How to bet the Durham Cup Stakes

Conditioner Mark Casse will saddle three of the seven contestants in Sunday’s C$125,000 Durham Cup (G3) at Woodbine.

Durham Cup Analysis

The pace will be robust early on with #2 Inventing Blame, #3 Salute With Honor, and #5 Roaring Forties all being in the mix from the start. I expect the winner to rally from off the early tempo.

Durham Cup Contenders

#1 SKYWIRE (5-2) -- Eclipse (G2) winner is the first of three from the Casse shedrow. Afleet Alex gelding sports a nifty 6-3-2-0 mark on the main oval at Woodbine and will thrive on the move off the lawn in this spot. Late runner has never been worse than second from five tries at the distance, and he is a top-three must-use under Hernandez.

#2 INVENTING BLAME (20-1) -- Fleet son of Blame makes his third run off the shelf for Attfield. Speedy colt stopped early in a local allowance tilt most recently, and while improvement is expected, the 4-year-old would be a surprise against this field.

#3 SALUTE WITH HONOR (3-1) -- Casse pupil is 4-for-6 on the surface including a dominant tally in an allowance event at Woodbine last time out. Gelded 6-year-old is not the most consistent contender in the field, but his last race was quite good and he has trained well in the interim, too. Patrick Husbands will ride the speedy chestnut.

#4 PIONEER MAN (8-1) -- Lightly raced 4-year-old is the third for Casse and makes sense with a forward move on Sunday. Pioneerof the Nile homebred is 2-for-3 on the oval and had a decent prep when an even fourth in a deep allowance test on the local lawn. Dark bay will get a healthy pace to rally into under Emma-Jayne.

#5 ROARING FORTIES (6-1) -- Wildcard from the Vella barn stretches out for his third try of the season following two sprint efforts. Son of Stormy Atlantic is perfect from a pair of outings at the trip, but he faces two major pace players in the field which could hurt his chances for an advantageous voyage. Justin Stein will be aboard.

#6 TIMESKIP (12-1) -- Exotics contender is a one-run closer in a field expected to have a fast pace for Kierans. Court Vision 5-year-old will need a lifetime top effort to best this field, but the Ontario-bred could rally for a share late and spike the exotics at a nice price. Leo Salles will be in the controls.

#7 ARMISTICE DAY (2-1) -- Gelded son of Declaration of War was last seen finishing a solid fifth in the Woodbine Mile (G1) and rates as the one to beat for Minshall. Chestnut shows a 4-2-2-0 local mark, and he received a nice post draw outside of the field as well. David Moran stays atop the 4-year-old.

Durham Cup Wagers

• $1 Superfecta: 1,7 with 1,4,6,7 with 1,4,6,7 with all ($48)