Best Bet – (3) SILENT RESPECT – Race 5
Spot Play - (3) CHERUBIC – Race 8
Pick 4 (.20 cents, Races 4-7) : 1, 3, 5, 7 / 3, 4 / 1, 2, 3 6 / 3, 4 5 = $19.20
Race 1 – (2) YZERMAN is going for more cash as he is dropped to $10,00 claiming off his maiden win for $15,000. He posted a 67 Beyer Speed Figure in his maiden win and while he could regress off that hard race, he should be a top player. (1) SPANISH MATADOR needed just two races this year to win his maiden and he looked good doing it. (5) NORTHERN CRUSADER tumbles in class and he is very quick. He has been absent since June and shows just a single workout so that is a question. (6) CHARLES STREET returns to sprinting and gets his blinkers back. He can get past some of these late.
Race 2 – (8) MERINO WOOL may have found the spot to win her maiden, dropping to the lowest level. She got away to a slow start last time but closed almost 9 lengths in the stretch run. (3) WORDS OF GOLD continues her class slide and she is back on the main track and has some speed. (7) REDHAIR N FRECKLES is making her career debut at the age of 5 so owner/trainer Ron Sadler must think she can win a race. Sadler had a maiden winner on turf on Sunday.(6) DUE NORTH is a first time starter debuting for $5,00 claiming and she has had decent workout times and more than enough pedigree for this field.
Race 3- (6) HEART RUSH was second for the 11
th time in her career recently, gaining on My Cantata in the stretch at five furlongs. She moves out to 6 furlongs and her natural speed helps her in this field. (2) AFLEET CONNECTION is 2 for 5 at the six furlong distance and getting a chance to drop in claiming price following a troubled start to her latest. She has back class and this field is reachable for her. (1) MY CANTATA won for the 11
th time in her nice career recently and this 8-year-old mare is a hard trying gal who races for her breeder Bruno Schickedanz. (7) ANDTHECROWDGOESWILD visits from Fort Erie where she has been showing speed in her races and placing in all her dirt starts. Jockey 'Hurricane' Helen Vanek gets along with her well.
Race 4 – The Pick 4 wager begins here and (1) YOURS TRULY is one of several class droppers who cut back in distance for this maiden race and she had a mid-race bid to the lead in her latest. (3) SIMPLY A ZOOMER dropped to this $15,000 claiming maiden level for her latest and she rallied wide to get third. The 2
nd place finisher has since come back to win. (5) LA BONITA cuts back from a route distance and gets some class relief. (7) STARONTHEHORIZON qualifies as a contender based on her two outings at this maiden level to begin her season.
Race 5 – This is a 6-furlong turf race for $40,000 claiming gals and (3) SILENT RESPECT won a nice race sprinting on the grass last year and she has met so many tough ones since then. She is a wake up factor.(4) MISS SAVVY gets a class drop from $62,500, a level at which she has competed since 2018. She is very quick and is tough on the pace in a turf sprint. Her stablemate (5) FRESH DREAMS loves a turf sprint and if her pal gets burned out in a pace duel, this light grey miss can rally for a big prize. (7) MIZZONA rarely runs a bad one and she is an ace in turf sprints.
Race 6 – Since I have picked (1) FRESHIENTHEFOREST a few times recently in grass races against better, I will go back to her once more as she drops to the bottom claiming level and returns to Tapeta. Her last 3 races were all marred by trouble. (2) ROSE RING will wear blinkers for the first time in her career. That should help her focus in the late stages as she tends to lose ground at a crucial time. (6) SNIPPY has won at at the 7 furlong distance against non-winners of 2 and she probably went too fast on the lead in her latest when opening up 5 lengths early. (3) SADIE IRENE has had a 2 month freshening, two recent workouts and she drops in price.
Race 7 – (3) PREFERRED GUEST has been a frustrating one this year for the Mark Casse barn. Favoured in all 3 Tapeta races, she has yet to win but now she gets the grass, a surface on which she was 2
nd in the Wonder Where Stakes last year. This field is really in her grasp but she has flopped before. (5) CHOOSE HOPE was a big winner in her latest when dipping down in class. She has run well on the turf too. (4) I WONDER has not done much in her grass races but she is offered for claiming for the first time. (2) YASINIA is an improving filly who won her maiden in her 3
rd career race.
Race 8 – Going for a flyer in the finale with (3) CHERUBIC, who has yet to hit the top three in right races catching my interest. She gets a class drop and shortens to a Tapeta sprint (trainer Eshelman is 2 for her last 4 with that turf-to-Tapeta move. Would like to see her stay away from what could be a hot pace. (9) TARA DAWN has 8 top three placings in 13 races and was seen stalling in the la(5) SHOW SOME SKIN is logical off her super season debut 12 days ago. (4) PIVOTAL WOMAN tries the Tapeta surface for the first time and Rafael Hernandez is her 4
th rider in her 4
th start.
Photo by Mr. Will Wong
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Jennifer Morrison has been a public handicapper for the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail and Daily Racing Form. She is currently a writer for CanadianThoroughbred.com, Blood-Horse and Toronto Star and is the simulcast handicapper for Ajax Downs.
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