The 68th Jacques Cartier Stakes (G3) headlines a strong card of racing at Woodbine on Sunday, May 15 and there are 10 older male sprinters set to go 6 furlongs in the $150,000 race.
The top four finishers from the 5 1/2 furlong Thorncliffe Stakes on April 17 are back including the easy winner of that race, ARZAK, a Kentucky-bred, Maryland-based colt who posted a 99 Beyer Figure (according to Daily Racing Form). Arzak is 2-for-2 at Woodbine and a four-time career winner from 12 starts for owner Sonata Stable and trainer Mike Trombetta. Kazushi Kimura rides.
It will take quite a run by Arzak’s rivals to topple the 4-year-old, but the 2021 winner of the Jacques Cartier, SOUPER STONEHENGE, returns from a winter layoff for the Mark Casse barn. Souper Stonehenge is one of three entered in the race by Casse along with GRETZKY THE GREAT, the Champion 2-year-old in Canada two years ago and TAP IT TO WIN.
Souper Stonehenge won two straight graded sprints last summer at Woodbine and he is 9-4-3-0 at the Toronto track. Patrick Husbands rides. Gretzky the Great won the Greenwood Stakes on turf last summer as a 3-year-old and he was fourth in a turf sprint in March in Florida. Tap It to Win comes off a near miss in the fast Sprint Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on March 27 with a 96 Beyer Figure.
The most fascinating horse in the race is the lightly-raced STRIKER, an unbeaten 4-year-old grey colt by War Front owned by LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Josie Carroll. Strike won his career debut in November with a 95 Beyer Figure and then won an allowance race in December with an 82 Beyer. He has been training all winter in Florida and at Keeneland and has done well in workouts against his stakes-winning stablemate Boardroom.
FIELD FOR THE JACQUES CARTIER
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – White Flag – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Roger Attfield
2 – Secret Reserve – Leo Salles – Michael Mattine
3 – Gretzky the Great – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse
4 – Striker – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
5 – Tap It to Win – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
6 – Arzak – Kazushi Kimura – Michael Trombetta
7 – Silent Poet – Justin Stein – Nicholas Gonzalez
8 – Red River Rebel – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard
9 – Lenny K – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard
10 – Souper Stonehenge – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
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