ETOBICOKE, Ontario – King’s Plate runner-up Tom’s Magic has been waiting patiently for the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the 135th running of the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes on Sunday at Woodbine. The American shipper should be favored in the 1 1/2-mile event for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, which will be run around three turns on the inner turf for this year only while the main course undergoes renovations. Trained by Mike Stidham, Tom’s Magic has established himself as a productive turf miler this year, winning the March 1 Black Gold Stakes at Fair Grounds and the June 28 Tale of the Cat Stakes at Monmouth. He had quite a wide trip after a bumpy break in his lone poor showing, the Grade 3 Transylvania at Keeneland. Tom’s Magic made his first Tapeta start going 1 1/4 miles in the $1 million Plate on Aug. 16. Sent off as the 5-1 third choice over an inside-biased surface under Rafael Hernandez, he raced four wide near the rear of the 13-horse field before mounting an outside rally for second behind the front-running longshot Mansetti. Tom’s Magic bypassed the second Triple Crown race, the Prince of Wales Stakes on the dirt at Fort Erie, in which Runaway Again caught Mansetti late to prevail. Both have skipped the Breeders’. Hernandez, who has won the Breeders’ three times, is confident that the beautifully bred son of Justify will handle the longer distance. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “He’ll go a mile and a half,” Hernandez predicted. “I think it will set up good for him. It’s the turf – that’s his surface. Last time, in the King’s Plate, it was first time on synthetic. He was not comfortable until the quarter pole, and then he started running. He started to figure out how to handle the synthetic, and you can see how he closed. He was closing best. He’s a really nice horse, a good-looking horse.” With blinkers off, the stretch-runner Faber shouldn’t mind stretching out. After a troubled sixth in the Plate, he mounted a wide rally for third over a track that favored speed and inside runners in the 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales. Faber graduated when debuting on the inner turf at 2 and subsequently ran sixth in the restricted Cup and Saucer Stakes on the main turf. “I don’t think the distance is going to bother him,” trainer Kevin Attard said. “Of the three [Triple Crown] races, we always thought this was the one that suited him the most. I think he’s in good order.” Trainer Roger Attfield, who has won the Breeders’ a record nine times, sends out the unbeaten closer Ciunas. The son of Silent Name won his 6 1/2-furlong debut on the Tapeta July 6 before doubling up in a 1 1/16-mile Ontario-sired allowance on the inner turf Aug. 24, both with Beyer Speed Figures in the high 60s. “He relaxed early in the race and came with his run very effectively,” Attfield said, regarding Ciunas’s last start. “That’s what we have been looking for from him and that is what he has shown in both races.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Attfield believes the Breeders’ is an appropriate spot for Ciunas’s stakes debut. “He’s coming along very nicely,” Attfield said. “This is a big step up, but from everything I have seen of him, he should enjoy the mile and a half. That’s why we nominated him for this race.” Trainer Rachel Halden has won the Breeders’ twice, most recently last year with Roscar. She entered Aristella and the recent maiden winner Borealis Trail. Aristella is one of three fillies in the nine-horse field, along with the supplements Scat Girl and D’aurum. Aristella competed in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies, finishing seventh in the Woodbine Oaks, third in the Bison City Stakes, and first in the Wonder Where Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf. Eleven fillies have won the Breeders’ since 1970. The most recent one was Irish Mission in 2012. Sedburys Ghost is making his first turf start off a wide 11th-place finish in the Plate. He was previously an eye-catching winner of the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial Stakes over favored Notorious Gangster. Watsonville Red is a candidate to stay the trip. The plodder finished seventh in the Plate after a belated fourth in the Plate Trial. He was a non-factor in his two turf starts. Post time for the 11-race card 1:05 p.m., and the Breeders’ goes as the ninth at 5:39 p.m. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.