A look at some of this weekend’s notes, quotes, stats, storylines and more from Woodbine and Woodbine Mohawk Park, including an intriguing inner turf race to conclude Saturday’s card, some Sunday Woodbine stakes sizzle and a bang-up Pop Series final on Saturday night’s 12-race card at Mohawk. Running down a dream King d’Oro, the 4-1 third choice in the morning line for Saturday’s 11th race at Woodbine, will be looking for a lively opening pace to take aim at, according to trainer Don MacRae. “King d’Oro was claimed down at Gulfstream with the intention of bringing him up here for a summer campaign. “We tried last time on the synthetic and he was compromised a bit by a speed-favouring track, in which he still closed into solid enough. Think this race should have some pace to run at and we are expecting him to be running on end.” Goal-oriented gelding Poulin in O T, trained, owned and co-bred by Steve Owens, will look to net another stakes score when she goes postward in Sunday’s Pink Lloyd Stakes. The Pink Lloyd will mark Poulin in O T’s 12th stakes appearance. “We have been waiting for this one,” said Owens. “We probably could have run him in other races that were offered here, but this race was our goal all along. “He puts a lot of energy into his actual works. His last three works are all well within his scope. He’s a very steady presence in the mornings, where he goes out and is focused and determined. We’re very happy with the last three works.” Big presence Little Teddy, unbeaten in her past three starts, goes after her fourth stakes success in Sunday’s $100,000 Ballade, at Woodbine. “I was prepping her for the Royal North Stakes (G2T) to be honest with you,” said trainer Santino Di Paola, of the 7 ½-furlong race won by Shifty on June 27. “So, I was pushing on her fitness level pretty hard, and she actually thrived with the extra work. “Two weeks out, we had our big breeze, and I think she went :58:40, 1:11:1 on the gallop out with Austin [jockey, Adams] on by herself. It was impressive to watch and even more impressive that it took nothing out of her. Her last work was just a happy gallop like she normally does coming into these races.” 10 chasing one goal Ten pacers pursue top prize in the wide open $30,000 Pop Up final in Saturday night’s final dash. Garnet Barnsdale is going with (#1) Dalton Shard N as his top pick. “Went down to defeat for the first time in North America, but he got a trip that night where he spent only about one eighth of a mile racing along the pylons. He was parked for the other seven eighths of a mile, and he managed to eventually work his way to the front turning for home. He looked like a winner until deep stretch where the rival that was following him peeled off his cover and edged past him in deep stretch. I’ll give him a slight edge in this Pop Up series final that appears to have a few live options.” Share This:Share
