Souper Sporty switches back to Tapeta for Thunder Bay

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Souper Sporty goes back to the Tapeta off a longshot tally on turf in Sunday’s $150,000 Thunder Bay, one of two six-furlong stakes on the Woodbine card for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds, along with the $150,000 Lake Superior. They are the second legs of the Ontario Sired Heritage Series, which both recently got a purse boost from $100,000.

Souper Sporty began her season in the spring with back-to-back double-digit losses on the Tapeta. Trainer Mike DePaulo added blinkers for the cutback to five furlongs in the opening leg of the series for fillies, the Georgian Bay on the inner course, and she was a wake-up winner at 18-1 in her turf debut.

DePaulo said he bypassed Saturday’s Grade 3 Ontario Colleen on the grass in favor of this easier spot.

“I was on the fence, but I still can’t believe she’s not a [Tapeta] horse,” DePaulo said. “I just think she’s good right now. She came into the track after having a bad winter. She was skinny like a chicken wing. We finally got her good and I put her on the grass.”

Among the eight other fillies in the Thunder Bay are Splash of Bourbon and Souper Diva.

Splash of Bourbon struggled in stakes last fall before getting the winter off and has reached full bloom this year for trainer Sid Attard, who is having a terrific first half of the meet.

Splash of Bourbon cleared the nonwinners-of-two Ontario-sired allowance condition in her penultimate start. She beat nonwinners-of-three Ontario-sired allowance types most recently while earning a 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

The speedy Souper Diva annexed two restricted stakes last year for trainer Steve Chircop, the Muskoka and Victorian Queen. She has finished second in her last four outings, most recently in the Georgian Bay.

Lake Superior

Wine After Whiskey should go favored in the Lake Superior for colts and geldings. He wired Ontario-sired allowance stock in his season opener, scoring by 4 1/2 lengths with an 84 Beyer.

Wine After Whiskey was softened up in a speed duel most recently in the five-furlong Lake Huron Stakes on the inner turf before holding on for second. Trainer Michelle Love will saddle the handsome chestnut.

Duckduckduck got an ideal setup in the Lake Huron and closed stoutly for a daylight score in his first grass outing. He took the restricted Clarendon Stakes in November with a sweeping wide rally going three-quarters on the Tapeta. Trained by Evette Chartrand-Hoek, he should be dangerous in the Lake Superior if able to work out a clean trip in the 11-horse field.

Silver Is Best could prevail if he fires one of his better shots, which was the case when he checked in second with an 82 Beyer in his season opener in the open Woodstock Stakes. He was a flat fifth in the Lake Huron in his first turf start and should improve getting back onto the Tapeta.

Egbert Who is another coming off a dull grass experiment who was previously in solid Tapeta form.