December 15, 2023
TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon
Long Distance House Calls
When saying something is a marathon, not a sprint, it’s not often we’re referring to an actual race, but that’s exactly what we’re doing here with the $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial.
Set for Saturday at Gulfstream, the two-mile affair features two Graham Motion trainees who excel at a longer distance.
Swore is a lightly raced 4-year-year old colt with the kind of skill set bettors don’t often see. A long-distance specialist that runs well rain or shine, Swore has consistently finished in and around the money. In six starts, he’s gone 1-2-1, never finishing lower than fourth.
The other Motion disciple, Serifos, is much more experienced with 16 races under his belt. In that stretch, the 4-year-old gelding owns a 3-3-1 line, headlined by a 1 ½-mile win in the Presious Passion two starts ago.
Swore rides into Saturday at 12-1, and Serifos at 15-1.
Tinseltown South-Central
On Saturday afternoon, Oaklawn Park will host yet another Holiday-themed stakes event with a pretty payout. The $200,000 Tinsel Stakes for 3-year-olds and up follows the Ring the Bell and Mistletoe stakes, which went live the previous Saturday.
Two intriguing names stand out from the field of seven in the early going. Speed Bias, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt, has raced at Oaklawn Park six times to a 1-3-0 line. The Ron Moquett trainee most recently produced an encouraging third-place effort in the Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland on Oct. 28.
Strong Quality, on the other hand, will be making his Oaklawn Park debut in the Tinsel. The weekend engagement will mark the Florent Geroux mount’s 15th career start. In the previous 14, Strong Quality put together a very strong 4-4-2 line.
At 5-2, Strong Quality enters ahead of Speed Bias, who sits at 3-1.
Hungry Like the Wolf
The 2023 campaign has been one to remember for Woodslane Farm’s Wolfie’s Dynaghost (2-1), who can add a fifth win on the year in the $125,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park on Saturday.
It won’t be easy against a star-studded field of 12 that also features a pair of graded stakes winners in Tiz the Bomb (12-1) and Like the King (10-1). The former took home the Bourbon Stakes (G2T) in 2021 and the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) in 2022, while the latter scored the 2021 edition of the Jeff Ruby. With a combined 45 starts between them, the Ruby runners are just about even with Wolfie’s Dynaghost in terms of experience.
However, they haven’t been nearly as successful. In 24 career attempts, the Jonathan Thomas trainee is 9-2-5, with multiple top three finishes in graded affairs, headlined by a 4 ½ length score in the Autumn Stakes (G2) at Woodbine last time out.
Other notable entrants include Ocean Atlantique (3-1) and War Bomber (IRE) (8-1).
Wild Card Race
Might as well call race 10 on Woodbine’s Saturday card the AFC playoff race because it is wide open.
A deep group of 14 hopefuls, led by 3-1 opening line choice Frankie’s Girl, will square off over six furlongs on the Tapeta. The 5-year-old mare had raced exclusively at Gulfstream in Florida before making the trip up to Woodbine in June of this year. Understandably, there was a slight adjustment period but Frankie’s Girl, and her two consecutive wins, have begun to settle in nicely.
Joining the Don MacRae trainee amongst the early leaders is Verdejo at 4-1. The Woodbine regular has run all 23 career starts at Woodbine, going 6-4-3 in the process.
What makes this contest really exciting, however, is the possibility of a wild card swooping in and stealing the show. My Sunny Valentine, another 5-year-old mare, is the race’s lone also-eligible. Should she participate, the Florida-bred would slot in as the 5-2 opening line favorite.
Prime for the Taking
Coach Prime (2-1) heads into Saturday’s Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) hoping to put together a run far better than the one his namesake has been on.
The $200,000, 1 1/16-mile dirt event presents the stiffest test to date for the 2-year-old colt, who will be making the jump to the graded level after just two career starts (1-0-1). The equine version of Coach Prime will try to avenge the Colorado Buffaloes’ head coach by translating the momentum from his hot start into success against greater competition.
Youngsters Moonlit Sonata (5-1) and Stronghold (3-1) appear to be the two greatest threats to Coach Prime in the early going. The former was victorious in his first and only career run on Nov. 25, while the latter is coming off a second-place finish in last month’s Bob Hope Stakes (G3).