Proctor Street, Souped Up Win Graded Stakes at Woodbine

United States shipper Proctor Street, a troubled seventh in the De La Rose Stakes last month at Saratoga Race Course, worked out a ground-saving, come-from-behind trip under Pietro Moran before tipping out in the stretch to defeat Eponine (IRE) by a neck in the $144,438 Canadian Stakes (G2T) Aug. 15 at Woodbine. The Canadian, one of three graded stakes Saturday on the King's Plate card, provided Proctor Street with her initial graded stakes win after three earlier graded placings. She had won the ungraded Cardinal Stakes last fall in her first black-type triumph. Eponine made Proctor Street work to earn the Canadian victory, stalking the leaders in third on the inside and finding room in the stretch. But her advance to take command gave Proctor Street a path to follow from fifth in the field of six, and Proctor Street ultimately wore down Eponine. The winner ran the 1 1/16 miles on Woodbine's firm inner turf in 1:41.40 and paid $4.50 to win as the favorite. "It was a perfect trip. Everything fell in place," Moran said. Lupa (IRE), who set quick splits of :22.48, :46.46, and 1:10.79, hung tough before fading in the final furlong to finish third behind the top two. The Brendan Walsh-trained Proctor Street is a daughter of Darley stallion Street Sense out of the graded stakes-winning Ghostzapper mare Proctor's Ledge. The 5-year-old mare is a homebred for Patricia Moseley and is now 6-2-3 in 14 starts. Souped Up Comes Out Hot in THE Bold Venture The first of the three graded stakes races on the King's Plate undercard, the $134,455 Bold Venture Stakes (G3), proved a thriller, with pace-pressing Souped Up inching past longtime leader Western Whirl for a head victory. Favored Notorious Gangster ran third. Tepid fractions of :23.10 and :46.30 in the 6 1/2-furlong race on Tapeta were advantageous to the front-runners, and Souped Up just managed to get to the front in the closing strides. He was clocked in a final time of 1:17.06, paying $23.40 for a $2 win wager. Ron Sadler trains Ontario-bred Souped Up, a 6-year-old Souper Speedy gelding, for owners Linda Theil and Harri Hosein. Saturday's victory was Souped Up's first at the stakes level and his eighth from 23 starts. "This horse comes every single time to play," winning jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson said. Three-Horse Photo Decides King Edward It took a pair of noses to separate the top three finishers in the $168,943 King Edward Stakes (G2T), but the photo showed Gas Me Up won by the slimmest of margins over longtime leader Piper's Factor, who got the place by a nose over Irish Aces. Gas Me Up, ridden by Fraser Aebly and trained by Kevin Attard, who won his fifth race of the card, rated midpack most of the way behind Piper's Factor, who led by 3 lengths through fractions of :23, :46.50, and 1:10.50. Gas Me Up made his winning move inside the final furlong, outside of both Piper's Factor and Irish Aces, and hit the wire first in 1:35.44 for the 1-mile inner turf race. He paid $6.20 to win as the favorite for owners Exline-Border Racing, Michael Jawl, Aaron Kennedy, and Tom Zwiesler. Gas Me Up is the fifth graded stakes winner this year for his sire Hard Spun. The 6-year-old gelding is out of the Smart Strike mare Chic Thrill and was bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm. He was purchased for $140,000 by Exline-Border Racing at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale out of the Sam-Son Farm consignment.