Vella may run The Minkster in Grey Stakes before giving him the winter off

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Danny Vella said unbeaten Coronation Futurity winner The Minkster could make one more start before getting the winter off with next year’s Queen’s Plate in mind.

The Minkster went from his authoritative first-out score in a maiden special weight sprint on the grass Oct. 30 to Saturday’s $252,400 Coronation Futurity, which he won by 2 1/4 lengths after tracking a slow pace.

Vella said the Grade 3 Grey here Nov. 28 could be next for The Minkster, who earned a 66 Beyer Speed Figure in the Coronation.

“When you start going late in the year, you have to think about the spring, too,” Vella said. “It’s a complicated issue, but there’s a chance we’ll run in the Grey. I’d like to get a third start into him, and then we don’t have to rush in the spring. He’s ready and he’s still fresh.

“He’s a lovely horse. We knew that going into the maiden race. We asked an awful lot of him going from 6 1/2 furlongs on the grass to a mile and an eighth on the main track, but he’s the type of horse who you knew was going to do those type of things better than some. He’s still a little green, but for his second start he did awfully well.”

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By English Channel, The Minkster was a $52,000 yearling purchase by Sea Glass Stables. Vella won the 2012 Plate with another son of English Channel, Strait of Dover. He was also the original trainer of the Channel Maker, an English Channel gelding who evolved into one of the most successful Canadian-bred grass runners of all time after Vella sent him out to finish seventh in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita.

“Part of the reason I gravitate to English Channels is because of Strait of Dover,” Vella said. “Very few of them are distance limited. Straight of Dover was an exceptional horse. This one is comparable. He’s not quite as sturdy a horse physically, but he’s a little smarter. Strait of Dover was a very tough horse to train. He had lots of mental faults. Channel Maker was obviously a very talented horse. He was a little more immature at 2 than the others.”

Vella said Bull Page Stakes winner Where’s Neal is on target for the $100,000 Frost King Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs for Ontario-sired 2-year-olds here Nov. 21. Where’s Neal finished 11th over yielding ground in his last race, the 1 1/16-mile Cup and Saucer Stakes.

“Neal might be distance-limited and I don’t think he liked that soft turf,” Vella said. “In an Ontario-sired race, he’ll be very tough.”

◗ Post time for Friday’s eight-race card has been rolled back to 4:10 p.m. to mesh in with the Breeders’ Cup card from Del Mar.