Tiz a Slam cuts back, returns to Tapeta in Seagram Cup

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Tiz a Slam tries Tapeta for the first time in two years in Sunday’s $125,000 Seagram Cup, a Grade 3 stakes that attracted a mixed bag of eight older runners.

Tiz a Slam was among Canada’s top 3-year-olds in 2017, during which he won the Grade 3 Ontario Derby and finished second in the Queen’s Plate. Since then, the huge Chiefswood Stables homebred has been campaigned as a turf expert by trainer Roger Attfield, except for when he took the Grade 3 Dominion Day on Tapeta in 2018.

Tiz a Slam won three graded stakes in a row on both sides of the border last year. He tailed off in the fall, bypassing the Canadian International, and will miss that Grade 1 fixture again this year since it’s been canceled due to the pandemic.

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Tiz a Slam is coming off a sixth-place finish going 1 1/2 miles in his season opener in the Grade 3 Louisville at Churchill. Chiefswood general manager Robert Landry said the current complications with crossing the border led to the decision to run him here at 1 1/16 miles on Sunday.

“His strength is going a little farther than 1 1/16 miles, but he’s been showing speed in his works,” Landry said. “He’s proven that he handles the synthetic well. Timing-wise, it just seems like the right thing to do. The whole COVID thing has gotten us off schedule. It’s very frustrating. He’s doing good. Roger’s really happy with him. There’s other races away, but we’d like to get him back to his winning ways before we start tackling [tougher] horses.”

Tiz a Slam’s tactical speed could have him tracking the quick Mr Ritz early. Mr Ritz was the leading older male runner on the Tapeta here last year when he won the Seagram after setting a moderate pace over a track that favored inside runners and speed. He also took the Presque Isle Downs Mile in a gritty performance.

Mr Ritz stalked a slow early tempo en route to finishing third as the favorite in his July 4 season debut in the Grade 2 Eclipse. He’s trained by Josie Carroll, who’s also sending out the Eclipse runner-up, Avie’s Flatter.

Skywire, the troubled favorite in last year’s Queen’s Plate, was rejuvenated in the Eclipse, which he won going away from off the pace with a career-high 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

Explode, one of the leading 3-year-olds in Western Canada last year, is making his Woodbine debut off a 10-month layoff. He worked five-eighths in a bullet 59.20 seconds on the Tapeta on July 16 for his new trainer, Stu Simon.

Perfect Tapatino is making his second start on this side of the pond following an eighth-place finish in the Louisville.