Autumn Stakes 2013 Contenders & Odds

Dave Bond | OTB Writer

Las Vegas, NV - Sunday's Woodbine live Thoroughbred card has been cancelled due to high winds and wind gusts.

"The Woodbine Thoroughbred card for November 10th has been canceled after the first race due to the jockeys' decision that wind conditions were unsafe," said Steve Koch, Woodbine's Vice-President of Thoroughbred Racing.

The Grade 2 Autumn Stakes, which was slated as Race 8 on Sunday's card, has been moved to Friday November 15.

The Grade 2 Autumn Stakes is on tap for this Friday, November 15 from Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. A purse of $150,000 will be on the line for horses three years old and upward willing to go 1 1/16 miles on Woodbine's dirt track.

A field of 10 will line up in the Autumn Stakes - moved to Friday's card. Here is a brief glance into the past performances of all 10 combatants for this Grade 2 stakes.

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2013 Autumn Stakes Race Favorite Entries

James Street - is a graded stakes winner, is multiple graded stakes placed and is the defending champion in this race. He had a nice second in the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes July 1 to follow a good third in the Grade 3 Eclipse Stakes behind Alpha Bettor and Delegation here May 12. Last time out however was a terrific win in the Grade 3 Durham Cup ahead of Alpha Bettor after a disappointing sixth in the Grade 3 Seagram Cup August 3. Before the Dominion result was a second in an Allowance in April and a distant ninth in January in the Grade 3 Colonel E.R. Bradley Handicap. James Street has a win, a second, a third and a seventh in his last four graded stakes starts here and has to be considered the favorite off his recent win over Alpha Bettor and the fact that he won this race last year.

Alpha Bettor - has 25 career starts - 24 at Woodbine. He has shown very good form in the past - he won the Grade 3 Seagram Cup two straight years including August 3 of this year but he followed that with a tenth in the minor Presque Isle Mile Stakes September 8 in his only race outside of Ontario. Last time out was a good second in the Grade 3 Durham Cup behind James Street October 6. Earlier this year he also had an OK third in the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes behind James Street and a win in May over Delegation in the Grade 2 Eclipse also on this track. He has won two of his last four starts on this track and has not been worse than fourth in his last 10 starts on here. He is the 123 pound highweight and will be out to avenge a loss to his old rival James Street Sunday.

Autumn Stakes 2013 | Remaining Contenders

Awesome Overture - races for just the eighth time for trainer Paul Attard and has looked good recently. Last time out was a third behind James Street and Alpha Bettor in the Grade 3 Durham Cup after a second in an Allowance behind Peyton as 3-5 favorite and another third in the Grade 3 Seagram Cup. He has been in the money in six of seven career starts and will be looking for his first stakes score Sunday.

Peyton - raced some big races on this track last year with some unflattering results including a thirteenth in the Queen's Plate, a tenth in the Breeders' Stakes and a sixth in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby. But Peyton had a 2 1/4 length high-priced Allowance score in November and followed that with a good second in the Grade 3 Valedictory Stakes here in December. He has five starts in 2013 - an Allowance Optional Claiming score on this track July 1 after 7 1/2 months away, an OK third in the Grade 3 Seagram Cup, an ugly eighth in the Grade 2 Sky Classic, an Allowance score on this track September 13 and an OK fourth in the Grade 3 Durham Cup here October 6. He will be looking for his first graded stakes score Sunday and enters having placed in just one of his last four starts.

Pender Harbour - won two-thirds of the Canadian Triple Crown in 2011 and has been up and down since. He made his 2013 debut June 23 and finished a very disappointing ninth in the Grade 2 King Edward here and followed that with another ninth in the Grade 2 Nijinsky in July. This after a good end to his 2012 campaign - consecutive wins in the minor Bunty Lawless Stakes and Elgin Stakes on this track. He is coming off a second place finish in the minor Bunty Lawless behind Ultimate Destiny after a second in the minor Overtakes Stakes in September and a second in the minor Halton Stakes in August. Pender Harbour returns to graded stakes company this weekend after regaining some confidence in minor stakes action. He was second in this race in 2011 but surprisingly he has yet to record a graded stakes win.

Autumn Stakes betting at Woodbine Racetrack with OffTrackBetting.com

Ultimate Destiny - has seven starts this year with four wins and three second place finishes. A three race win streak in the Spring ended with a good second behind Alpha Bettor in the Grade 3 Seagram Cup here August 3 in the first of three straight second place finishes (the others being minor stakes action). Last time out Ultimate Destiny returned to the winner's circle - in the minor Bunty Lawless Stakes over Pender Harbour here October 20. He has been terrific this year on this track and is a sneaky entry for the Autumn.

Perfect Afleet - made his stakes debut in the Grade 2 Eclipse Stakes at Woodbine May 12 and finished fourth for the third straight time. He started his year with an Allowance Optional Claiming score at Gulfstream March 9 for his only victory in nearly a year. Last time out was a fifth in the Grade 3 Seagram Cup at Woodbine August 3 after a sixth in the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes on that same track. Perfect Afleet has three wins, two seconds and a third place finish in 18 career starts.

Bowman's Causeway - Roger Attfield trainee has been involved in some big races with less-than-spectacular results - an eighth in the 2011 Grade 1 Florida Derby and a seventh in the 2011 Grade 1 Travers but has concentrated on Allowance races since. He has one win in 2013 - back on August 25 but is coming off a fourth October 26. Bowman's Causeway has a win and a third place finish in five starts in 2013.

Occasional View - Kenneth McPeek trained gelding is coming off an Allowance Optional Claiming score at Keeneland October 24 after a fifth in the Grade 3 Ogden Phoenix in that same track three weeks earlier. He has yet to place in stakes action (two fourths and two fifths) but enters having won two of his last five starts overall.

Mezzano - raced in stakes company for the first and finished a distant seventh in the Grade 3 Red Bank at Monmouth Park in May for trainer Alan Goldberg after winning two and finishing second in three previous starts. Last time out was an Allowance Optional Claiming at Laurel Park October 9 after a pair of eighth in minor stakes action - the Presque Isle Mile Stakes in September and the Donald LeVine Memorial Handicap in June.


2013 Autumn Stakes Entries & Odds

Running on Woodbine Racetrack's Friday card

Entry Horse Jockey Trainer ML Odds
1 Peyton L. Contreras M. Doyle
15-1
2 Mezzano O. Moreno A. Goldberg
12-1
3 Alpha Bettor J. Stein D. Vella
6-1
4 Ultimate Destiny E. Da Silva A. Fehr
5-2
5 Perfect Afleet T. Pizarro R. Attfield
20-1
6 James Street P. Husbands J. Carroll
3-1
7 Awesome Overture J. Campbell P. Attard
12-1
8 Occasional View A. Garcia K. McPeek
8-1
9 Pender Harbour C. Sutherland Kruse M. De Paulo
4-1
10 Bowman's Causeway E. Wilson R. Attfield
20-1