Foot healed, Artie's Storm tries to double up in closing-day Steady Growth

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Excuses are a dime a dozen in racing, but Artie’s Storm had a legitimate one in a rare non-effort in the Grade 2 Autumn Stakes. The Paul Buttigieg-trained 4-year-old will try to win the $100,000 Steady Growth Stakes for the second year in a row on closing day of the Woodbine meet on Sunday as part of a lengthy 14-race card.

Post time is 12:55 p.m. Eastern.

Artie’s Storm won his May 29 season opener off a six-month layoff over champion Frosted Over in the Grade 2 Eclipse. He ran second in the Grade 3 Dominion Day, the Grade 3 Seagram Cup, and the Grade 3 Durham Cup in four starts leading up to the Autumn, in which he trailed a 10-horse field going the 1 1/16-mile distance of the Steady Growth.

Buttigieg said Artie’s Storm exited the Nov. 6 Autumn with a foot problem.

“He came up with a puss pocket in his foot,” Buttigieg explained. “It’s just like a boil – once it pops open, that’s it. That’s all healed up, and I just hope he comes back to form.”

Buttigieg said he was satisfied with Artie’s Storm’s five-furlong breeze in 1:00.80 last weekend.

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“He did it easy by himself with my exercise girl on,” Buttigieg said. “I can’t complain with the way he’s going into the race.”

Dun Drum should be well-backed in the eight-horse field of Ontario-sired runners.

A versatile 6-year-old trained by Ian Black, Dun Drum won the 2018 Kingarvie Stakes, the 2019 Vice Regent Stakes, and the $100,000 Overskate Stakes in his penultimate race on the grass. His other victory this year came Aug. 14 in a 1 1/4-mile allowance on the Tapeta.

“He’s been very good to us, especially this year,” Black said. “I knew his best chance would come in an Ontario-sired race, the Overskate, and he certainly ran a great race. We were looking for opportunities to run him, and we ended up running him in a mile-and-a-quarter race. It surprised me that he won that day. And then two races later, he won the Overskate at 7 1/2 furlongs on the inner turf.”

Grandson beat maidens and Ontario-sired allowance types twice during the first half of the meet. He was a wide-closing fourth in the Overskate before finishing eighth, then a close second in the first open allowance category, with a $32,000 claiming option.

Full Extreme finished third, a half-length behind Grandson, when competing for $32,000 over 1 1/8 miles on Nov. 25.

Avoman, victorious in the 2021 Plate Trial Stakes, has been idle since ending up third in the Overskate on Oct. 9.

Candy Overload was supplemented by trainer Mark Casse off a breakout score in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road. He finished sixth the only time he competed over a route of ground in last year’s Grade 3 Marine.

Rounding out the field are Lac Macaza and Benlion.

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