Just Six to Contest Woodbine's Durham Cup

Canadian champion Alpha Bettor and grade I winner Boisterous top the six-horse field entered in the $150,000 Durham Cup (Can-III) over 1 1/8 miles at Woodbine Oct. 4.



A 6-year-old chestnut son of Alphabet Soup   trained by Dan Vella for Bulldog Racing, Alpha Bettor will be making his third start in the Durham Cup, having finished fourth to Delegation in the 2012 edition and second last year, 1 1/4 lengths behind James Street.

 

The winner of 10 of 31 career starts, the horse was voted champion older male in Canada last year on the basis of victories in two Canadian grade II stakes—the Autumn and Eclipse Stakes—and the grade III Seagram Cup. This year, Alpha Bettor has won two allowances and finished third in the Eclipse, but has been unplaced in two other graded stakes.



Gary Barber's Boisterous, winner of the Man o' War Satkes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park last year, will be making his first Woodbine start and second attempt on a synthetic surface as the 7-5 morning line pick. In his previous Polytrack effort, the 7-year-old horse by Distorted Humor   trained by Todd Pletcher finished second to Successful Dan in last year's Ben Ali Stakes (gr. III) at Keeneland.



A turf specialist, Boisterous has 12 wins, all on grass, from 34 starts (30 on turf), and earnings of $1,456,124. Last out, he was eighth, 3 1/2 lengths behind winner Wise Dan, in the Bernard Baruch Handicap (gr. IIT) at Saratoga Race Course.

 

Graded stakes winners Are You Kidding Me and His Race to Win and lightly raced Lukes Alley and Developer were also entered.

Sam-Son Farm's His Race to Win won this year's Seagram Cup, in which Alpha Bettor finished sixth, but was overmatched when eighth in the Ricoh Woodbine Miles (Can-I) last time out for trainer Malcolm Pierce. The 4-year-old Stormy Atlantic   colt is pegged at 2-1 Saturday.