Strut the Course says goodbye in Maple Leaf Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The champion Strut the Course will try to go out a winner on Saturday at Woodbine in the Grade 3, $150,000 Maple Leaf, a 10-furlong stakes that she won impressively in 2014.

Strut the Course, Canada’s champion older female in 2014, will go through the Keeneland November sale and probably is headed to the breeding shed next year.

Strut the Course was beaten 2 1/2 lengths last time out when 10th in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes on turf here.

“She’s didn’t get beat far in the E.P., but she didn’t really fire,” said trainer Barb Minshall. “I don’t really know why. She was very wide. It was a tough race, too. She’s doing really, really well. I expect a good race from her. She handles the Tapeta fine. She’s won on it.”

The Maple Leaf heads an excellent card that also includes the $150,000 Clarendon Stakes for 2-year-olds and the $100,000 River Memories, an overnight turf stakes for fillies and mares. Post time for the first race is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

KEY CONTENDERS

Strut the Course, by Strut the Stage

Last 3 Beyers: 93-91-89

◗ Owned by her breeder, John Unger, she has won 10 of 28 starts and $1.2 million under the guidance of Minshall.

“It’s really bittersweet,” said Minshall, who won two stakes on the 1996 Breeders’ Cup undercard at Woodbine. “It’s hard to believe that it’s time to get her into the next cycle of her life. We’re going to miss her.”

Hot Kiss, by Philanthropist

Last 3 Beyers: 85-86-85

◗ She is cross-entered in the River Memories.

◗ She went wire to wire in the nine-furlong allowance prep for the Maple Leaf for her seventh victory.

Ice Festival, by Awesome Again

Last 3 Beyers: 82-79-82

◗ She has won two allowances in three starts since joining trainer Sid Attard’s barn, including a five-length romp in an optional claimer that was taken off the turf Oct. 8.

◗ Attard said she prefers the Tapeta over the turf.

Minks Aprise, by Northern Afleet

Last 3 Beyers: 90-83-85

◗ The Maryland shipper came from left field to win her last race, which came at Presque Isle Downs in the HBPA Stakes on Tapeta. Her trainer, Michael Dickinson, invented the surface.

Moonlit Promise, by Malibu Moon

Last 3 Beyers: 86-79-85

◗ She established herself as one of the leading local 3-year-old fillies when she took the La Lorgnette Stakes as the favorite Sept. 3.

Uchenna, by Fastnet Rock

Last 3 Beyers: 89-87-88

◗ The Grade 3 stakes winner is exiting a victory over Hot Kiss in the Belle Mahone Stakes.

Plenty of speed in Clarendon

Seven Ontario-breds will line up in the six-furlong Clarendon, including Dragon’s Cry, who wired Ontario-sired juveniles in his most recent race, the six-furlong Bull Page Stakes. He should have company up front, which could set the table for a stalker or closer.

◗ The River Memories, a wide-open, one-mile event, lured a host of stakes winners, including Charming Delilah, Conquest Strate Up, Don’t Leave Me, and Generous Touch. American shippers Neck of the Moon and Shelbysmile also are in the 15-horse field.