Stakes Plays for Woodbine on Saturday, Nov. 7

A trio of graded tilts will be contested north of the border at Woodbine on Saturday. Here are some spot plays to consider:

Race 7 – Maple Leaf (G3)

A cast of seven fillies and mares will travel 1 1/4 miles over the Tapeta surface in the first black-type tilt of the afternoon. It’s hard for me to fall in love with any of the ladies in the wide-open field, but Josie Carroll’s #4 Lupa is the controlling speed in the tilt and is also as good as she's ever been. The Lope de Vega four-year-old was never threatened in her gate-to-wire triumph in the Ontario Matron (G3) most recently, and the bay figures to receive a similar type of voyage on Saturday under regular pilot Fraser Aebly. 

Race 9 – Autumn (G3)

An accomplished cast of six males will go nine furlongs on the all-weather strip in the second stakes tilt of the day. Rachel Halden’s #6 English Actor has been dusted in his last two ambitious attempts, but the local stakes victor likes the surface and will also bring pace to a field lacking a lot of early gas. The English Channel gelding is a cut below the favorite in the event, but he has no distance limitations, and the five-year-old could be very dangerous at a fair number if he sneaks away early. Rafael Hernandez inherits the mount. 

Race 10 – Bessarabian (G3)

Fillies and mares will dash seven-eighths on the synthetic surface in the final stakes contest with a strong field of 10 set to go postward. A classy group has been assembled for the affair, and I expect Mark Casse’s #4 Creed’s Gold to rebound in a big way following a subpar run in the Ontario Fashion (G3) in her most recent performance. By Jimmy Creed, the five-year-old mare looked the part in her Hendrie (G3) score here two back over a solid cast, and she will move forward the second time off the shelf in this spot. The chestnut lass has good positional speed, and I expect her to get the jump on the late-running players in the cast turning for home. Hernandez will take the reins.