Rivals Return at Woodbine for Connaught Cup

Stacked Deck and Passion for Action will renew their intriguing and relatively new rivalry June 5 in the $200,000 Connaught Cup (Can-IIT), but the race provides a new wrinkle.

In their past two matchups the pair has traded victories sprinting over the synthetic main track at Woodbine, but Sunday, they'll take to the turf for the seven-furlong Connaught Cup.

Last time out, Benjamin Hutzel's Passion for Action bested Stacked Deck by a length in the Vigil (Can-III) May 7.

MITCHELL: Passion for Action Takes Vigil Stakes

The Vigil, however, was Stacked Deck's first start of 2016. Bruce Lunsford's homebred closed out 2015 with a victory in the Kennedy Road (Can-II), 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Passion for Action, in November. The First Samurai   gelding earned the Sovereign Award as champion sprinter in 2015 with four victories last year, including the Kennedy Road and the Bold Venture (Can-III).

That's not to say both haven't had success sprinting on turf. Each has two wins on the Woodbine grass, and both are turf stakes winners, albeit relatively far back in their careers.

Graded stakes winners Bye Bye Bernie and Dimension, along with multiple stakes winner Glenville Gardens, complete the field.