By J.N. Campbell
Whether digital or the old school paper variety, it is safe to say that most of the forms will be turned to the World Championship races. However, it should be noted that Saturday does sport some graded stakes action that you will not want to miss from both Santa Anita Park and Woodbine Racetrack.
'The Great Race Place' card gets the Breeders' Cup engines warmed with the GII Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds over the turf. If you are interested in how the course sets up for what's to come, then this nine furlong event should provide some interesting indicators.
Probably tops on many a list as he cannonballs in from the East Coast is DJ Stable's Webslinger (Constitution). The bay gelding trained by Mark Casse has had a banner campaign this year with highlights coming when he won the GII American Turf S. on the Derby undercard and in his last race when he lost by a head in the GI Saratoga Derby Aug. 5. His regular rider Javier Castellano is aboard and you can bet that this one will sense the wire late in the game.
Also present is the Charlie Appleby trainee Silver Knott (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). The first-time gelding developed some solid class after he ran second in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and he will be one to watch if William Buick can find a way to get him into a free running lane.
An intriguing entry here is the presence of GI Kentucky Derby alum Reincarnate (Good Magic). Out of a Scat Daddy mare with strong Tapeta and turf experience, the Bob Baffert trainee actually began his juvenile career on the grass when he finished second at both Del Mar and Santa Anita. The gray colt's victory in the GIII Sham S. set him on the dirt road, but he returns to what might be his surface of choice.
The graded action doesn't end there because Woodbine has a pair of 2-year-old races for males and females. First up are the colts going 1 1/16th on the Tapeta in the GIII Grey S. Certainly Piper's Factor (The Factor) appears to be incredibly fleet of foot, especially if he can replicate the 82 Beyer that he posted when he broke his maiden by two lengths at second asking in Toronto Sept. 10.
Tunechi | Michael Burns
Others that will press the pace include Pipit (Quality Road), who dead heated for second Oct. 8 in the Algonquin S. at Woodbine, and one of two Barbara Minshall trainees led by Tunechi (Outwork), who finished fourth in the GI Summer S. behind Breeders' Cup bound Carson's Run (Cupid).
“I think two turns is right up his alley,” said Minshall of Tunechi who was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding. “He definitely acted like a two-turn horse from the day I got him. He's not mean, but you just have to watch yourself around him because he's a big, good-feeling colt.”
Switching over to the fillies who are also traveling the same distance, the GIII Mazarine S. could very well go to Tripolina (Constitution), who is a deserving favorite after she won the Display S. Oct. 15 at Woodbine against the boys in her second career start.
Standing in her way are the second and third place runners from the Oct. 15 running of the Glorious Song S. in Mystic Lake (Mo Town) for Saffie Joseph and Witwatersrand (Connect) for Mark Casse.
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