Artie cuts back, moves from turf to synthetic

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Artie will team up with Woodbine’s leading apprentice, Slade Jones, in Thursday’s Woodbine headliner, a six-furlong conditioned allowance with a $50,000 claiming option on Tapeta.

A 4-year-old trained by Marty Drexler, Artie won his first two starts last year on different surfaces by a combined 13 1/2 lengths, with Beyer Speed Figures of 89 and 92. He completed his 2021 campaign with a second and a third in a pair of conditioned allowances on Tapeta.

Artie returned from a 9 1/2-month layoff in a seven-furlong main turf sprint at this level Sept. 18. Sent off as the favorite, as usual, he broke slowly from the rail in an 11-horse field before closing for second behind Lucky Curlin.

Artie experimented around two turns most recently on the inner turf, finishing a dull sixth after trying to mount a wide bid. Drexler has good turf-to-synthetic stats, but his numbers with turnbacks are mediocre at best.

Artie drew post 3 in a seven-horse field and will carry 118 pounds, while all the others tote 123.

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Drexler also entered the classy 7-year-old Shekky Shebaz, who had a wide trip closing from seventh to second in a six-furlong grass sprint off a seven-month absence here Oct. 30.

Rafael Hernandez retains the mount on Shekky Shebaz, who won a Claiming Crown event and was third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint during his lucrative 4-year-old season.

Leading trainer Mark Casse sends out Ready for a Fight and Souper Dormy.

Over an inside-biased track, the aptly named Ready for a Fight battled four wide for the lead on the turn before putting away the other speed en route to finishing third against tougher in his local debut Oct. 23. That was his first outing since April 2021, when he failed to stay a mile on Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields, where he was previously in solid sprint form.

Souper Dormy has run hot and cold since establishing his base here in the spring. He cleared the second allowance condition easily with a 91 Beyer in a six-furlong turf event in July, after which he ran seventh in a restricted route stakes over the undulating course at Kentucky Downs.

Souper Dormy tried the Tapeta most recently Oct. 23, when he made a wide bid into contention in the stretch before fading to sixth behind Ready for a Fight.

Kazushi Kimura takes over on Ready for a Fight, and Patrick Husbands replaces the departed Declan Carroll on Souper Dormy.

Cash Dividend is coming off an improved runner-up placing where he benefited from an inside bias going seven-eighths.

Rounding out the sixth-race field are There’s No Joe and Spite Store.

Post time for the eight-race Thursday card is 4:50 p.m.

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