COMMENTARY
OCTOBER 13, 2012
Woodbine’s pre-World Championships is a worldwide affair
by Ed DeRosa
With three weeks to go until the first day of the Breeders’ Cup World
Championships, it would be easy to look past this weekend if not for significant
international action on Sunday at Woodbine, which will stage three Grade 1 “Win
& You’re In” races on an 11-race card that also features another graded stakes
as well as a pair of Pick 4 wagers with guaranteed pools.
To make playing this card even more alluring,
Brisnet.com has teamed with
Woodbine to provide players with FREE
Ultimate Past Performances and Spotlight Selections from Mark Johnson (who,
as the only announcer to call both the Epsom & Kentucky Derbys, knows a thing or
three about international racing).
To access those free handicapping materials, click
here to visit Woodbine’s Pattison Canadian International Day microsite (PPs
& selections are in the middle of page).
To help players make the most of those two guaranteed Pick 4 pools,
TwinSpires.com has
teamed with Woodbine to offer
four-million points to players who participate. Hit either of the $.20
minimum Pick 4s and share in one-million. Wager at least $20 and share in
another one-million points per pool if you fail to cash. Not a member?
Register
now and receive up to $1,000 as a sign-up bonus.
Each sequence includes a pair of stakes races. The early Pick 4 begins with
the Grade 3 Durham Cup-Grade 1 Nearctic double, and I hope to kick things off
with Vertiformer, who is the only shipper in the six-horse field but who has
Polytrack experience by way of an allowance victory at Arlington Park, which is
competitive enough with this group. Delegation is an up-and-comer, but I’ll let
him beat me at a short price.
In the Nearctic, Big Band Sound and Fire Lily both make sense as top choices,
but I’ll need to use Bear Tough Guy as well, who gets the rail and returns to
turf and Woodbine after a nice allowance win at Presque Isle. This is a big jump
in class given his previous graded stakes form, but there’s a lot to like here
third off the layoff.
The Grade 1 E.P. Taylor begins the late Pick 4, and includes the most likely
winner of the stakes program for me in Siyouma. Winner of the Group 1 Sun
Chariot last out, even more impressive is that this filly was within 1 3/4
lengths of Snow Fairy, who would probably be about 2-5 if she were in this race.
That’s no slight against this group, which is nice, but the top finishers in the
Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet are just on another level.
The Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International also features a Group 1 winner in
his/her last start with Imperial Monarch shipping west for Aidan O’Brien
following a win in the Grand Prix de Paris. A three-year-old beating older in a
Group 1 race in his fourth career start is quite an accomplishment, and this
Galileo colt clearly fits with these, but given the three-month layoff and the
ship, I’m willing to take a stand at a short price.
Instead let’s try to other shippers in Joshua Tree (who won this race in
2010) and Reliable Man, who despite not winning in more than 13 months has been
close in some good races.