Forego Stakes: Playmea Tune comes up a winner in first trip away from home

Playmea Tune scored his first stakes win, and first win away from Woodbine, in Saturday night’s $125,000 Forego Stakes for older sprinters at Turfway Park.

Ontario-bred Playmea Tune ($5.08), a 5-year-old Maclean’s Music gelding trained by Josie Carroll for breeder Chiefswood Stables, continues to establish himself as a solid synthetic sprinter, as he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91 for the Forego – and has now earned a figure of 90 or higher in all but one of his starts.

Unraced at 2 and 3, he began his career in May 2024, and won three of his first five career starts at Woodbine – and also finished second in the Grade 3 Bold Venture, beaten a neck by Canadian champion Patches O'Houlihan. All those efforts came at 6 or 6 1/2 furlongs, and his only unplaced outing at Woodbine came when fifth in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, a step up in class and distance.

In his most recent start before the Forego, he was fifth in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector going seven furlongs on dirt at Gulfstream. He bounced back in the Forego, at 6 1/2 furlongs on Tapeta, and rewarded his backers, who made him the favorite on the strength of his Woodbine sprint resume.

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Playmea Tune and Rafael Hernandez were fifth after the opening half-mile of the Forego, but well placed as longshot Take Me To Church, keen to lead early, paced the group through a split of 45.64 seconds for that half. He was pursued, a length back, by Shards, who raced a bit closer than usual.

Take Me To Church folded into the stretch – he would eventually fade to last of nine – and Shards put a head in front, but briefly dueled with a tracking Bromley, with Playmea Tune bearing down just another head back. In the final stages, Playmea Tune found his best gear and kicked clear to a 1 3/4-length win.

The time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:18.06.

Defending Forego winner Surly Furious, making his first start since last April, bore in at the start, leaving him near the back. Still fifth in the stretch, he rallied to be a creditable second, 1 3/4 lengths clear of third-place Shards.

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