Tapeta event for Canadian-foaled 2-year-olds is a significant race on the road to the 163rd running of the Queen's Plate, the first jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The CA$125,000 Display Stakes, for 2-year-olds, and the CA$125,000 Glorious Song Stakes, for 2-year-year-old fillies, will go as races three and nine, respectively. Both are seven furlongs on the Tapeta.

The Mindster, a bay son of English Channel  , impressed in his career bow on October 2, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Under David Moran, who will be in the irons again on Saturday, he broke inward and bumped with a rival, but recovered to hold a slim lead along the backstretch. After forcing the pace from the rail on the turn, the colt took the lead in the stretch, widened his advantage down the lane and coasted home a 6 1/4-length winner.

"I was expecting a really big effort," said Vella. "You never quite expect it to be that easy. That win was even easier than it looks on paper. He was pretty much geared down and ran green, but he's a very talented horse. I don't know what the limit is on him. I don't know if there is one. When they came back, David said that he still had a lot of horse. He said, 'Wait until he figures out how to run in a straight line.'"

Bred by Dr. Tan Hyka and owned by Sea Glass Stables LLC, The Minkster will now tackle a series of firsts, including two turns and a run over the Tapeta.

"I've had a few English Channels and they are late to mature mentally and physically," Vella said. "He matured a lot from that race, but he has a lot more to do. Very few English Channels reach their peak in the first race of their life. They get nothing but better with age and racing. He's got some learning to do yet, but he can run."

Vella has similar high praise for his Glorious Song contender Marie MacKay .

The bay daughter of Noble Mission , bred and owned by Donald Whalen and Track West Racing, took the Shady Well Stakes Oct 8 at Woodbine.

"We're going to take a shot at the open company and seven-eightjs. She's a lovely filly. We don't know what her limits are. We haven't reached them. She has a load of talent. She's training super, so we're going to give it a go."

Other Coronation Futurity starters include a trio of Mark Casse starters, Fast Feet , God of Love , and Lament , and three Kevin Attard trainees, Hidden Honor , Kiddie Holiday , and Laraque , as well as Stronger Together , trained by Sid Attard.

Stronger Together, a chestnut son of Liam's Map  , has posted a pair of third-place finishes in his two career starts.

Bred by Jim Dandy Stable and owned by Spruce Park Stable, the colt's most recent effort came in the Cup & Saucer Stakes Oct. 10 at Woodbine.

"This is a very nice horse," said Attard. "I thought he has run two very good races. He's doing very well coming into this race and hopefully he builds off those first two starts and has a big race."

Entries: Display S.

Woodbine, Saturday, October 30, 2021, Race 3

• STK
• 7f
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 2 yo
• 1:55 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Ironstone (ON)	Ademar Santos	124	W. V. Armata	8/5
2	2Heat Merchant (KY)	Gary Boulanger	120	Ralph J. Biamonte	6/1
3	3Optigogo (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	120	Eoin G. Harty	12/1
4	4Souper Legacy (FL)	Patrick Husbands	120	Mark E. Casse	10/1
5	5Hicksy (KY)	Antonio A. Gallardo	120	Kevin Attard	2/1
6	6Twenty Four Mamba (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	120	Mark E. Casse	4/1
7	7Dancin in Da'nile (ON)	Shaun Bridgmohan	120	Gail Cox	20/1

Entries: Coronation Futurity

Woodbine, Saturday, October 30, 2021, Race 8

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• All Weather Track
• $250,000
• 2 yo
• 4:30 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1J M R Best of Turf (ON)	Christopher Husbands	122	Steven Chircop	20/1
2	2Brutality (ON)	Daisuke Fukumoto	122	Michael P. De Paulo	20/1
3	3Dancin in Da'nile (ON)	Shaun Bridgmohan	122	Gail Cox	20/1
4	4Shamateur (ON)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	122	Michael J. Doyle	20/1
5	5Laraque (ON)	Eswan Flores	122	Kevin Attard	20/1
6	6God of Love (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	122	Mark E. Casse	3/1
7	7Mad Mocha (ON)	Sahin Civaci	122	Stuart C. Simon	30/1
8	8Kiddie Holiday (ON)	Antonio A. Gallardo	122	Kevin Attard	15/1
9	9The Minkster (ON)	David Moran	122	Daniel J. Vella	7/2
10	10Fast Feet (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	122	Mark E. Casse	8/1
11	11Rum Cup (ON)	Patrick Husbands	122	Barbara J. Minshall	6/1
12	12Lament (ON)	Gary Boulanger	122	Mark E. Casse	10/1
13	13Stronger Together (ON)	Justin Stein	122	Sid C. Attard	10/1
14	14Hidden Honor (ON)	Luis Contreras	122	Kevin Attard	20/1

Entries: Glorious Song S.

Woodbine, Saturday, October 30, 2021, Race 9

• STK
• 7f
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 5:01 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Aubrieta (ON)	Patrick Husbands	120	Mark E. Casse	4/1
2	2Chocolateaddiction (KY)	Luis Contreras	120	Josie Carroll	8/1
3	3Elegant Joy (KY)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	120	Eoin G. Harty	6/1
4	4Howdyoumakeurmoney (NY)	Antonio A. Gallardo	120	Michael J. Trombetta	12/1
5	5Fulminate (FL)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	120	Mark E. Casse	10/1
6	6Fifth Anniversary (KY)	Keveh Nicholls	120	Ricky Griffith	12/1
7	7Skylerville (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	120	Jonathan Thomas	2/1
8	8Marie MacKay (ON)	Justin Stein	122	Daniel J. Vella	7/2