Play the King Stakes 2015 at Woodbine Racetrack

Dave Bond | OTB Writer

Las Vegas, NV - The Grade 2 Play the King Stakes is on tap for this Sunday, August 23 from Woodbine Racetrack in beautiful Toronto, Ontario. A purse of $200,000 will be on the line when horses three years old and upward take to Woodbine's turf track and race seven furlongs.

A talented field of eight will line up in the Play the King Stakes - race 8 on Woodbine's Sunday schedule. Post time is 4:40 PM. Let's take a look into the past performances of all eight entries for this Grade 2 stakes.

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2015 Play the King Stakes Race Favorite Entries

Bobby's Kitten 1-1 - Chad Brown trained colt has five wins, a second and three third place finishes in 11 career starts and was last seen winning on the biggest stage - the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint - he finished third in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Before that was an OK third in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile September 14, a good second in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga August 8 and an ugly eighth in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational July 5. He also had a win in the minor Penn Mile Stakes May 31, 2014 and an Allowance score in March of that year. Bobby's Kitten will hit the track for the first time in nine months hoping to build on his biggest win to date and has looked great in workouts leading up to the weekend. Joel Rosario has the mount on the even-money favorite from post 7.

Tower of Texas 3-1 - Roger Attfield trained gelding raced in graded stakes company for the first time June 21 and posted an impressive win in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes with an eye-opening 98 Beyer Speed Figure on this track. It followed two more wins - an Allowance Optional Claiming here May 31 and an Allowance win May 10 also here. Last time out was an OK second in an Allowance here July 31. A year ago Tower of Texas had a disappointing fourteenth in the Queen's Plate, a third in the minor Plate Trial Stakes and a fourth in the minor Marine Stakes all on this track. But he has three wins and a second place finish in his last four starts overall and is obviously in good form heading into the weekend. Eurico Rosa Da Silva has been tabbed to keep the impressive roll going as Tower of Texas hopes for his second straight graded stakes score - from gate 2 as the morning line second choice.

Play the King Stakes 2015 | Remaining Contenders

Kaigun 5-1 - defending champion in this race Mark Casse trained gelding also finished second in three Grade 1 stakes last year - the Woodbine Mile in September, the Manhattan Stakes in June and behind Wise Dan in the Maker's Mile in Keeneland. He has just two starts this year which resulted in a third in an Allowance here July 31 and a fourth in the Grade 2 Arcadia Stakes at Santa Anita in January. He ended 2014 with a terrific win over Za Approval the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar November 28 but also had a tenth in the Breeders' Cup Mile and a fourth behind Wise Dan in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile five starts back. Kaigun has three wins and a second place finish in six starts at Woodbine and will be looking for his first win of 2015 Sunday. Patrick Husbands gets the call from the outside gate 8.

Stacked Deck 6-1 - has five wins and two third place finishes in 12 career starts for trainer Barbara Minshall and has two Allowance scores in his last three starts - last time out July 31 in wire-to-wire fashion and three starts back in front running style - with a career best Beyer Speed Figure here May 22. He had a respectable third in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes on this track June 21 sandwiched in there. He had two disappointing results before his recent uptick - a tenth in the minor Jacques Cartier Stakes in April and a sixth in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes in November. He won the minor Charlie Barley Stakes on this track a year ago so we know that he can put together a good run. David Moran has been tabbed to ride as Stacked Deck tries for his first graded stakes score and his third win in his last four starts - from the rail.

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Reporting Star 15-1 - Pat Parente pupil has placed in his last three starts overall. Last time out was a third in an Allowance Optional Claiming here July 12 after a second in the Florida Sunshine Millions Turf back in January and a second in the Grade 3 Tropical Turf Handicap at Gulfstream Park West in November. Before that was a somewhat disappointing sixth in the Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International October 19, an OK third in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes September 14, a good second in the Grade 2 Sky Classic Stakes August 16 and a three race win streak - all Allowance races at Woodbine. He has placed in 16 of his last 17 starts overall and six of seven graded stakes tries. Reporting Star looks for his first win in over a year when he leaves from gate 6 with Luis Contreras guiding him.

Passion for Action 20-1 - makes his graded stakes debut Sunday after six career starts yielded two wins, two seconds and a third place finish. He won the minor Cup and Saucer Stakes on this track in October and followed that with a fifth in the minor Coronation Futurity. Passion for Action was off for nearly eight months before returning July 25 to a second place finish in an Allowance Optional Claiming on this track. He races for the second time this year hoping to make a little noise in graded stakes company -from post 3 with Emma-Jayne Wilson guiding him.

Platinum Glory 20-1 - has placed in five of eight career starts for trainer Michael De Paulo - a win, three seconds and a third place finish. He made his stakes debut June 21 and finished a good second in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes here but followed that with a disappointing seventh last time out in the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes July 19. He had a second in an Allowance here May 24, a third in a similar race on this track in November and a maiden score on this track in October in his fourth start. Platinum Glory looks to bounce back from an ugly effort last time out with Omar Moreno in the irons from gate 4.

Hot Hot Heat 20-1 - Sid Attard trained colt has three wins in 10 career starts but steps into stakes company for the first time Sunday. He enters on a two race win streak - an Allowance August 2 and a Claiming July 11 - both results on this track. He makes an enormous step up in competition in career best for from post 5 with Alan Garcia in the reins.


2015 Play the King Stakes Entries & Odds

Race 8 on Woodbine Racetrack's Sunday card with a Post Time of 4:40 PM.

Entry Horse Jockey Trainer ML Odds
1 Stacked Deck D. Moran B. Minshall
6-1
2 Tower of Texas E. Da Silva R. Attfield
3-1
3 Passion for Action E. Wilson M. De Paulo
20-1
4 Platinum Glory O. Moreno M. De Paulo
20-1
5 Hot Hot Heat A. Garcia S. Attard
20-1
6 Reporting Star L. Contreras P. Parente
15-1
7 Bobby's Kitten J. Rosario C. Brown
1-1
8 Kaigun P. Husbands M. Casse
5-1