Attfield has stakes starters at four tracks Saturday

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Roger Attfield will have plenty of stakes on his plate this weekend, with five starters at four different locations on Saturday plus another pair slated to compete here at Woodbine on Sunday.

Attfield himself plans to be at Arlington Park to saddle Ave for the Grade 1, $750,000 Beverly D. and Perfect Shower for the Grade 3, $150,000 Stars N Stripes. The Beverly D. is a 1 3/16-mile turf stakes for fillies and mares and the Stars N Stripes a 1 3/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and upward.

Attfield also will have stakes starters in Southern California, with Perfect Shirl heading for the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks, and in upstate New York, with No Explaining slated for the Grade 2, $150,000 Lake Placid.

Chantal Sutherland will be flying down from Woodbine to pilot Perfect Shirl in the Del Mar Oaks, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies. The Lake George is a 1 1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares.

On the home front, Jacally will represent the Attfield stable in Saturday’s $125,000 Eternal Search, a 1 1/16-mile race for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies.

Jacally, who will be ridden by Eurico Rosa Da Silva, will break from post 1 in the field of eight and could rule a slight favorite.

On Sunday, Spice Route will do battle for the Attfield stable in the Grade 2, $250,000 Sky Classic, a 1 1/4-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and upward.

Attfield also planned to enter Rag and Bone in the $100,000 Belle Mahone, a 1 1/16-mile overnight stakes for fillies and mares. At least five must enter for the race to go.

Spice Route prepped for his Sky Classic engagement here Wednesday by breezing five furlongs in 1:01.60 over the training track turf course with exercise rider Melanie Giddings in the irons.

No Explaining also breezed five furlongs, going in 1:02 while in company with Perfect Shower. Sutherland was aboard No Explaining and Tyler Pizarro rode Perfect Shower.

Mekong Melody and Miss Keller also breezed over the turf training track with an eye towards Saratoga’s Aug. 28 Ballston Spa, a 1 1/6-mile turf race for fillies and mares which offers Grade 2 status and a purse of $200,000.

Patrick Husbands was aboard Mekong Melody, who was clocked in 1:02 for five furlongs, while Da Silva partnered Miss Keller, who went four furlongs in 50.00 seconds.

Society’s Chariman targets Halton Stakes

Society’s Chairman, also trained by Attfield, breezed four furlongs in 50.20 on the turf course.

The 7-year-old Society’s Chairman has not raced since finishing fifth in the Grade 2 King Edward over one mile of turf here June 27.

Society’s Chairman, who is pictured on the front page of this year’s Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society yearling sales catalog, is being aimed for the Halton Stakes here Sept. 6.

“I hope we can get him there,” said Attfield, who has sent out Society’s Chairman to capture the last two runnings of the one-mile turf stakes for products of the local yearling sale.

The Halton will be one of six $125,000 yearling sales stakes on the Labor Day program.

The selected session of the sale will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 7, beginning at 2 p.m. The open session begins at the same time on Saturday, Sept. 11, with both sales taking place at the Woodbine Sales pavilion.

Wooly Bear ships to Saratoga for Yaddo

Trainer Debbie England will be at Saratoga on Friday to send out Wooly Bear for the $100,000 Yaddo, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for New York-bred fillies and mares.

The 4-year-old Wooly Bear will be making her stakes debut in the Yaddo and drew the No. 3 post in the field of 11.

England’s most recent foray to Saratoga yielded a victory by Marlang in the 2008 running of the Grade 3 Saranac.

Two local horses in Northlands stakes

A couple of locally-based horses and horsepeople will be in action at Northands Park on Saturday with Kara’s Orientation set for the Canadian Derby and La Rocca for the Edmonton Distaff.

The Canadian Derby, a 1 3/8-mile race for 3-year-olds, offers Grade 3 status and a purse of $300,000.

Trained by Stephen Chircop, Kara’s Orientation was claimed for $20,000 here this spring and is coming off a second-place finish in the Toronto Cup, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds.

Emile Ramsammy, who won the 2008 Canadian Derby with Matt’s Broken Vow, will be journeying to Edmonton for the mount on Kara’s Orientation.

La Rocca, trained by Terry Jordan, will be seeking her second straight stakes win in the $75,000 Edmonton Distaff, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares.

Jim McAleney, who piloted La Rocca to victory in the 1 1/16-mile Ontario Matron here July 25, will travel to Alberta for the mount.

Chief Counsel recovering from minor injury

Jordan also had been pointing Chief Counsel for the Canadian Derby but scrapped that plan after the horse emerged from the Manitoba Derby in less than perfect order.

Purchased privately this spring by owner Peter Redekop, Chief Counsel had scored by a nose when debuting for his new connections in a first-level allowance for 3-year-olds and upward here June 20.

But in the Manitoba Derby, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds, Chief Counsel was a disappointment when finishing third as the odds-on choice.

“He pulled a muscle in his rear end, when he ran in Winnipeg,” said Jordan. “We just have to take it easy with him. If you start pushing it will get worse, not better.

“Hopefully in a couple of weeks, we’ll be fine.”