ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Artie’s Storm drops from graded stakes company to the $100,000 Steady Growth Stakes for Ontario-sired stock on Sunday at Woodbine. Even with bar shoes on again, the durable 5-year-old should be dangerous in the 1 1/16-mile Tapeta route, after finishing third in last year’s running when seemingly over the top. After a slow start to his season, Artie’s Storm took two of three races after ending up third behind divisional leader Tyson in the Grade 2 Seagram Cup on July 29. He beat Frosted Over in his Sept. 9 score in a conditioned allowance/optional claimer. A month later, he doubled up over a top-notch field that included Algiers and Wolfie’s Dynaghost, who subsequently won the Grade 2 Autumn while leaving Artie’s Storm back in fourth. Artie’s Storm had a very wide trip in the Autumn and still got an 86 Beyer Speed Figure for finishing 7 1/2 lengths in arrears. He earned 93 Beyers in his two earlier tallies. Emma-Jayne Wilson has the mount for owner-trainer Paul Buttigieg. Cruden Bay enters the Steady Growth in career form under the guidance of trainer Don MacRae. The late-developing 5-year-old won allowance races in his last two of his last three outings, getting an 89 Beyer most recently in a conditioned contest with a $50,000 claiming option. “The biggest thing about him is his non-stop effort,” MacRae said. “Every race he runs in, he consistently tries right to the wire. It doesn’t matter what level he is running at or who the competition is, he doesn’t realize it, he just fires his top effort every time.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The 11-horse field also includes Perfect Crime, Mason’s Gamble, Avoman, and Town Cruise. Perfect Crime notched his first stakes over Mason’s Gamble and Town Cruise in the 7 1/2-furlong Overskate Stakes for Ontario-sired types on the inner turf Oct. 22, for which he got a 92 Beyer. His Tapeta form isn’t bad, but he’s probably at his best on the grass. Mason’s Gamble parlayed a three-wide trip into a chalky second in the Overskate and is exiting a second in a seven-furlong conditioned allowance/optional claimer on the Tapeta. This is his first route race on the Tapeta and there’s stamina on the dam’s side of his pedigree. Avoman won the 2022 Steady Growth in an upset but has failed to hit the board in five starts this year. The son of Old Forester is debuting off a $32,000 reclaim by MacRae, who’s adding blinkers after the gelding worked a bullet five-eighths in 1:00 on Dec. 2. Town Cruise, victorious in the $1 million Woodbine Mile in 2021, has only found the mark once since that memorable Grade 1 triumph. The 8-year-old pressed the pace before weakening to third in his improved last start in the Overskate and could lead the way on Sunday. Completing the field are Secret Reserve, supplement Grandson, Dun Drum, Rapid Test, and Ron’s Gizmo. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.