Meyer cuts back on favorite course

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Fresh off winning the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series, Meyer is the one to beat in Friday’s featured first-level allowance with a $32,000 claiming option. The race is scheduled for 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf.

Meyer is a legitimate inner turf horse-for-course, although he’s no slouch on the main course, over which he finished second in the 2020 Breeders’ Stakes. He cleared the nonwinners-of-three Ontario-sired allowance condition in his second appearance of the meet in June, after which he finished a wide fourth in a first-level allowance.

Meyer made his third straight start on the inner course when taking the second leg of the Turf Endurance Series going 1 1/2 miles on Sept. 11. In the Oct. 2 series finale over about 1 3/4 miles on the main turf, he made what appeared to be a winning bid to the lead in the stretch before getting run down late by the long-winded Prideofdistinction.

Leading rider Kazushi Kimura has left Meyer for the Saratoga shipper Remote, and Declan Carroll has the mount Friday. Carroll is 3 for 12 for Meyer’s hot trainer, Marty Drexler, who also sends out the solid $25,000 claimer Wentru. Eswan Flores replaces Kimura on Wentru.

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Trained by Christophe Clement, Remote took seven starts to win a maiden race. The 3-year-old War Front colt turned the trick by 6 1/4 lengths in a 1 1/4-mile maiden-special on Sept. 6 at Colonial Downs, a race that’s yet to yield a next-out winner.

With Kimura aboard, Clement sent out the classy shipper Decorated Invader to win a conditioned allowance as the favorite here last Sunday.

Marathon specialist Prideofdistinction ended a long drought in the final endurance series event when he came from third to prevail by a half-length. The distance of Friday’s race is shorter than what he prefers, but Emma-Jayne Wilson gets plenty of run from the 8-year-old and should have him in contention for a share.

Lion Kingdom made some noise in the endurance series when a close second in the opening race and a front-running fourth in the second leg, perhaps the two best performances of his career. The longer distance of the finale proved to be too much for him, as he failed to reach a contending position and wound up eighth.

Canadian Pharoah fought for the lead before fading to finish fourth and third in the first and third legs of the endurance series. Expect him to set the pace after breaking from the rail under Jose Campos, a leading rider in Mexico who has made a positive impression since arriving on the scene earlier this month.

Rounding out the field in the seventh race are longshots Cupid’s Dude, Go Take Charge, and Reliability.

Full Extreme and Lac Macaza were entered for the main track only.

Post time is 1:20 p.m.

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