Woodbine: Well Played should take to turf on Wednesday

ETOBICOKE, Ontario —The Canada Day long weekend is over, but the action continues Wednesday night at Woodbine with an eight-race card that includes two turf events.

Well Played has a realistic chance to win his first turf start in the third race of the evening, a six-furlong maiden special.

Well Played finished up the track when he debuted in a difficult five-furlong dash April 7. Three weeks later, with the addition of Lasix, he was a prominent third in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special, while registering a 61 Beyer Speed Figure.

Well Played experimented around two turns most recently May 13, when he stalked in third before fading to finish eighth. The promising Golden Ridge was victorious, and runner-up Stunning Split came right back to earn his diploma.

Well Played, by the successful grass sire Langfuhr, is the second foal from turf winner Playwild, who was third in the Ontario Colleen Stakes on this course.

Steve Bahen retains the mount on the Mike Keogh-trained Well Played, who is owned by Gustav Schickedanz. Keogh and Schickedanz campaigned Langfuhr, the 1997 Met Mile winner.

Catch the Sun and Thames Trader finished second and third in a six-furlong maiden special on the grass nearly three weeks ago.

Catch the Sun, a 4-year-old trained by Catherine Day Phillips, was a non-threatening fifth when he debuted last August. He didn’t see action again until June 15, when he made a three-wide bid into serious contention on the turn before flattening out to finish 3 1/2 lengths back.

Thames Trader was 1 3/4 lengths behind Catch the Sun after saving ground in his first turf outing June 15. He has missed the top four only once in four starts, all for trainer Laurie Silvera.

Main track only entrant Burnum should be favored if the proceedings are moved to the Polytrack. Trained by Terry Jordan, Burnum received a solid 77 Beyer when second in his debut in a key June 1 maiden special race.

Keogh will saddle first-timer Buttertart in the fourth, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden claimer on turf for $50,000 fillies and mares.

Buttertart, another Schickedanz homebred by Langfuhr, is out of turf stakes winner Colorful T, who has been a modest producer.

Coastal Tide will be well-backed in the fourth off her front-running third-place finish in a maiden special sprint on the grass June 16, which came after a one-year layoff.

Stormy Beauty and Tiz Zippy are two other possibilities in the fourth.