September 22, 2023
TORONTO – By Matthew Lomon
3,837,000 Little Things
How many reasons are there to be excited about Mohawk’s 12-race card this Saturday night? $3.837 million, to be exact.
That’s right, the total purse is nearly $4 million thanks to five coveted finals, including Standardbred racing’s richest race for two-year-old trotters, the prestigious Mohawk Million.
The night of non-stop high-stakes action kicks off with the $381,000 Elegantimage, headlined by 9-5 opening line favourite Bond. The filly’s 12-3-1 career line might scare the living daylights out of some opponents, but certainly not Call Me Goo, who at 8-1, owns an eerily similar 12-3-2 line herself.
In races five and seven, the Shes A Great Lady and Metro Pace, the favourites will be in the hands of leading drivers Yannick Gingras and James MacDonald. Luckily for the pair, if they end up splitting the contests one a piece, they’ll have another chance at bragging rights in the $660,000 Canadian Trotting Classic (race eight).
Rounding things out in the main event, the fourth edition of the Mohawk Million, is rookie superstar T C I (9-5). Facing his most sizeable test yet, the colt out of Littlestown, PA is gunning for the biggest win of his nine-race career (8-1-0).
Derby Duelin’
A duel is on the horizon in the Sooner State, or for our friends in Stillwater, the Cowboy State.
Regardless of where you are, this Sunday’s Oklahoma Derby (G3) is a can’t-miss event between two favourites with nearly inseparable opening line odds. At 3-1, graded stakes winner Hit Show (Withers, G3) has the early edge, albeit ever so slightly, over Red Route One (7-2),
the field’s leader by career earnings ($1,053,025 in 13 starts).
Both competitors are riding a relatively inconsistent streak heading into the $400,000 affair. On one hand, Red Route One does have a graded victory in the Western Virginia Derby (G3), but that’s sandwiched between two eighth-place finishes. On the other, we have Hit Show, who’s produced a mediocre string of fourth, fifth, and fourth-place finishes, although that has come against saltier competition.
Are these signs to look elsewhere and take the value?
The Green Monster
Hometown favourite Roses for Debra (9-5) is on a mission to keep her unbeaten streak on the turf alive. Sporting a sterling 3-0-0 record on grass (7-1-0 overall, from 9 starts), the 4-year-old filly is set to take on the aptly named Turf Monster Stakes (G3T) at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA.
Roses for Debra’s Hall of Fame trainer Christophe Clement is one of North America’s top turf trainers. More than $120 million of the $166-plus million dollars he’s earned over his career has come from wins on turf.
With all that in mind, it’s not hard to see why each of Roses for Debra’s seven career wins have come by more than 2 ¼ lengths.
Opening line odds position Nobody Listens (4-1), All That Magic (5-1), and Talented Man (6-1) as the greatest threats to Roses for Debra earning her flowers for an eighth time.
Dogwood and Blondie
Layer after layer, the competition at this year’s running of the Dogwood Stakes (G3) is as deep as a classic Dagwood sandwich.
Headlined by 3-1 favourite Yesternight, Saturday’s field of nine at Churchill Downs will serve as a litmus test for the race’s longest shot, Norah G.
The $300,000 contest will mark the first out-of-state endeavour for the 3-year-old filly, who’s done nothing but dominate in her home state of Louisiana. In 6 career starts around the Pelican State circuit, Norah G has put together 4-1-0 line, punctuated by two Black Type stakes victories.
Known for her versatility, the Patricia West-trainee rides into her stiffest test to date on the heels of back-to-wins. Could September 23 be remembered as the Norah G coming out party? At 12-1, the price of admission is more than fair.
Fightin’ Phils
With a name comprised of two iconic sports destinations, something’s got to give for Hoosier Philly ahead of Saturday’s $1 million Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Parx.
Outside of a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Charles Town Oaks (G3), which trainer Tom Amoss discarded as a throwaway performance due to unfortunate positioning, Hoosier Philly has put together impressive young career. Titled by a triumph in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2), she’s been a podium regular, going 4-1-1 in eight career starts.
On Saturday, a bounce-back performance could result in the Candy Meadows’ product’s first ever Grade 1 score.
Opening line odds list the John Velazquez mount at 6-1, tied with Occult, and behind only Ceiling Crusher (5-1), Defining Purpose (4-1), and favourite Pretty Mischievous (2-1).