'He’s a talented horse': Stanley House ready for Grade 2 Seagram Cup test
TORONTO, July 24, 2024 – Stanley House will tackle 1 1/16 miles on the main track and eight rivals in Saturday’s $175,000 Seagram Cup (G2) at Woodbine.
The Seagram Cup, for 3-year-olds and up, marks the second straight graded engagement for Stanley House, trained by Mike De Paulo.
On June 29, in his most recent effort, the 4-year-old finished a strong second to champion Paramount Prince in the 1 1/8-mile Dominion Day Stakes (G3).
“He ran a good race,” said De Paulo, who is closing in on 1,000 career victories. “The winner got to the front and Patrick [jockey, Husbands] is dangerous when he gets out there. We ended up second. It looked like he was going to start going backwards, but he came on again.
“This guy is a little thicker this year. He is still a colt, and he is a little wider and looks like he’s a little stronger. He’s always been a good work horse.”
De Paulo originally wanted to purchase Stanley House for himself and his son, groom Joseph De Paulo.
“When we went to the [2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall] sale, I thought we could buy him ourselves for around $40,000 to $50,000, but when the price started going up, I thought I should get on the phone,” he said of the eventual $120,000 purchase. “But it all worked out.”
A model of consistency, Stanley House, owned by John and Diana Russell, is 3-4-1 from 12 starts, along with $269,743 in purse earnings.
“I liked this horse when I bought him,” said De Paulo. “He was a good-legged colt, just impressive from the physical standpoint. You look at him and you know he is a racehorse. From the first day we breezed him, he acted like he could run. Mike Cook broke him in Ocala, and he was high on him all along.”
Stanley House finished second in his debut in November 2022 and followed it up with another runner-up effort one month later.
“I thought he should have won his first two races,” De Paulo said of the horse bred by Elevage II, LLC and St. Elias Racing Stables, LLC. “It didn’t happen, but he’s a talented horse.”
The dark bay son of Army Mule-Stormy’s Song broke his maiden at Gulfstream – in his fourth start – on March 25, 2023.
After a win that June at Woodbine, Stanley House finished sixth in the Plate Trial.
A month later he went postward in the 164th edition of The King’s Plate and finished third in the race won by Paramount Prince, who will also contest the Seagram Cup.
“When we bought him, I didn’t think at that point he would be a Plate horse,” said De Paulo. “But he got better and better and gave us some excitement in the Plate.”
De Paulo would like to deliver the owners, longtime supporters of racing in Ontario and Woodbine for decades, a stakes win courtesy of Stanley House.
John is president of J.E. Russell Produce Ltd. and owned horses years ago before coming back into the fold with encouragement from De Paulo.
“He was in the game with [trainer] Buddy Carter back in the day,” said De Paulo. “John was partners with Peter Lamantia (co-breeder of 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird) and they raced a really good filly in Sweet Briar Too, the dam of Langfuhr. John got out of the business, but I guess I bugged him enough that he made a comeback.
“I’ve been training for John for the past dozen or so years,” continued De Paulo. “He’s a team player and a friend.”
Joseph De Paulo is the groom of Stanley House.
The $135,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (G3T) is also on tap Saturday at Woodbine.
The one-mile turf test for 3-year-old fillies has drawn 13 hopefuls, including the Kevin Attard trio of Airosa, Rosa, and Tripolina. Mark Casse also sends out three, Crevalle d’Oro, Time to Dazzle, and Witwatersrand. Grecian Goddess, trained by Chad Brown, was supplemented to the race, as was Jamie Begg pupil, Miss Roberts (GB), and Sid Attard charge, Ecstasy.
First post for Saturday’s card is 1:05 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com.
$175,000 Seagram Cup (G2) – Race 9
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Palazzi – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
2 – Money Supply – Sofia Vives – Joe Sharp
3 – Volcanic – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
4 – Public Sector (GB) – Pietro Moran – Saffie Joseph, Jr.
5 – Stanley House – Jose Campos – Michael De Paulo
6 – County Final – Trevor McCarthy – Saffie Joseph, Jr.
7 – Journeyman – Ryan Munger – Michael Wright, Jr.
8 – Wicked Django – Keveh Nicholls – Krista Cole
9 – Paramount Prince – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
$135,000 Ontario Colleen (G3T) – Race 8
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Grecian Goddess (S) – Trevor McCarthy – Chad Brown
2 – Rosa – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard
3 – Simply in Front – Justin Stein – Patrick Dixon
4 – Tripolina – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard
5 – Uphill Dance – Ryan Munger – Rachel Halden
6 – Crevalle d’Oro – Luis Contreras – Mark Casse
7 – Sabatini – Sofia Vives – Josie Carroll
8 – Ecstasy (S) – Fraser Aebly – Sid Attard
9 – Time to Dazzle – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
10 – Witwatersrand – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
11 – Ready for Shirl – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Roger Attfield
12 – Miss Roberts (GB) (S) – Keveh Nicholls – Jamie Begg
13 – Airosa – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
