ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Rat Portage took a step forward when trying turf for the first time in his last race, and the son of Reload is dropping in class for his second turf try with blinkers on in Thursday’s third race at Woodbine. Rat Portage wound up third in each of his first two outings against Ontario-sired and $40,000 maidens on the Tapeta in the spring. He was dueled into submission on the front end when moving out from six to seven furlongs in his third start on July 10, finishing a well-beaten sixth in that fast-paced event. Three weeks later, Rat Portage was boosted up to open maiden-special company going six furlongs on the main course. Sent off a 22-1, he rallied inside to finish a lapped-on fourth with a 64 Beyer Speed Figure. Apprentice Slade Jones retains the mount on Rat Portage, a 4-year-old owned by Jamar Gibson and trained by Keith Edwards. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Over the past five years, Edwards was 2 for 13 (15 percent) with first-time blinkers, while yielding a return on investment of $1.89. Dominant Destroyer could set the pace, a possible advantageous trip with the portable rail in the outermost lane 5. Dominant Destroyer was softened up in a speed duel last time out when 11th in a one-mile maiden-special for Ontario-bred 3-year-old graduates of any sale. The son of Old Forester has been campaigned sporadically by trainer Josie Carroll and is finally getting the opportunity to string two races together on Thursday, with Luis Contreras taking over in the saddle. Where Is Essa made the board in 7 of 8 outings, all on the Tapeta. His sire, Signature Red, has gotten 14 percent grass winners, and his unraced dam produced the modest turf winner Is There a Forest. Justin Stein will ride him for the first time for trainer Paul Buttigieg, who has decent numbers with first-time grassers. Galway Waters is debuting with a pretty good turf pedigree. A son of 16 percent grass sire Society’s Chairman, Galway Waters is a half-brother to the stakes-placed juvenile Giant Waters, who ran third in the 2020 Cup and Saucer Stakes going long over this course. Alpha Beta Gama has been sidelined since a sixth-place finish among three next-out winners in October 2020, when he was claimed for $40,000. The 4-year-old made all three of his starts on the Tapeta that year. He’s by the 11 percent grass sire Commissioner, who sired Grade 2 Royal North winner Boardroom. Silent Farewell faded to fifth from a three-wide stalking position coming off the bench in a 7 1/2-furlong inner-turf contest June 26. The son of Silent Name has worked regularly since then and might be at his best over six furlongs on the main course, as evidenced by his first-out second under those conditions in an open maiden-special last August. Completing the third-race field are Raise a Profit and Mr. De.