Veteran Cruden Bay Back for More in King Edward

Veteran runner Cruden Bay, who came into last year's King Edward Stakes (G2T) in similar fashion following a victory in the Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T), will look to improve upon his 2024 fifth-place finish and come home with the trophy Aug. 16 at Woodbine.

Michael Lay's 7-year-old gelding is listed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in his quest to put together back-to-back graded stakes wins over the Woodbine turf. Cruden Bay, the 124-pound high weight in the field in the mile contest for older horses, topped his performance in the 2024 Connaught Cup with a rallying 1 1/2-length score July 20 under jockey Fraser Aebly. The son of Big Screen netted a 104 Equibase Speed Figure.

Aebly climbs back aboard Cruden Bay for trainer Donald MacRae. 

Piper's Factor, a troubled third in the Connaught, returns in the King Edward. The Chiefswood Stables homebred has been winless since capturing the Toronto Cup Stakes at Woodbine last summer.

The Mark Casse-trained War Strategy looks to be the lone speed of the race in a field lacking much early pace. A multiple allowance winner, the War Front  gelding makes his stakes debut while stretching out in trip for owners Quintessential Racing Florida and Paul Haddad. Pietro Moran will ride War Strategy as his regular rider, Sahin Civaci, takes the mount on the other Casse entrant, Lucky Score. 

Two-time Woodbine graded stakes winner Dresden Row is also among the field, and cuts back in trip after finishing second as the favorite to Swift Delivery in the Aug. 2 Seagram Cup Stakes (G3) over the synthetic main track.

Entries: bet365 King Edward S. (G2T)

Woodbine, Saturday, August 16, 2025, Race 10

• Grade IIT
• 1m
• Turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 6:11 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Piper's Factor (ON)	Patrick Husbands	121	Katerina Vassilieva	8/1
2	2Twin City (ON)	Keveh Nicholls	121	Stuart C. Simon	20/1
3	3Cruden Bay (ON)	Fraser Aebly	124	Donald C. MacRae	5/2
4	4Wyoming Bill (ON)	Jose Lezcano	121	Catherine Day Phillips	15/1
5	5Dresden Row (KY)	Ryan Munger	122	Lorne Richards	3/1
6	6Lucky Score (ON)	Sahin Civaci	121	Mark E. Casse	12/1
7	7Mason's Gamble (ON)	Jalon L. Samuel	121	Michael P. De Paulo	20/1
8	8Gas Me Up (ON)	Flavien Prat	121	Kevin Attard	6/1
9	9Public Sector (GB)	Javier Castellano	121	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	20/1
10	10War Strategy (KY)	Pietro Moran	121	Mark E. Casse	4/1

Victory Achieved Eyes First Stakes Win in Bold Venture

The 6 1/2-furlong Bold Venture Stakes (G3) could mark the coming-out party for the Casse-trained Victory Achieved on King's Plate Saturday. A homebred for Live Oak Plantation, Victory Achieved may be one of the youngest and most lightly raced horses in the field, but also sports a sparkling 111 Equibase Speed Figure sprinting over the Woodbine strip.

That career-best number was achieved last fall when the son of Street Sense  handily defeated Bold Venture favorite Simcoe by 2 1/4 lengths in a second-level allowance optional claimer Nov. 24. 

Victory Achieved has only run once since that win, fading to finish fifth in a distance beyond his scope in the 1 1/16-mile, off-the-turf Sunshine Turf Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January. 

Patrick Husbands gets back on the 4-year-old in his return to sprinting. 

Casse will also saddle the proven graded stakes winner Ice Chocolat in the Bold Venture. Eighth in his only start this year in the March 29 Appleton Stakes, the speedy Brazilian-bred gelding has never won over the Woodbine synthetic but did drop a nose defeat to Flag Of Honour in the 2023 Kennedy Road Stakes (G2).