ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Canadian classic winner Roscar meets Essex Serpent and Ever Dangerous when launching his season in Saturday’s featured conditioned allowance route with a $50,000 claiming option at Woodbine. A late bloomer owned by Chiefswood Stables, Roscar was eligible for a first-level allowance when he captured the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Stakes, on turf last Sept. 29. He eventually went to the sidelines for the winter after posting mixed results in a trio of Tapeta routes, the best of which was a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby. Roscar wintered at Payson Park in Florida with trainer Rachel Halden. “He had a bit of time off, and the plan was to run him at Keeneland on the way home,” Halden said. “Unfortunately, he got an abscess in his foot, which put us way off schedule. So, we didn’t think he was quite ready for Keeneland – that’s not somewhere you want to be going when you don’t think you’re 100 percent spot-on, so we brought him home. “I’ve been sweating out this race going – it was actually scheduled for last weekend, and it didn’t go, so I’m glad it went this weekend. He’s had several five-eighths works here. I do think he prefers the turf, but you can’t wait forever for the turf.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Rafael Hernandez inherits the mount on Roscar from the retired Justin Stein, who is currently training to be a steward. Essex Serpent is returning from an eight-month layoff, during which he wintered in Ocala with trainer Mark Casse. Essex Serpent had the look of a major player in the 2024 King’s Plate after taking the Grade 3 Marine with an 89 Beyer Speed Figure in late June. However, he came up empty in both the 1 1/4-mile Plate on Tapeta and the middle Triple Crown race on dirt, the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie. Casse had no plausible reason for Essex Serpent tailing off last year and is excited with the way the gelding has been training. The son of Honor Code has worked five times on Tapeta since shipping to Woodbine in March, including a half-mile breeze in 47.80 seconds last Saturday. “He’s training very well,” Casse said. Ever Dangerous and Journeyman are the two winter-raced runners in the six-horse field. Ever Dangerous was claimed from a victory in a $25,000 conditioned turf mile by trainer Marty Drexler on Jan. 31 at Gulfstream Park. In his lone subsequent outing there, he was beaten a nose in a starter allowance/optional claimer on the Tapeta, for which he got a 90 Beyer. Journeyman wintered at Tampa Bay Downs, where he was a minor player in four grass starts this year, including back-to-back $50,000 claimers. Maakwa figures to lead the way with Essex Serpent nearby. Maakwa held on for second at this level in November and has been laid up since running fourth in the Dec. 15 Steady Growth Stakes. Canadian Triple Crown nominee Ylivoimainen has been idle since a wide ninth-place finish in the Nov. 30 Coronation Futurity. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.