Woodbine will run the 2021 E. P. Taylor Stakes on Sunday, October 17, 2021. The E. P. Taylor is a Grade 1 race for fillies and mares, going a mile and a quarter on the grass. It offers a $600,000 purse, and a field of ten top turf mares has entered to contest one of the most important races of the Canadian racing year.
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These are the official entrants for the 2021 E. P. Taylor Stakes, along with their post positions, trainers, and jockeys:
As the race draws closer, online sportsbooks will begin to offer fixed odds on the horses in the E. P. Taylor. Make sure to track the odds on your sportsbooks of choice, and place your bet when you are getting an overlay on the horse you like to win the race. You can lock in your odds, and be confident that you are getting the best price.
Trainer Christophe Clement has a pair in here who are not only recent local winners but who look to get favorable pace setups.
La Dragontea needs to bring her absolute best, but if she does, she is the most intriguing horse in this race. She won the Canadian (G2) last out and can move forward on the stretch out to a mile and a quarter. She has tactical speed in a race without a lot of paces. Also good, with rain in the forecast for the days leading up to the race, La Dragontea also likes rain-affected lawns.
Mutamakina, the other runner from the Clement barn, won the Dance Smartly (G2) over this course and distance last out. She got the jump on defending E. P. Taylor champion Etoile that day and stands to do so again. Her tactical speed gives jockey Dylan Davis a good chance to give her another good trip. However, the rain in the forecast raises questions, as she is hit-or-miss when there is some cut in the ground.
This is a Grade 1 turf race in North America, and as usual, trainer Chad Brown brings a brigade.
Great Island will likely be the best bet of his trio, with very good reason. She comes into this race off of a good second-place finish behind filly and mare turf division leader War Like Goddess. Great Island has enough tactical versatility to give strong local rider Rafael Hernandez options about where to place her. The biggest drawback is the rain since Great Island is unproven over the softer footing.
Etoile and Kalifornia Queen are the other two from the Brown barn. Etoile is the defending champion, but may not get a very good setup for her closing style and often comes up less than her best over the softer footing.
Kalifornia Queen has some rapport with Flavien Prat but has been an underneath type at best in graded stakes since moving to North America. She also prefers firmer going which is a strike against her given the weather forecast.
It always merits attention when Roger Varian ships a horse out to North America, and Waliyak looks like his usual kind of live horse. She came in second in a very live Atalanta (G3) at Sandown two starts ago, then followed that with a victory in a G3 at Chantilly. Though she often closes, she sat a bit closer three back at Haydock; her rider that day (Jack Mitchell) flies to Canada to ride her. Waliyak also relishes rain-soaked grass.
Canadians Court Return and Merveilleux, Kentucky-based Family Way, and French shipper Keyflower complete the field. Among these long shots, Keyflower is the most interesting. She has to step up in class, but she has strong form over the soft and heavy ground, putting her in a good position to relish ground that many of her foes may not particularly like.
Once you have made your accounts on the best online racebooks and taken a look at the contenders, here are the best to make on the biggest race of the year.
About the Author
For a decade, Rowan Ward has been making horse race predictions and wagers in Chicago, and has been writing about horse racing for nearly just as long. Understanding the various factors that influence a race's outcome, they often find that the age-old saying "the pace makes the race" can uncover worthwhile betting opportunities. When it comes to handicapping, their favorite races are those held locally in Chicago, major stake races across the country, and two-year-old maiden races with intriguing bloodlines.
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