Kehoe Beach Takes on Males in Connaught Cup

Wesley Ward has shown in the past that he isn't afraid to run a filly against males. To Ward's credit, the sometimes daring move has resulted in a great deal of success for the trainer with graded wins on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Ward will send out the talented Kehoe Beach  to tango with the boys for the first time in nine starts in the July 20 CA$175,000 Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine.

The seven-furlong dash of the Connaught Cup should fit right in the wheelhouse of Thomas Bachman's Kehoe Beach. Although the 4-year-old daughter of Omaha Beach   has carried her speed to wins around two turns, including in the 1 1/16-mile Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs last fall, she has been caught twice in the final yards before the wire in her only two races this year. In both the Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland and the Just a Game Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course, in which she was third and fourth, respectively, Kehoe Beach paved the way for most of the journey, but couldn't quite pull off the victory. 

John Velazquez, who piloted Kehoe Beach to two wins in her 3-year-old season, makes the trip northward to ride the filly in her showdown against the males.

Due to her sex, Kehoe Beach will receive a weight allowance Sunday. She'll tote 119 pounds versus the 124 pounds assigned to last year's Connaught Cup winner, Cruden Bay . 

Michael Lay's Cruden Bay tops the local contenders Sunday. The 7-year-old gelding, however, will make his first start off the bench in the Connaught Cup. After taking the 2024 edition by a late-rallying neck, Cruden Bay has been away from the races since finishing fifth in the Aug. 23 King Edward Stakes (G2T).

Northern Invader  looks to give red-hot United States conditioner Cherie DeVaux her first win of the Woodbine meet Sunday. The consistent son of Collected   exits a front-running score in a one-mile turf allowance optional claimer May 29 at Churchill. A black-type winner as a 3-year-old and graded stakes-placed at 4 and 5, the gelding will be looking to add a first graded victory to his résumé.

Woodbine local Ready for Shirl takes on U.S. shippers in Canadian Stakes

Woodbine-based Ready for Shirl  enters Sunday's CA$200,000 Canadian Stakes (G2T) off a career-best Equibase Speed Figure-earning performance when finishing a gallant runner-up to Ocean Club  in last month's Nassau Stakes (G2T). 

Closing furiously under returning rider Emma Jayne-Wilson, Ready for Shirl was beaten three-quarters of a length in the Nassau in a sharp final time of 1:33.62 for the mile. Ready for Shirl netted a 106 ESF for her game effort. 

Trained by Roger Attfield, the exceptionally well-bred Ready for Shirl, a More Than Ready half sibling to grade 1 winner Shirl's Speight  , is yet to win a stakes race for owner/breeder Charles Fipke. 

The U.S. shippers in the field for the Canadian, a 1 1/8-mile test for fillies and mares on the turf, include South African group 1 winner Gimme a Nother  for trainer Graham Motion, multiple graded stakes-placed Venencia  for Chad Brown, and the Wesley Ward-trained Scarlet Poppy .