Verboten to try Tapeta in Woodstock

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Along with two other shippers, the turf expert Verboten will experiment on the Tapeta in Saturday’s $100,000 Woodstock Stakes, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds at Woodbine.

Verboten was unbeaten in two starts last year, both on grass here. After graduating at first asking over the talented Silent Poet in a six-furlong maiden special on Aug. 25, he captured a one-mile allowance two months later before going to the sidelines again.

Verboten wound up eighth under Jose Ortiz in his March 10 season opener in the one-mile Columbia Stakes on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs, a race trainer Malcolm Pierce said he was somewhat disappointed with.

“He had been training super,” Pierce said. “He broke really well, but got a little farther back than I thought. The jock didn’t know him. He hadn’t worked him. When he took a little hold of him, he came back a lot easier than he expected. He couldn’t make up ground in the stretch. They went fast early, and finished fast. The time was very good.”

The five-horse Woodstock goes as race 8 on a 10-race program.

KEY CONTENDERS

Verboten, by Elusive Quality
Last 3 Beyers: 77-71-73

◗ Pierce said the Pin Oak homebred has a license to handle the quirky Tapeta surface. Patrick Husbands rides him Saturday.

“You never know until you run on it, but he’s trained well over it,” Pierce said. “Patrick Husbands worked him the last two times, and he’s very happy with him. I think he’s a better grass horse, but there’s no other spots for him, so it’s a good time to give the synthetic a try. A short field is always nice.”

Supreme Aura, by Candy Ride
Last 3 Beyers: 84-68-82

◗ All four of his starts came on dirt, and he is trained by Mike Stidham. After landing his first two races, he got buried in the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds, and is coming off a distant third behind the promising Mitole in the Bachelor Stakes at Oaklawn.

Curlin’s Honor, by Curlin
Last 3 Beyers: 58-73-76

◗ He was also briefly on the American Triple Crown trail, finishing 25 lengths behind victorious Magnum Moon in the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn on March 17. He won his first two outings, both on dirt, at Keeneland and Fair Grounds.

◗ His trainer, Mark Casse, has never won the Woodstock.

Be Vewy Vewy Quiet, by Silent Name
Last 3 Beyers: 67-69-69

◗ Blinkers go on the two-time stakes winner, who bypassed the restricted Queenston Stakes here on April 22 because trainer Robert Tiller said it was too early to run the Queen’s Plate nominee seven-eighths off a winter layoff.

◗ Tiller, who won four races last Sunday, has captured the Woodstock twice.