Yummy With Butter seeks first stakes win

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Yummy With Butter will try to notch his first stakes Wednesday night at Woodbine in the $125,000 Shepperton, a 6 1/2-furlong event for Ontario-sired runners.

Yummy With Butter, trained by Mark Fournier for owner Bruno Schickedanz, registered back-to-back third-place finishes in the spring, in the six-furlong New Providence Stakes and the 1 1/16-mile Steady Growth Stakes.

Most recently, in an optional claimer, Yummy With Butter had a troubled inside trip, but managed to salvage fourth in that six-furlong dash, while beaten 2 1/2 lengths by a sharp Lake Secret.

"He's got that one late kick, and when he was making his run at the three-sixteenths pole, he got stopped," said Fournier. "He re-rallied and finished up good, and then galloped out strong."

Tyler Pizarro retains the mount on Yummy With Butter, who has some speed to run at in the Shepperton.

Sand Cove should be favored off his close third-place finish behind the talented twosome of Just Rushing and Sterwins in the July 18 Ontario Jockey Club Stakes. He had been idle for more than seven months heading into that seven-furlong turf sprint, for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 97.

Sand Cove captured three consecutive stakes last year, including the nine-furlong Ontario Derby on the Polytrack. He can win on the lead, or come from off the pace, and that tactical speed is one of his main assets.

Richard Dos Ramos will get a leg up on Sand Cove from trainer Roger Attfield.

Dancer's Bajan, a seven-time stakes winner trained by Bob Tiller, won last year's Shepperton with a career-high Beyer Figure of 103. He also took the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton Stakes in December, but his two races this year were both subpar.

Dancer's Bajan stumbled at the break when sixth in the May 9 New Providence, and has been idle since ending up a distant second as the favorite in the June 6 Steady Growth.

Drunken Love, who was a fading fourth in last year's Shepperton, figures to be the pacemaker. He was claimed for $62,500 two starts ago by trainer Norm McKnight, who sent him out to win a minor turf stakes at Fort Erie on July 12.

Paso Doble, the lone 3-year-old in the eight-horse field, was supplemented at a cost of $2,500. He finished a lapped-on fourth last time out in the Deputy Minister Stakes.