Master Spy makes 2022 debut after disappointing 3-year-old campaign

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A fifth of the way into the 133-day Woodbine meet, leading trainer Mark Casse has already accumulated 32 wins. At that pace, he will register an astounding 160 victories here this year, far more than the meet record of 128 wins set by Norm McKnight in 2018.

Casse sends out the classy first-time gelding Master Spy in Friday’s featured sixth race, a nonwinners-of-three turf sprint combining Ontario-sired allowance types with $40,000 claimers.

Master Spy captured the $250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes for Canadian-breds on the grass here two years ago at 2. He also finished second in the Victoria Stakes and fourth in the Coronation Futurity as a juvenile.

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Master Spy endured the proverbial sophomore slump in 2021, when he was out of the money in five outings that included three stakes. He wintered at Casse’s Ocala training center after his last start in early December and has been working right along of late, including a half-mile from the gate in a bullet 46.20 seconds here May 18.

Owned by Tracy Farmer, Master Spy will be ridden once again by Patrick Husbands, who is 11 for 20 at this meet for Casse.

Nine others were entered in the headliner, including Nashtrick and All Canadian, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in a Tapeta race at this level and distance May 20. Both have won on the grass and were stakes-placed over the surface in the past.

Funiculi had clear sailing along the rail when notching his second race in a row going seven-eighths for nonwinners-of-two types off a seven-month absence May 22 on the Tapeta. He won his maiden here in October over a main course labeled good.

Red-hot leading jockey Kazushi Kimura will ride Funiculi again for trainer Ralph Biamonte.

Chairman Bob hit the board last year at 2 in two restricted stakes, which included a lapped-on second in the one-mile Bull Page on the inner course. He rallied wide from ninth to topple nonwinners-of-two stock in his May 13 comeback on the Tapeta. This is his first try against older opposition.

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The speedy Maakwa is the lone main-track-only entrant in the 6 1/2-furlong event. A 4-year-old trained by Shana Lopez, it took him seven tries to win his maiden and he finally got the job done in a dazzling display for $25,000 in October.

Maakwa wired nonwinners-of-two opposition in his final 2021 outing and then just missed beating nonwinners-of-three foes after a layoff of nearly six months April 24. He folded after getting outrun for the lead by a sharp Rockcrest in an effort in which he seemed to bounce most recently on May 12.

Starting this week, post time for the first race on Fridays is 1:10 p.m.