Hall of Fame Trainers eyeing Woodbine Mile
By: Nick Costa, Trackside with Trackman
2019 Preakness winner War of Will headlines the 8-horse field and is one of a trio of horses to be saddled by Canadian Hall of Famer, Mark Casse, who is the current leader atop the Woodbine trainer standings.
Casse isn’t the only Woodbine trainer eyeing this Grade 1 prize. Three of his fellow horsemen are seeking the top spot with some talented runners of their own. All total, seven of the eight horses in this one-mile event hail from conditioners with stables on the Woodbine backside.
The only non-local trainer among the group is, Chad Brown, who is no stranger to winning major turf races. Brown was awarded the Eclipse award for outstanding trainer in the United States from 2016-2019.
Roger Attfield, the 80-yr old Hall of Famer trainer in both Canada and the United States, has the lightly raced, Shirl’s Speight, unbeaten in two starts. The 3-year old colt was slated to run in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, but developed a minor cough and had to be withdrawn from consideration.
The 2019 Canadian Horse-of-the-Year, Starship Jubilee, a winner of 4 of 5 starts this season, goes out for conditioner Kevin Attard, while Barbara Minshall, a Sovereign Award-winning trainer, enters the pair of Admiralty Pier and Armistice Day. Minshall became the first woman to train the winner of a Canadian Triple Crown race when her colt Kiridashi won the 1995 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.
Approximate post time is 5:39 ET
Let’s have a brief look at the field from the rail out.
PP – Horse – Jockey/Trainer – ML
1 - March to the Arch – Patrick Husbands/Mark Casse - 5-2 – Took the one-mile King Edward Stakes (G2) last month at this venue, defeating Admiralty Pier who opposes him again. The victory marked the gelding’s seventh win in 23 career starts, six of them coming via the lawn. Launched his season with a narrow score in a Florida state-bred event, before recording back-to-back Grade 3 third place finishes. He’s 2 for 2 over the Woodbine course, and his last race was a dandy of an effort.
2 - Armistice Day – David Moran/Barbara Minshall – 20-1 – Two starts back, this gelding found the winners circle for the first time in over a year when taking an ‘off the turf’ allowance optional claimer. He had a relatively easy trip that day pressing the pace and taking over when the leader packed it in at the three-quarter mark. His highest level of accomplishment is a listed stakes victory, so this first try at the Grade 1 level is an extremely tough test.
3 - Shirl’s Speight – Kazushi Kimura/Roger Attfield – 8-1 - Was a brilliant debut winner by eight lengths over this turf course on July 4, then followed suit with a 2 ¾ length victory in that venue’s Marine Stakes (G3) three weeks later. Was being considered for next month’s Preakness, but connections decided to keep their promising star home. He takes a big step up in class here and faces older runners, but the sheer talent he’s displayed thus far will keep him in the hunt throughout.
4 - Starship Jubilee – Justin Stein/Kevin Attard – 4-1 – Her 37 career starts are the most in the field. She was claimed for 16k back in 2017 and has since won 15 races. Suffered her first defeat of the year last out in the Diana (G1) at the Spa. Difficult task taking on males in this spot, but the seven-year old mare is a Grade 1 winner and has won twice over this turf course.
5 - Olympic Runner – Daisuke Fukumoto/Mark Casse – 15-1 – Has been blanked in four starts this year, but in a pair of runner-up finishes in Grade 3 events in his last two efforts, he beaten a neck and one-length behind Pink Lloyd, two-time Champion Older Male Horse. His three lifetime wins all came last year, including his only turf score when breaking maiden ranks in his second start. Tough to recommend.
6 - Admiralty Pier – Steven Bahen/Barbara Minshall – 10-1 - Last month in the King Edward (G2), he led until the sixteenth pole, but couldn’t fend March to the Arch. Prior to that, he gave up the lead late going seven panels over the soft going, losing by a half-length. Held it together and sprung a 21-1 upset in his seasonal debut at Tampa Bay. Faded to seventh in this event last year, after pressing the pace. He will be part of the early pace again here and could hang around for a piece at the end.
7 - Value Proposition – Luis Contreras/Chad Brown – 6-1 - British-bred runner invades from the States for top connections. Has won three of five starts, but has yet to win at the graded level. Lightly-raced horse has been idled since a third-place showing in the Poker (G3), but has worked extremely well in the mornings at Saratoga getting ready for his return.
8 - War of Will – Rafael Hernandez/Mark Casse - 2-1 – Returns to Woodbine where he began his career with a pair of top three finishes. After his seasonal debut this year, where he finished sixth in the Shoemaker Mile (G1), the four-year old stepped it up in the Maker’s Mark (G1) last race. He secured good stalking position from the outside post and kicked home down the lane to get up in time to win by a nose. Expect him to kept a good trip here from this outside post
Analysis:
Along with the presence of the speedy Admiralty Pier, there is War of Will and Shirl’s Speight, both who possess early foot, so a spirited pace is likely to develop, and that should set the stage up nicely for an off-pace runner.
For me, that horse is March to the Arch. He owns the fastest Bris late-pace rating and earned that number in a Grade 2 event. Usually late pace, plus class often conquers in turf races.
Wager:
March to the Arch to win.
In exactas, I will use Admiralty Pier, Starship Jubilee and Value Proposition. underneath my top choice.
Good luck, and as always, enjoy the race!!
No comments:
Post a Comment