Forte Dei Marmi seeks third straight Sky Classic win
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The durable, little gelding Forte Dei Marmi will try to win the Grade 2, $200,000 Sky Classic Stakes for the third year in a row Saturday at Woodbine.
Forte Dei Marmi was voted the champion turf male in Canada last year after capturing the Grade 1 Northern Dancer and the 1 1/4-mile Sky Classic. Forte Dei Marmi has been slow to come around this year. He was a flat fourth July 6 in the Grade 3 Singspiel behind another Roger Attfield trainee, Perfect Timber, who lost the 1 1/2-mile marathon by a nose to Sky Classic contender Aldous Snow.
“I think it was a little firm for him, but I also thought it was a little too firm for [Perfect Timber], and he ran quite well,” Attfield said. “He didn’t quite have his [regular] kick, but he was also giving weight away.”
KEY CONTENDERS
Forte Dei Marmi (Last 3 Beyers: 86-88-86)
◗ Don’t write off the popular 8-year-old just yet since he’s breezed nicely on the turf of late and might get a little give in the ground.
Aldous Snow (Last 3 Beyers: 92-93-81)
◗ He displayed hanging tendencies earlier in his career, which included a second in the 2012 Breeders’ Stakes, but has found the will to win this year after being gelded over the winter.
◗ Trainer Malcolm Pierce said Aldous Snow doesn’t want any cut in the ground: “He can’t stand up on soft going,” Pierce said.
Dynamic Sky (Last 3 Beyers: 89-88-83)
◗ Trainer Mark Casse swept both turf stakes here last Sunday, and this 4-year-old is coming off a troubled second to champion Up With the Birds in the Grade 2 Nijinsky.
Five Iron (Last 3 Beyers: 76-97-100)
◗ The Grade 3 winner was softened up in a speed duel in the Nijinsky. His need-the-lead style conflicts with the hot allowance horse Reporting Star.
Short field in Vandal
Seffeara attempts to stay unbeaten in Saturday’s $150,000 Vandal, a six-furlong dash for Ontario-bred 2-year-olds in which he’ll break from the outside post in a sparse five-horse field. He lowered the 4 1/2-furlong Polytrack record while romping in his debut, then came back on to take the 5 1/2-furlong Clarendon Stakes after surrendering the lead early in the stretch.
“We’ve been pointing him for this race,” said trainer Steve Owens. “He’s been right on schedule. Off his track-record performance, he had a shin issue going on, so we didn’t train him hard and came up to the [Clarendon] pretty easy. I’ve trained him a little harder for this race because he’s a big horse, and he’s starting to stretch out.”