Melmich, Pumpkin Rumble Headline Valedictory

Two standout 7-year-olds, each with 41 starts to his name and seven starts this year, will face seven other starters in the 1 3/4-mile Valedictory Stakes (G3), one of two stakes on the Dec. 9 card at Woodbine.

Multiple graded stakes winner and fan favorite Melmich seeks his second Valedictory crown, and stablemate Pumpkin Rumble goes after his third straight score this season. Both are trained by Kevin Attard.

A son of Wilko, millionaire Melmich took the 2015 Valedictory for Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman, and he finished second in each of the past two runnings.

"Melmich is just a top-class horse," said Attard, who is third in the Woodbine trainer standings with 47 wins in 2018. "He's won this race before. This is his fourth go at it, which is a big testament to him in itself. Now he's back here trying to win it again."

This season, the Ontario-bred gelding has one win, four seconds, and a third from seven starts.

The chestnut, bred by Andy Stronach, heads into Sunday's race off a Nov. 10 win at the Toronto oval, a three-quarter-length score at 1 1/16 miles.

"He's doing great," offered Attard. "I think he looks fabulous. For this time of year, I don't think he's ever looked better. We're expecting a good race out of him."

In 41 starts, Melmich, a five-time graded stakes victor, has a record of 17-13-4.

Pumpkin Rumble, who has also gone postward 41 times, rolls into the Valedictory in top form, having won two consecutive races.

Owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, he turned heads with a top-notch performance Nov. 16 in a prep for the Valedictory.

Sent off as the 5-2 second choice, Pumpkin Rumble, who sports a record of 8-8-8, rumbled to an authoritative 6 3/4-length win at 1 5/8 miles on the Tapeta.

The Pennsylvania-bred has three wins and two seconds from seven starts this year.

"This is the way you want a horse coming into a race," praised Attard of the horse that finished fifth in last year's race. "His effort in the Valedictory prep was jaw-dropping. You're just hoping that he's got another race like that underneath his girth. He's doing well, too."

Entries: Valedictory S. (G3)

Woodbine, Sunday, December 09, 2018, Race 8

• Grade III
• 1 3/4m
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:38 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1English Illusion (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	119	Sylvain Pion	4/1
2	2Bowsprit (MD)	Kazushi Kimura	115	Milan Milosevic	15/1
3	3Bangkok (ON)	Gary Boulanger	115	W. Phillip Gracey	20/1
4	4Vintage Matters (NY)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	115	Michael W. Dickinson	6/1
5	5A. A. Azula's Arch (KY)	Omar Moreno	114	Kevin Attard	12/1
6	6Seeking Albert (ON)	Alan Garcia	115	Michael P. De Paulo	10/1
7	7Melmich (ON)	Luis Contreras	115	Kevin Attard	3/1
8	8Ethical Funds (ON)	David Moran	115	George Billers	20/1
9	9Pumpkin Rumble (PA)	Eurico Rosa Da Silva	115	Kevin Attard	9/5