Sunday play: Elysian Field fits with males in King’s Plate

Elysian Field and Wickenheiser start as the only two fillies in the US$737,791 King’s Plate Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday with the former likely to attract attention after winning the Woodbine Oaks last month.

Given Elysian Field’s mild, morning-line odds, she remains playable off that win in this 17-horse field field full of Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. 

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Despite capturing the Woodbine Oaks by a clear margin, Elysian Field was listed at 8-1 on the morning line, which makes her a value play. 

There were two positive notes to point about Elysian Field’s recent win.

To start, Elysian Field moved into a fast pace in the Woodbine Oaks set by long shots Fashionably Fab and Friends for Life. The early fractions went in 24.02, 46.96 and 1:11.29 for the 1 1/8-mile race on synthetic, with TimeformUS marking both the half-mile and six-furlong fraction in red.

From seventh and five lengths behind at the half-mile point, Elysian Field cut into the pace and moved up to be only 1 3/4 lengths behind the leader through six furlongs.

Elysian Field tipped out at that point and took aim at Ticker Tape Home at the top of the stretch. She passed Ticker Tape Home in mid-stretch and maintained the advantage to win the race by 2 1/4 lengths. Wickenheiser and Fortyfiveseventy rallied late to complete the trifecta.

Even though Elysian Field moved into the fast pace, she finished strong. She completed the nine furlongs at 1:49.83, which was a little faster than the Plate Trial Stakes the day for Canadian-bred 3-year-old males. In the Plate Trial, Paramount Prince took advantage of a moderate pace and uncontested lead to finish at 1:49.99.

Another point is Elysian Field successfully stretched out to 1 1/8 miles after breaking her maiden locally at 6 1/2 furlongs and finishing second to Ticker Tape Home in the seven-furlong Fury Stakes.

Before those two sprint races, Elysian Field struggled in a one-mile-and-70-yard race at Gulfstream Park in February. Maybe Elysian Field needed more time to develop and a different environment at Woodbine.

As for the horses longer than Elysian Field on the King's Plate morning line. Kalik is the 3-1 favorite and likely to be over-bet, because Chad Brown trains him. In June, Kalik won the Pennine Ridge (G2) at Belmont Park in a good performance over Far Bridge, but in his next start he struggled to eighth in the Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) while stretching to 1 1/4 miles for the first time.

Beside the distance question, Kalik does not show any synthetic starts, and not every turf horse makes the transfer to this surface work. But Kalik is useful as an option to use in multi-race wagers. 

Morning-line second choice Stanley House finished sixth in the Plate Trial Stakes, although in fairness, he seemed out of position early in the race. Before that disappointing effort he ran respectably in local races at the lower levels. For example, Stanley House won an allowance optional claimer in June while earning a 110 TimeformUS Speed Figure. 

Kaukokaipuu is listed as the third choice on the morning line, and he exits a good, runner-up finish to Turf King in the local Marine Stakes (G3). Before that race, Turf King finished third in the Jersey Derby at Monmouth and took a Keeneland allowance race over More Than Looks in April.

If Elysian Field gets over-bet, Kaukokaipuu deserves a long look, but he does face the question of stretching out from a 1 1/16-mile race to 1 1/4 miles.

Wickenheiser rallied for second in the Woodbine Oaks. She enters this race on a five-race losing streak and seems more appropriate as a filly to use underneath.

Elysian Field needs to find a good spot early and likely maneuver through traffic, but otherwise she can contend and looks playable at the right odds. With a 17-horse field, setting up a longer ticket can get complicated, and a win bet might make more sense than a trifecta.

If Elysian Field starts at 5-1 or longer, then those represent fair win-bet odds on her. But in the event her odds fall too short in live wagering, then consider Kaukokaipuu. Both are usable in multi-race wagers along with the favorite Kalik. 

Use in multi-race wagers: 2 ,6, 15

Win: 2 at 5-1 or longer