Florida Won Spotted for Action in Toronto Cup
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Live Oak Plantation's Florida Won, a $385,000 yearling trained by Mark Casse, seeks his first stakes win against an expected five rivals in the $125,000 Toronto Cup Stakes at Woodbine July 20 on the turf.
Florida Won closed well to finish third in the July 5 Charlie Barley Stakes, beaten by one length, and comes back quickly from his stakes debut for the Toronto Cup. All six starters were assigned 115 pounds.
The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds around one turn is the sixth on Sunday's Woodbine card with an approximate post time of 3:33 p.m. EDT. Two races later on the program is the $125,000 Duchess Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs on Polytrack.
Big things have been expected from Florida Won, who has one win, a second, and two thirds from four starts this year. The chestnut colt graduated going one mile on the Churchill Downs lawn May 11, coming from well off the pace in the five path through the lane to win by 1 1/4 lengths going away. Following a second in an entry-level allowance at seven furlongs on the Woodbine turf June 14, he turned in another solid effort in the one-mile Charlie Barley.
The Birdstone colt was bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds out of the winning Grand Slam mare Grand Portege. His dam, out of 2011 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Oatsee, is a half sister to three graded stakes winners including Preakness (gr. I) victor Shackleford and Alabama (gr. I) winner Lady Joanne. Gainesway as agent consigned Florida Won at the 2012 Keeneland September Yearling sale, where he was purchased by Live Oak Plantation.
Patrick Husbands will be aboard Florida Won for the first time from post 5, replacing Eurico Rosa da Silva, who winds up on Freitag.
Freitag, from the dangerous Mark Frostad barn for owner Earle I. Mack, has won three of his past four starts, all at Woodbine. He makes his stakes bow off a 4 1/4-length tally in an allowance for Canadian-breds on the Polytrack June 15.
Sly Tom, a $210,000 2-year-old purchase owned by Jim and Susan Hill and trained by Brian Lynch, ran sixth in the Charlie Barley after taking back in traffic. The Kitten's Joy colt was third behind Florida Won in the June 14 allowance and will be seeking his first win in four starts this year. David Moran has the call.
A second Lynch trainee, Terry Hamilton' Heart to Heart, looks to bounce back after finishing eighth in the Queen's Plate July 6. In his only prior start on turf, the son of English Channel romped to a 6 1/4-length allowance victory over subsequent Iowa Derby (gr. III) winner Jessica's Star April 9. A good effort here could land the Ontario-bred a starting berth in Woodbine's Breeders Stakes, the final jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown at 1 1/2 miles on grass Aug. 17. Luis Contreras takes over on the bay colt.
Pumpkin Rumble and Lafontaine both enter their stakes debuts off victories.
[raceEntries date="7/20/2014" country="CAN" trackid="WO" racenumber="6"]