Attfield seeks first Canadian International win with Danish Dynaformer

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Two Grade 1 races headline a strong Sunday card at Woodbine, highlighted by the $1 million Canadian International.

Roger Attfield will send out the lone Woodbine-based and Canadian-bred horse in the field, Danish Dynaformer, in search of the trainer’s first victory in the International. Danish Dynaformer is among nine horses who were considered probable for the International as of Sunday; he exits a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf over “good” going here Sept. 17. Attfield said Danish Dynaformer is most effective on firm turf.

“I always felt that way about him,” Attfield said. “He cruises well on [softer turf], but he can’t quicken like he does on firm going. He closed ground, but he didn’t close well enough.”

Along with Danish Dynaformer, the top three finishers from the Northern Dancer Turf will run back in the International: The Pizza Man, Wake Forest, and World Approval.

Trainer Michael Stoute will seek his third consecutive International win, sending Dartmouth to Canada for this year’s race. Dartmouth, owned by the queen of England, finished second in the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup in his most recent start at Newbury on Sept. 17.

The other European shippers include Group 1 winners Erupt and Protectionist, along with the Aidan O’Brien trainee Idaho.

Taghleeb, coming off a win in the Remington Green Stakes at Remington Park on Sept. 25, rounds out the prospective field.

Entries for the International will close Thursday, with the post-position draw slated for noon Eastern.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s other Grade 1 race, the $500,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes for older fillies and mares over 1 1/4 miles on turf, has a probable field of 14, led by Grade 2 Canadian Stakes winner Rainha Da Bateria.

Rainha Da Bateria earned a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita by winning the Canadian Stakes for trainer Chad Brown. He said she might not go to the Breeders’ Cup after the E.P. Taylor.

“She obviously ran very well over Woodbine’s course,” he said. “It just seems logical to go back in here; this race looks like it will be a slightly easier Grade 1 than the Filly and Mare Turf, and she’s yet to win a Grade 1, so that’s the reason for the decision to run here.”

Brown also will send out Grade 3 Waya Stakes winner Guapaza in the E.P. Taylor.

The local contingent is led by Strut the Course, who was a troubled fourth in this event last year. Uchenna is also among the probables after her victory in the Belle Mahone Stakes on Sept. 5.

Other American shippers include Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes runner-up Al’s Gal and trainer Bill Mott’s Suffused and Tuttipaesi.

There are seven European shippers among the E.P. Taylor probables, including Group 2 winner Parvaneh and Group 3 winners Aim to Please, Banzari, and Best In The World. The European contingent also includes Dipolma, Nezwaah, and Swiss Range.