ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Anything can happen during the waning days of the marathon Woodbine meet, which goes until Dec. 17. Conventional handicapping rules can be ignored. Some horses will run well on short rest as trainers look to squeeze an extra race out of them before they head to the farm for a winter break. Many horses will drop sharply while others will jump up in class looking to capitalize on their sharp form. Some longtime maidens might finally break through and trainers who haven’t won all year could get off the duck. The Tapeta can become inside-favoring late in the fall, which was the case last weekend, when the bias propelled many runners to a breakout performance. In the Friday opener, Echo With Laughter could wire the field on seven days’ rest in a bottom-level $5,000 sprint, especially if the inside is the place to be. He got away slowly and then rushed up to contest the pace before fading to fifth against much tougher $10,000 non-winners of two opponents last week. Sofia Vives, the leading apprentice who has evolved into a successful speed rider, takes over on the 4-year-old for trainer Robert Tiller. In the sixth, for $5,000 claimers, Native Prince, Hullabaloo, Unilateral, and A I Initiative are all running back in less than a week off poor performances. Among them, Native Prince and Hullabaloo seem most likely to get back on the beam. Venerable 10-year-old Rocket Joe Copper won his 14th race over $5,000 conditioned rivals on Nov. 10 and should be favored with Sahin Civaci aboard for Marty Drexler, the winningest jockey-trainer combo at the meet with 33 scores. The seventh was re-used from last Sunday after it was canceled due to a mishap at the gate. The seven-furlong maiden test originally had a full field but lured nine runners this time, including the Josie Carroll-trained duo of Mr Nobility and The Thunderer, who were the favorites at post time on Sunday. Mr Nobility is in for the $40,000 claiming tag. He is descending from open maiden special weight company and should make some noise in his third race following an extended layoff. :: DRF's Black Friday Sale: Get 20% off (almost) everything in the DRF Shop. Code: BF2023 The Thunderer wears bar shoes again in his first start since a wide-closing second in a key $25,000 route on Sept. 23. Professional maidens Trebuchet and Jack should be prominent in the eighth and final race for $15,000 maidens. Trebuchet has rallied for second in each of his last three starts, most recently after an outside trip over an inside-favoring track in his first try for apprentice Fraser Aebly. Jack is turning back from nine to seven furlongs off a close fifth against $25,000 opposition, with Kazushi Kimura taking over. The leading rider is 6 for 23 at the meet for trainer Steve Chircop, who claimed Jack for $25,000 in June. Other possibilities in the nightcap include the dropping comebacker Fighting Irish and first-time starter Romeo Yankee, who has worked well from the gate this month. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.