By J.N. Campbell
With less than a week until the Breeders' Cup World Championships, you can pregame with a bevy of graded stakes races across three tracks and two types of surfaces on Saturday.
Heading up to the Belmont At The Big A meet, the New York Racing Association has carded a trio of graded contests. Chief among them is the GII Mother Goose Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going nine furlongs on the dirt.
At first glance, this appears to be a street fight between the pair that ran second and third to MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in the GI Cotillion Stakes at Parx Sept. 21. Gun Song (Gun Runner) nearly upset the 'Grizzly' only to lose by a neck and 'TDN Rising Star' Tarifa (Bernardini) completed the trifecta.
“That was a huge effort [against Thorpedo Anna],” Gun Song's trainer Mark Hennig said. “I've always felt like she's got a lot of ability if she puts it all together on the right day. She came close, but [Thorpedo] Anna is tough and found a way. If someone could have just held her inside there a little longer, we might have pulled off a stunner.”
A potential wild card against these two is lightly-raced Headline Numbers (Gun Runner). The Chad Brown trainee earned 'TDN Rising Star' honors on debut at the Big A July 4 when she won by an eye-catching 11 3/4 lengths. At the Spa against optional claimers Aug. 22, the filly was the runner-up before being elevated to the top spot on the podium after a disqualification.
The other pair of graded races on the docket are GII Bold Ruler Stakes which has GIII Vosburgh Stakes runner-up Scotland (Good Magic), and the GIII Forty Niner Stakes with 'TDN Rising Star' and MGSW Messier (Empire Maker).
Keeneland is due to close out its fall meet over the weekend and they card two higher level races with the GII Hagyard Fayette Stakes going nine furlongs for older males over the main track and for 3-year-olds over the grass at a mile in the renewal of the GIII Bryan Station Stakes.
The Fayette includes morning-line favorite Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) who rolls into town off a pair of wins in the West Virginia Governor's Stakes at Mountaineer in early August and a score in the GII Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs Sept. 28. The 4-year-old will face nine others, which includes the tactically-inclined MGSP Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance).
Trikari at Colonial Downs | Coady Media
On the Haggin Course for the Bryan Station, look for the accomplished Graham Motion trainee Trikari (Oscar Performance) to take money. The colt received a huge resume builder when he took home the GI Belmont Derby in early July and then won the GII Secretariat Stakes at Colonial a little over a month later. If the bay is near the pace, it could spell trouble for the rest of this group.
Still, it is not going to be a cakewalk for Trikari since he is facing Canadian champion 2-year-old My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince), and the runner-up in the aforementioned Secretariat, Brilliant Berti (Noble Mission {GB}). Add a runner like Evade (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), an up-and-coming Irish import trained by Michael Maker who made his first U.S. start when fourth in the GI Franklin Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs, and the final furlong is going to be customarily contentious.
The action is not done yet, as 3-year-olds go nine furlongs on the turf in the GII Twilight Derby at Santa Anita Park.
The morning-line favorite is GSW Stay Hot (Summer Front), who owns three wins over the local course for trainer Peter Eurton. The bay's bread and butter is to offer a well-timed ride from off the pace, but that strategy resulted in a runner-up finish last time out in the GII Del Mar Derby Sept. 1. Also exiting that very race is the horse that ran third, Atitlan (The Factor).
Looking to win his first stakes race is Cathal (Ire) (No Nay Never) for trainer John Sadler. The colt surged late to clear the optional claiming ranks at the seaside oval Sept. 1, and he is going to have the services for the first time of top jockey Juan Hernandez.
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