Mobil takes on strong entry

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Stakes winner Mobil, and the Sam-Son Farm entry of Walls of Jericho and Swift of Flight head Friday's Woodbine feature, the $79,400 allowance prep for the Oct. 12 Cup and Saucer Stakes.

Mobil, trained by Mike Keogh for owner Gustav Schickedanz, won his maiden in the Sept. 2 Simcoe Stakes, for graduates of local yearling sales. He pressed the pace from the outset in that seven-furlong dash, and dueled Timeform into submission to prevail by a half-length, earning a solid Beyer Speed Figure of 78 for his efforts.

Mobil was sixth when he debuted on the grass, and subsequently finished a distant fourth behind the promising Added Edge in his only other start on the main track.

Todd Kabel retains the mount on Mobil, a son of Langfuhr and turf expert Kinetigal.

Walls of Jericho finished ahead of Mobil when he was third in his July 27 debut, and finished second as the heavy favorite in another maiden special weight race on the grass on Aug. 11.

Most recently going a mile, in the Grade 2 Summer Stakes, Walls of Jericho bumped with a rival several times on the backstretch before mounting a wide rally to end up a nonthreatening third.

Walls of Jericho is a full brother to Canadian International prospect Portcullis, who captured the Aug. 10 Breeders' Stakes, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

"He's bigger and stronger than Portcullis," trainer Mark Frostad said. "Whether or not he's the same kind of horse, it remains to be seen."

Swift of Flight, another maiden, led until the eighth pole before weakening to end up second in the faster division of the Grade 3 Natalma Stakes on Sept. 7.

Slade Callaghan was named on both parts of the entry.

Completing the fourth-race lineup will be Chad's Hope, Peef, Native Genius, and Matt the Cat.

Stakes winners Strait from Texas and Marisa Go are among the eight fillies and mares in Friday's eighth race, a seven-furlong turf dash for $100,000 optional claimers.

Strait from Texas upset previously unbeaten Hot Talent when she took the one-mile Ontario Colleen Handicap with an eye-catching off-the-pace run on Aug. 25. Trained by Paul Buttigieg, she also won the allowance prep for the Colleen.

"She strictly grass, and a flat mile is her best distance," Buttigieg said.

Marisa Go, a diminutive 5-year-old, won the six-furlong Zadracarta Stakes in late June, and is coming off a fourth-place finish on the main track in the restricted Algoma Stakes for owner-trainer Carlo Fuoco.

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