Stormy Entry moves to turf in North American debut

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The talented import Stormy Entry makes his Woodbine debut in Sunday’s featured conditioned allowance, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf.

Trained by Roger Attfield for owner/breeder Charles Fipke, Stormy Entry made his first four starts in Ireland over the synthetic track at Dundalk during the winter of 2022-23. The 4-year-old graduated second time out in a seven-furlong allowance in January 2023 and then doubled up in a one-mile allowance a month later. In March 2023, Stormy Entry wound up third in the one-mile Patton Stakes.

Stormy Entry has been sidelined since his lone race in England at Chelmsford on April 1 of last year, in which he missed the break before checking in seventh of 10 on another synthetic surface.

Stormy Entry is by Grade 1-winning turf horse Point of Entry, who has sired a host of graded stakes winners on turf, including Analyze It, Point Me By, Kitodan, and Corelli. Stormy Entry’s dam, Stormy Perfection, finished second in the Grade 1 Natalma over Woodbine’s main course.

Rafael Hernandez has the mount on Stormy Entry. He was aboard when the new gelding outran two stablemates in a five-furlong gate drill in a bullet 59.40 seconds on the Tapeta last Sunday.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.

English Conqueror has kept some of the toughest company among the eight entrants in the feature. The durable 7-year-old ran second behind Corelli in the Grade 3 Singspiel in 2021 and finished third in the Grade 3 Valedictory on Tapeta in 2022. He was third in the Grade 3 Louisville at Churchill in spring 2023 and narrowly lost a conditioned allowance last summer at Saratoga.

English Conqueror was a distant fifth in the Grade 1 Canadian International in October and has been idle since ending up 10th in the latest renewal of the 1 1/2-mile Valedictory on Dec. 3. Apprentice Sofia Vives will ride him for JWS Farms and trainer Darwin Banach, who has an 18 percent strike rate with horses returning from a layoff of at least 180 days.

Journeyman is the lone entrant competing with the $50,000 claiming tag. The 8-year-old was a model of consistency at Tampa over the winter, during which he recorded two wins and a pair of seconds against $25,000 starter-allowance company on the grass. He found the mark in a seven-furlong Tapeta sprint at this level here in November while earning an 86 Beyer Speed Figure.

Expressman is making his first start for trainer Kevin Attard off a layoff. The son of good turf sire Liam’s Map could lead the way in his first race on anything other than dirt.

Dancin in Da’nile was winless in seven starts last year. He finished on the fringes in both of his outings this year at Gulfstream and Aqueduct.

Completing the ninth race lineup are Dun Drum, Day Tripper, and Onenightstandards.

Post time for the solid 10-race card is 1:10 p.m.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.