Telekinesis heads south, Neepawa to the turf

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – While Queen’s Plate winner Wonder Gadot is bound for the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, trainer Mark Casse has different plans for his two other starters exiting the June 30 race at Woodbine. Telekinesis and Neepawa were both forwardly placed in the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown before tiring late to finish fifth and 10th.

Telekinesis, who recorded his first stakes win in the Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine on June 9, has already gone south and breezed Saturday morning on dirt at Churchill Downs, covering four furlongs in a bullet 47.40 seconds.

Casse said a long-term target for Telekinesis is the Grade 3, $300,000 Smarty Jones Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on dirt at Parx on Aug. 25.

Neepawa, meanwhile, will likely make his next start on the turf. Neepawa might run in the $100,000 Toronto Cup Stakes for 3-year-olds over 1 1/8 miles on turf here on July 28, Casse said, or he could wait for the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes, the third and final jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, over 1 1/2 miles on turf on Aug. 18.

◗ Woodbine will hold its second horseplayers tournament of the season on Saturday, with two seats to the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship up for grabs. The Woodbine Mid-Summer Horseplayers Tournament will be a live bankroll tournament, with the entry fee set a $250. Participants will place win, place, show, exactor and daily double wagers on a minimum of five races between Woodbine and Saratoga. The minimum bet is $20 per race. Registration is now open for the tournament, which will be held in the Northern Dancer Room on the fifth floor of the grandstand.