Silent Poet gets class relief in Vice Regent

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The venerable Silent Poet gets some massive class relief in Saturday’s $150,000 Vice Regent Stakes, a five-furlong inner-turf sprint for Ontario-breds.

Silent Poet has competed predominantly in graded stakes since the spring of 2020, while holding the unofficial title as Woodbine’s leading turf sprinter.

Silent Poet won the Grade 1 Highlander during his abbreviated three-race 2021 campaign. The 7-year-old returned from an eight-month layoff to finish second to Arzak in the Thorncliffe Stakes on April 17, after which he finished fifth behind Arzak in the Grade 3 Jacques Cartier. Those Tapeta races set up nicely for the turf season.

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Silent Poet ran fourth in a tough edition of the Grade 2 Highlander on July 2. He was a stalking third most recently in the Grade 2 Connaught Cup behind Filo Di Arianna, who returned to win his third race in a row in the Grade 2 King Edward and is headed for the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile.

Trainer Nick Gonzalez said Silent Poet missed the second half of the 2021 Woodbine meet with a knee issue and hasn’t missed a beat this year.

“He’s had a little ‘knee’ his whole life,” Gonzalez explained. “We sent him down to Ocala Equine because they know him and know his knee well. They’ve been working on it since he was 3. It just needed a little clean-up, so that’s what we did.”

Justin Stein has the ride on Silent Poet, who won a 7 1/2-furlong allowance in front-running style the only time he competed on the tight inner course in 2020.

Rockcrest finished second to favored Not So Quiet in last year’s Vice Regent, when he earned a career-high 93 Beyer Speed Figure. The speedy gray has been a model of consistency ever since, and he cleared the second allowance condition last out in a five-furlong inner-turf dash.

Mason’s Gamble beat a good field of Ontario-sired runners in the Ontario Jockey Club Stakes on June 19 on the Tapeta. This is his first turf start, and while he possesses some turf breeding, he’s drawn inside the other speed and could get softened up in a duel.

Forester’s Fortune can rally for a slice of the pie. He was a troubled third in Rockcrest’s Aug. 11 triumph and is winless in his last eight outings.

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“He’s doing really well,” trainer Rodney Barrow said. “He just needs a little luck. The last two races, he’s had bad trips. But this horse, he always tries. The thing with him is that he needs the trip. The way he kicks in, if he gets stopped, then it’s tough for him to get started again.”

Rounding out the field are Warp Drive, Four Aces High, and Wedgewood.

The Vice Regent goes as the fourth race on a nine-race card with a 1 p.m. post time.