2023 Summer Stakes Preview & FREE Picks | My Boy Prince Tries Turf In Breeders’ Cup Prep Race

Aaron previews the 2023 Summer Stakes (G1) from Woodbine, then gives his top picks & long shots from this “Win & You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Impressive Simcoe Stakes winner My Boy Prince tries turf for the 1st time as 1 of 5 entrees for trainer Mark Casse. Will he pass this test on the grass? Tell us YOUR thoughts in the Comments section!

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The press release:

Automatic Breeders’ Cup berths are on the line as compelling editions of the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, bet365 Summer Stakes, and Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes headline Saturday’s Turf Champions Day card of racing at Woodbine.

The 27th running of the Mile, worth $1 million and contested over the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course, has attracted an accomplished field of six hopefuls. The Mile and the Natalma will be showcased on a live broadcast airing on TSN from 5-6 p.m. ET. 

Under the terms of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, the Woodbine Mile winner will be entitled to a fees-paid berth for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile, to be run on November 4 at Santa Anita. The winner of the $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes, for 2-year-old fillies, will be entitled to a fees-paid berth for the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf on November 3, while the winner of the $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes, for 2-year-olds, receives the same opportunity for the $2 million Juvenile Turf, also on November 3.

My Boy Prince, who turned plenty of heads with his runaway victory in Woodbine’s Simcoe Stakes, will look to boost his status in Saturday’s bet365 Summer Stakes (G1T).

The winner of the $500,000 Summer, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-olds, will earn a fee-paid berth for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, a one-mile race which will be run at Santa Anita on November 3.

“I’m really excited to see My Boy Prince run, “said Mark Casse, who conditions the son of Cairo Prince and Hopping Not Hoping for owner Gary Barber. “We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of nice horses, and I would say that as far as young horses go, he’s the first horse since Wonder Wheel (winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Eclipse Award champion of her division) to kind of get me really excited.”

My Boy Prince was the $115,000 (CDN) sales-topper at the CTHS premier local yearling sale. The Ontario-bred has raced three times, all on Woodbine’s Tapeta surface, graduating impressively in his second appearance before his 14-length romp in the 6 ½-furlong Simcoe for yearling sales graduates on August 27.

“I have no idea how he will handle the turf, but my experience with Cairo Princes is they normally move up on the turf,” said Casse.

Woodbine’s perennial leading trainer has captured four previous runnings of the Summer, the most recent with Gretzky the Great in 2020. He also has entered Souper Attentive, Go With Gusto, Golden Canary and King of the Track for the Summer.

Go With Canary and Go With Gusto are cross-entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Natalma for 2-year-old fillies.

Joel Rosario has the call on My Boy Prince and is also named on Go With Gusto, who finished first in her only start to date only to have her number taken down.

Carson’s Run, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey, has been solid in his two career starts at Saratoga and looms a serious threat for the barn of trainer Christophe Clement.

Both outings came over 1 1/16 miles of grass and include a game maiden win on August 6 and a second-place finish in a competitive renewal of the Grade 3 With Anticipation on August 31.

“I thought he ran a great race, and he came out of the race very well,” said Miguel Clement, son and assistant to Christophe Clement, who won the 2019 Summer with Decorated Invader.

“To be honest, we hadn’t been thinking about the Summer but since he came out of the race in such great shape and we were coming there with Ozara (for Saturday’s Natalma Stakes), we decided we might as well make it a van full. This race is appealing because of the Grade 1 status, if not for anything else.”

Dylan Davis retains the mount on Carson’s Run.

Trainer Kevin Attard has entered Bucyk, Bold Enoree and Airosa for the Summer with the latter-named pair also entered in the Natalma.

Airosa captured the Catch A Glimpse, a 6 ½-furlong turf race for fillies, for her second straight win after finishing fourth in her debut.

Attard won the 2001 Summer with El Soprano for his second career stakes win. That total has burgeoned to 88 after Velocitor registered an upset victory in Tuesday’s Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.

Rounding out the field will be last-out maiden turf winners Western Whirl and Tunechi.

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer  

1 – Souper Attentive – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

2 – Carson’s Run – Dylan Davis – Christophe Clement

3 – My Boy Prince – Joel Rosario – Mark Casse

4 – Tunechi – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Barbara Minshall

5 – Go With Gusto – Joel Rosario – Mark Casse

6 – Bolt Enoree – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

7 – Airosa – John Velazquez – Kevin Attard

8 – Western Whirl – Rico Walcott – Stuart Simon

9 – Bucyk – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

10 – Golden Canary – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse

11 – King of the Track – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse