Woodbine stakes plays for Sept. 11

A pair of very good stakes races will highlight the Saturday card north of the border at Woodbine. I will be fairly aggressive in my wagers as I have a strong opinion in both events.

Seagram’s Cup S. (G3) -- Race 3

A compact field of five will travel 1 1/16 miles in the first black-type race of the afternoon. Dual classic winner #4 Mighty Heart (4-5) is the obvious one to beat for Josie Carroll. The Dramedy colt loves the surface, he has speed and heart, and the bay colt also showed fine form in advance of Saturday. He will have to win from off the pace in this spot, but he has proven to be capable of doing so in the past.

#2 Another Mystery (4-1) fits as a perfect exotics contender in the field in making his local debut for Chris Block. The Illinois-bred has a stout late kick, and the five-year-old will get a nice pace set up to display his closing run in filling the exacta.

Wager

• $40 exacta 4 with 2 ($40)

Vice Regent S. -- Race 7

This five-furlong dash on the turf is the more open of the two stakes contests on the card with eight going postward. I am siding with #8 Forester’s Fortune (4-1) from the advantageous outside post. Trained by Rodney Barrow, the gelded son of Old Forester has run some big ones on the strip and exits a fine allowance tally when rallying well from off the pace in the stretch.

The chestnut lands in a field with ample early pace signed on, and with his draw, the Ontario-bred will have smooth sailing while in the clear throughout with Daisuke Fukumoto in the stirrups.

#7 City Boy (2-1) was a commendable fourth in the Highlander S. (G1) in his latest venture. The seven-year-old son of City Zip is far from a win machine with three wins and 12 placings to date, but the bay is consistent and seems to be rounding up to another big race in his third race off the layoff for trainer Michael Keogh.

Wagers

• $30 win #8 Forester’s Fortune ($30)
• $10 exacta box 7-8 ($20)