Artie's Storm, Special Forces to Make Debuts in Eclipse

Mighty Heart , Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, and Artie's Storm , are set to face off, meeting in the CA$175,000 Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes (G2) May 29 at Woodbine.

A 1 1/16-mile main track event for 4-year-olds and upwards, the Eclipse has attracted a field of six, a group that includes multiple graded stakes winners Mighty Heart and Special Forces  and multiple stakes winner Artie's Storm, along with 2021 Queen's Plate and Breeders' Stakes runner-up Riptide Rock .

Campaigned by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame conditioner Josie Carroll for owner/breeder Larry Cordes, Mighty Heart took last year's Autumn Stakes (G2) and Dominion Day Stakes (G3) over the Toronto Tapeta oval, along with the Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs on the dirt. The Ontario-bred also ran second in the West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) at Mountaineer Racetrack Casino and Resort and concluded his season by heading to Gulfstream Park, where he was third in the Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3).

This year, Mighty Heart—son of Dramedy  out of Emma's Bullseye , by City Place—finished sixth in his 5-year-old debut, the Ben Ali Stakes (G3) April 23 at Keeneland.

"I'm really glad to have him home," said Carroll. "We didn't have a great effort at Keeneland, but in retrospect, he wasn't overly fond of the surface he was training on over the winter, and probably was not as tight as he should have been. I regret maybe running him a little bit, but I really thought he was ready. After the race, he was just very tired. So, we got a couple of really good works into him now, and he's just tearing the place down. We're really excited to run him."

The bay sports a record of 6-2-3 from 17 career starts along with earnings of $1,077,265. 

Trained and owned by Paul Buttigieg, Artie's Storm, a 4-year-old son of We Miss Artie  out of Tiz Stormy Now , by Tiz Now, arrives at his latest engagement riding a two-race win streak, including a campaign-concluding victory in the Steady Growth Stakes Dec. 4. One race earlier, the dark bay, bred in Ontario by Sunrise Farm, notched a half-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Lake Ontario Stakes.

David Moran, who has been aboard for all 10 of the gelding's starts, once again gets the call. 

"He's doing great," said Moran. "It's going to be a tough race, but he's been training fantastic. He seems to be really happy in himself, really mature and working lights out. He's amazing right now." 

Special Forces makes his 7-year-old debut for trainer Kevin Attard and owner Soli Mehta and Partner. He won the Durham Cup Stakes (G3) last year. Justin Stein rides from post 1.

Grade 3 winner Frosted Over  and Seventyseven Stone  complete the field.

Entries: Stella Artois Eclipse S. (G2)

Woodbine, Sunday, May 29, 2022, Race 7

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $175,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:27 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Special Forces (KY)	Justin Stein	122	Kevin Attard	4/1
2	2Frosted Over (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	122	Mark E. Casse	2/1
3	3Mighty Heart (ON)	Patrick Husbands	124	Josie Carroll	9/5
4	4Riptide Rock (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	118	Sid C. Attard	9/2
5	5Artie's Storm (ON)	David Moran	120	Paul M. Buttigieg	8/1
6	6Seventyseven Stone (FL)	Omar Moreno	118	Paul D. Lepiane	20/1