Stacked Deck fresh, fit for Jacques Cartier
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Stacked Deck, Canada’s most successful sprinter in 2015, makes his season debut in the opening-day feature Saturday at Woodbine, the $125,000 Jacques Cartier, which will be the first stakes on the new Tapeta surface.
Stacked Deck won 4 of 9 starts last year, highlighted by a decisive score in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes on Polytrack in November. He also defeated 2014 Canadian champion sprinter Calgary Cat in the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes in September before finishing third in the Grade 3 Woodford at Keeneland.
Trainer Barb Minshall said Stacked Deck spent the winter in South Carolina.
“He was at the Webb Carroll Training Center,” Minshall said. “He worked a few times there. He’s had a couple of works here. He’s ready to run.”
Stacked Deck breezed five-eighths on the Tapeta in 59.40 seconds last Saturday with stablemate Strut the Course, Canada’s champion older female in 2014.
Following a winter layoff, Stacked Deck wound up 10th in last year’s Jacques Cartier.
“He wasn’t as ready to run then,” Minshall said.
Luis Contreras, who won the Kennedy Road Stakes on Stacked Deck, will break him from post 2 on Saturday.
The Jacques Cartier, the eighth event on a solid 10-race card, also lured 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny.
Jacques Cartier, Race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
Stacked Deck, by First Samurai
Last 3 Beyers: 103-59-89
◗ Stacked Deck was the favorite to be honored as Canadian champion male sprinter on Friday night. At age 5, he figures to have another productive campaign for owner and breeder Bruce Lunsford.
Hootenanny, by Quality Road
Last 2 Beyers: 86-81
◗ He was supplemented by trainer Wesley Ward, who has been a force here on opening weekend in the past. The 4-year-old has only started twice since his Breeders’ Cup triumph and has been idle since finishing 11th in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June. Ward is taking the blinkers off and putting him back on Lasix.
Passion for Action, by Speightstown
Last 3 Beyers: 88-90-96
◗ The versatile 4-year-old wintered in Florida after ending up second in the six-furlong Kennedy Road, which was his best effort in four synthetic-track excursions. He checked in sixth in each of his two Gulfstream outings, most recently behind Heart to Heart in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf.
Commute, by Hold Me Back
Last 3 Beyers: 95-67-83
◗ He was cross-entered at Keeneland and will be making his first start on a synthetic surface if he runs here. His trainer, Mark Casse, won the 2008 Jacques Cartier with Legal Move.