Souper Tapit to Stretch Out in Dominion Day Stakes

One start after winning the 1 1/16-mile Eclipse Stakes (G2), Live Oak Plantation homebred Souper Tapit will return to the Woodbine all-weather track but stretch out to 1 1/4 miles June 30 for the $125,000 Dominion Day Stakes (G3).

After Souper Tapit won an allowance optional claiming race in December at Gulfstream Park—closing a stretch in which he finished second or third in seven consecutive races—the son of Tapit  has put together his most successful season.

Trained by Mark Casse, Souper Tapit opened his 5-year-old campaign with a victory in the Jan. 19 Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes over other Florida-breds at Gulfstream, and he edged Mr Ritz in the May 20 Eclipse to earn his first graded stakes win since 2017.

That other graded stakes win came in Souper Tapit's only other try on an all-weather surface, the Marine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine. Sunday he'll go for his third win in as many starts on the Woodbine Tapeta track.

"We think he really wants a mile and a quarter, a mile and a half," said Casse, who is seeking his fourth Dominion Day victory. "I've always thought he was a really good horse, but he gets in his own way and sometimes he gets himself in trouble. He's just a hit-and-miss horse. You just never know what you're going to get with him. If things go his way, he's extremely tough."

Souper Tapit isn't the only horse in the expected field of six entered off a graded stakes win on the track, although for veteran Pumpkin Rumble, it's been a longer wait. The son of English Channel  is scheduled to make his 8-year-old debut Sunday after closing 2018 with a half-length victory in the Valedictory Stakes (G3). Along with Special Forces, he is part of a formidable duo for trainer Kevin Attard.

Al and Bill Ulwelling's Pumpkin Rumble was claimed for $30,000 after his second lifetime start at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on March 5, 2014, and joined Attard's Woodbine stable in the spring of 2017. He capped a three-race win streak on the Woodbine all-weather surface last year with his Valedictory score at 1 3/4 miles, improving his record there to 4-3-0 from nine starts.

"Obviously, going a mile and a quarter off the layoff, it's a big challenge," Attard said. "Ideally, we would have liked to have had a start beforehand, but he suffered a setback earlier in the spring.

"He's training really well; we've got a couple of good works into him. I think he's up to the task. Hopefully, he's tight enough. As a synthetic horse, he's been so good."

Special Forces, claimed for $40,000 at Woodbine last fall, was victorious in his first two starts for his new connections and picked up where he left off with a decisive victory at 1 1/16 miles May 18. This will be his first start beyond 1 1/8 miles on a main track.

"What can you say?" said Attard, who also owns Special Forces in partnership with Soli Mehta. "He's 3-for-3 on the synthetic now. Obviously, he's got to go a mile and a quarter now, but he seems to be a horse that can turn off early, so I don't see the distance being a problem.

"His first race off the winter layoff was stellar, and he's worked really well in the interim. We're excited. I think he's a very special horse."

Trainer Roger Attfield has entered two: Are You Kidding Me and Final Copy.

Are You Kidding Me, the senior member of the field at age 9, has finished third in each of the past two editions of the Dominion Day. An eight-time stakes winner, he continues to display sharp form at Woodbine, including a last-out second-place finish at 1 1/8 miles.

"He's coming into the race fine," Attfield said. "He might have lost a little bit of the zip that he had, but he's still running creditably. He's sound and well. He galloped out really, really strongly the other day when he ran. He deserves a shot at this."

Canada's champion older male in 2015 and 2016, Are You Kidding Me races for Mike Riordan, Ron Kirk, and John Bates.

Final Copy, a Chiefswood Stable homebred, will be making his first start on a synthetic surface and is coming off his second 1 1/4-mile turf win. 

"He's worked creditably on the synthetic, and that was my reasoning," said Attfield. "I said, 'Let's give him a go at it.'"

Entries: Dominion Day S. (G3)

Woodbine, Sunday, June 30, 2019, Race 8

• Grade III
• 1 1/4m
• All Weather Track
• $125,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:55 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Souper Tapit (FL)	Patrick Husbands	123	Mark E. Casse	2/1
2	2Final Copy (ON)	Steven Ronald Bahen	117	Roger L. Attfield	6/1
3	3Aheadbyacentury (ON)	Luis Contreras	117	John A. Ross	20/1
4	4Special Forces (KY)	Alan Garcia	117	Kevin Attard	9/2
5	5Pumpkin Rumble (PA)	Eurico Rosa Da Silva	121	Kevin Attard	5/2
6	6Are You Kidding Me (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	121	Roger L. Attfield	3/1