Filo Di Arianna in top form against classy rivals in King Edward Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Filo Di Arianna’s newfound aggressive approach has helped to revive his career, and the Brazilian import is among a top-notch field of seven that also includes Grade 1 winners Shirl’s Speight and Town Cruise in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 King Edward.

The one-mile King Edward on the main turf is a key prep for next month’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and is one of four stakes on Sunday’s 13-race Queen’s Plate card, along with the Grade 2 Canadian, the $125,000 Sweet Briar Too, and the prestigious Queen’s Plate.

Filo Di Arianna is exiting back-to-back front-running scores while earning a pair of triple-digit Beyers going seven-eighths, in a conditioned allowance on Tapeta and the Grade 2 Connaught Cup on turf.

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Trainer Mark Casse said Filo Di Arianna exited the Grade 2 Shakertown at Keeneland in April with colic and had a troubled break before another dull effort in the Grade 1 Jaipur at Belmont in June.

“He colicked really bad after the race at Keeneland,” Casse recalled. “We think that had something to do with his poor performance. The race at Belmont was really tough, and he stumbled at the start.”

Casse also entered the March to the Arch, who returned from a layoff to finish second in the Connaught Cup. The venerable stretch-runner won the 2020 King Edward and finished a troubled third in last year’s renewal.

Shirl’s Speight captured the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland in April before ending up third in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile on dirt at Monmouth. He wound up fifth after a wide trip from post 10 in the seven-furlong Connaught Cup.

Town Cruise wired the field at 8-1 in the 2021 Woodbine Mile. He got hung out quite wide on the first turn and then contested the pace before fading to eighth when returning from a 9 1/2-month layoff in the July 30 Niagara Stakes going about 1 1/4 miles.

Completing the field are Weyburn and Harlan Estate.

Chiefswood Stable’s Weyburn is making his first turf start after moving north of the border to the barn of trainer Rachel Halden.

“He worked okay on the grass,” said Robert Landry, Chiefswood’s general manager. “If he runs well in the King Eddie, you’ve got the Woodbine Mile. I really believe he’s a one-turn horse.”

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Harlan Estate bypassed last Sunday’s Grade 3 Seagram Cup on the Tapeta. He won his two previous outings in allowance company on different surfaces.

“I was really impressed with his turf race two starts back, and I think he might be better on the turf,” trainer Kevin Attard said. “We gelded him over the winter, and it made a huge difference. I’m looking forward to getting him back on the grass.”

Canadian Stakes

Crystal Cliffs heads a diverse field of eight fillies and mares who will compete over about 1 1/8 miles on the main turf in the $200,000 Canadian.

Trained by Graham Motion, Crystal Cliffs shipped in from her Maryland base to dead-heat with Lady Speightspeare for the win in the Grade 2 Nassau on July 2. Lady Speightspeare came back to take the Grade 3 Trillium, and third-place finisher Our Flash Drive subsequently notched a stakes at Saratoga.

The Casse-trained Fev Rover nearly got the job done in her North American debut off a long layoff here July 24 when a game second in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly.

“I thought it was very good,” Casse said. “She had trained well into it, and she’s trained even better into this race.”

Keyflower was stuck in traffic before finishing a close fourth when making her first start for Casse against the boys in the Niagara.

“She may have been the best in the race,” Casse said.

Attard entered the 2021 Woodbine Oaks winner Munnyfor Ro as well as Angelou. He said he was happy with Munnyfor Ro’s last race, a closing third in the Dance Smartly.

“I thought she ran really well,” Attard said. “After her first race this year, the light bulb clicked on, and she’d trained lights-out going into the Dance Smartly. I expected a big race, and she ran big. She looks really well. I can’t see why she wouldn’t take another step in the right direction.”

A 4-year-old by Curlin, Angelou won her last two starts easily, both on the Tapeta, against maidens and allowance rivals.

“We thought highly of her as a 2-year-old,” Attard recalled. “I didn’t have her for her 3-year-old campaign, when she had a setback, and she came back to us this spring. She’s run two good races. We were pointing towards an allowance on the synthetic that didn’t fill, so we’re diverting to the Canadian.”

Sweet Briar Too Stakes

Hazelbrook will try to prove her 26-1 upset victory a month ago in the Grade 3 Hendrie wasn’t a fluke when she lines up against five other females in the 6 1/2-furlong Sweet Briar Too.

Hazelbrook is meeting reigning Canadian champion female sprinter Amalfi Coast again after they fought tooth-and-nail in the stretch of the 6 1/2-furlong Hendrie. Hazelbrook prevailed by a neck with a career-high 88 Beyer under Jason Hoyte, who has a long-standing relationship with the 4-year-old.

“I’ve been getting on her from when she was a 2-year-old,” Hoyte said. “I was galloping for [trainer Lorne Richards] at that time. She’s a very smart horse. She’s been improving with every start.”

Amalfi Coast got the winter off after she was purchased out of the Keeneland November sale by Tracy Farmer, who turned her over to Casse. The 6-year-old was a troubled eighth in her June 4 comeback in the Grade 2 Royal North, and Casse said she was slow to come around.

“She had a pretty hard campaign last year, and sales can be extremely hard on them,” Casse explained. “It just took her forever to get back [to par]. It’s hard when you haven’t trained a horse before – to know when they’re good and when they’re not. I thought her last race was very good.”