The rest of the European contingent arrived in Toronto at approximately 4:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon in preparation for Saturday's $2 million Pattison Canadian International.
Doctor Dino, Lauro, Lucarno and Mourilyan, all top Pattison contenders, were joined on the trip by Folk Opera and Toque de Queda, who are prepping for the $1 million E.P. Taylor, the International's filly and mare companion.
Quijano, one of the fancied European horses in the Grade 1, 1 1/2-mile event, raced in the Northern Dancer Stakes on September 7 and remained in training at Woodbine. Nearctic Stakes competitor, Santiago Atitlan, also remained after accompanying Quijano earlier this month.
Lauro (Andreas Wohler), at Woodbine with Marketa Cerrocka, will be making his 2008 debut. Annika Gensch is here with another Wohler trainee, Santiago Atitlan.
Richard Bocan and Leslie Reynolds joined Group 1 winner Lucarno (John Gosden) on his trip west.
Mourilyan, bred in Ireland, was accompanied by Nicolas Iguacel and David Wilson for trainer Herman Brown.
Quijano (Peter Schiergen) is here with Ilke Hildebrand.
Claire Sparkes and Graham Colberts are in Toronto with Folk Opera (Saeed bin Suroor), while Camille Saubesty accompanied Toque de Queda (Mike Delzangles).
'REED' ALL ABOUT IT: MARSH SIDE READY TO TACKLE PCI RIVALS
Robert Evans' strapping Marsh Side - he's over 17 hands high - comes into the Pattison Canadian International off a game and gutsy performance in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes, on September 7 at Woodbine. Now, the Kentucky-bred has his sights set on reining in his first win since December of 2006.
A five-year-old son of Gone West, Marsh Side headed into the Northern Dancer in anything but good form. In his four previous races, the bay finished 12th, 6th, 8th and 4th, respectively. In total, he lost by a combined 63 lengths in those races.
Understandably, Marsh Side was ignored to the tune of 47-1 on the toteboard in the 1 1/2-mile Northern Dancer. But a strong turn of foot put Marsh Side in the thick of the action, eventually finishing fourth, a diminishing three-quarters of a length behind Pattison Canadian International rival, Champs Elysees.
"My feeling would be that he should improve off that last race," said trainer Neil Drysdale, of the effort that landed Marsh Side a 97 Beyer Figure (Daily Racing Form speed rating). "His last race, I thought he ran very well. He was strong down the lane. We only missed by three parts of a length. For a minute, I thought we're okay, but he's a bit of a galloper and he doesn't quicken that much. We'll see how we do."
Drysdale will have the services of Javier Castellano, who teamed with Sky Conqueror to take the 2006 Northern Dancer Turf, at Woodbine. Last year, Castellano partnered Heros Reward to victory in the Nearctic Stakes.
Drysdale added that he was not shipping Cedar Mountain up for the race.
LONGSHOT LAURO READY FOR PATTISON
Five-year-old German-bred Lauro will attempt to do the nearly unthinkable when he goes postward Saturday in the Pattison Canadian International...win the Grade 1, mile and one-half turf classic off an 18-month layoff.
Trained by Andreas Wohler, who has twice finished second in the International, with Paolini in 2001 and with Simonas in 2004, Lauro, bred and owned by Gestuet Ittlingen, last raced in April of 2007 in Cologne, when under the care of trainer Peter Schiergen.
"I've had him for over a year," explained Wohler, who will saddle Lauro for the first time on Saturday. "He was in America last year in the spring at Keeneland, but he had some problems with his pelvis - nothing serious, so we couldn't race him. We had to rest him. So we took him home again. Now he's fine. He's had a long time off but he's a very good horse."
Lauro, who will be ridden by Eduardo Pedroza, won his first three career starts in 2006. Among his victims was Rail Link, who would go on that fall to win the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Overall, the son of Monsun has won three of seven career starts, with two seconds.