Absence of archrival makes Melmich formidable in Durham Cup

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – With archrival Are You Kidding Me sidelined due to a quarter crack, Melmich should have an easier time in Saturday’s Grade 3, $125,000 Durham Cup Stakes at Woodbine. Melmich takes a four-race win streak into the nine-furlong route for 3-year-olds and up, and he faces only four rivals.

Melmich lost the Sovereign Award for Canadian champion older male to Are You Kidding Me in 2016, and he’s a leading candidate for divisional honors this year. During the summer, he defeated Are You Kidding Me in both the Grade 3 Dominion Day and the Grade 3 Seagram Cup, which he won by a nose after getting bumped at the break.

Melmich captured the restricted Elgin Stakes for the third year in a row Aug. 30. He was hard-pressed to beat a modest field that day, and his Beyer Speed Figure of 90 was his lowest in a middle-distance race since his 2015 season opener.

Trainer Kevin Attard didn’t disagree with the notion that the stretch-running Melmich had to work harder than anticipated to win the Elgin.

“It definitely looked that way,” Attard said. “Some horses only win by what they need to win by. Maybe he doesn’t want to put out more than he has to. With his style of running, he’s had to overcome slow paces. In the Elgin, they went awfully slow the first part of the race, and he had to overcome it.”

The Durham Cup is the headliner on a 10-race card that also includes the $100,000 La Lorgnette Stakes.

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KEY CONTENDERS

Melmich, by Wilko

Last 3 Beyers: 90-97-98

◗ Attard said the Durham Cup distance of 1 1/8 miles is more suitable for the 6-year-old than the 1 1/16 miles of his last two races.

“Anything at a mile and an eighth and beyond is what” he prefers, Attard said.

Keen Gizmo, by Giant Gizmo

Last 3 Beyers: 83-92-89

◗ After taking the restricted Steady Growth Stakes off a six-month break May 22, he finished sixth after another layoff in the Aug. 13 Seagram Cup.

Leavem in Malibu, by Malibu Moon

Last 3 Beyers: 88-86-81

◗ He was competitive in the 2016 Canadian Triple Crown before going to the bench. After returning from the sidelines in the summer, he finished third and then second in back-to-back second-level optional claimers.

La Lorgnette Stakes

Trainer Roger Attfield didn’t get to run Are You Kidding Me in the Durham Cup, but he could win the La Lorgnette Stakes for 3-year-old fillies with Ghostly Presence, who dusted older allowance types in her much-improved last race.

Other win candidates among the eight-horse field in the 1 1/16-mile race are Enthrall, Let It Ride Mom, My Arch Enemy, and Silhouette.