ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Grade 1 turf stakes winner Johnny Bear will return to the main track in Friday’s $74,500 allowance headliner at Woodbine. The race, at 1 5/8 miles, is a prep for the Grade 3 Valedictory Stakes on closing day, Sunday, Dec. 10. A 6-year-old-trained by Ashlee Brnjas, Johnny Bear didn’t accomplish much until last winter at Tampa, where he found the mark in two optional claimers. He cleared the second allowance condition in a nine-furlong optional event here June 24, and subsequently won the restricted Halton Stakes over 12 furlongs. Johnny Bear ran the race of his life two back Sept. 16 in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf, catching the heavily favored European shipper Hawkbill on the wire to win after an ideal stalking trip under Luis Contreras. Most recently in the Grade 1 Canadian International, Johnny Bear spun his wheels over soft ground and ended up 10th and last. A son of English Channel, Johnny Bear was the $275,000 sale topper at the 2012 Canadian premier yearling sale. Brnjas said he’s the consummate late bloomer. “The English Channels are not early comers,” Brnjas said. “He was a bit of a disappointment, but he’s proved that his breeding is exactly the way he’s supposed to be doing.” Nine others were entered in the 13-furlong open allowance, which goes as race 8 on a solid 10-race card. KEY CONTENDERS Johnny Bear, by English Channel Last 3 Beyers: 55-97-93 ◗ How does he stack up on the Tapeta? From 10 starts on synthetics, he has a record of 2-2-2, which includes a first-level allowance score on Polytrack in 2015. The best of his two Tapeta races was a second to champion Are You Kidding Me in an open allowance last April, for which he got a 93 Beyer. Bangkok, by Street Hero Last 3 Beyers: 65-89-79 ◗ Last year’s Valedictory victor, he has run erratically this year. He came up empty last time after helping to set a slow pace over a speed-favoring track in an open allowance. Pumpkin Rumble, by English Channel Last 3 Beyers: 82-85-90 ◗ He ran third in three straight graded turf stakes prior to finishing seventh in the Northern Dancer, and ended a long drought when winning a 12-furlong allowance on the Tapeta on Oct. 13. Major Production, by Strut the Stage Last 3 Beyers: 80-84-80 ◗ Woodbine’s best-known stayer, he prevailed in a 2 1/4-mile starter allowance two back on the Tapeta, and then doubled up over that same distance in an optional starter, which was billed as the final leg of the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series.