TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon

Pace Yourself

Even though the FIBA Basketball World Cup is over, there’s another exciting qualifier event to keep an eye on.

This upcoming Saturday, Mohawk will host some of Standardbred racing’s top two- and three-year-olds in eliminations for the Shes A Great Lady, Metro, Elegantimage, and Canadian Trotting Classic. But that’s not all, nine of the sport’s premier pacing mares will also take centre stage in the $220,000 Milton Stakes Final.

Saturday’s scintillating action boasts a list of headliners that resemble the all-world star power of world cup standouts Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Luka Doncic. From track-record holders It’s a Love Thing, Legendary Hanover, and Caviart Belle to Up Your Deo and Chapercraz, American champions making their Canadian racing debuts, elite talent, is by no means, in short supply.

Prime Cuts Only

Still without weekend plans? Woodbine has you covered.

Automatic Breeders’ Cup berths are up for grabs in a jam-packed Saturday card, headlined by the 27^th running of the Woodbine Mile. The $1 million affair features a six-horse field, which may seem slight at first glance, but a closer look will tell you it’s clearly a ‘quality over quantity’ situation.

Top runners from abroad join local hopefuls Lucky Score (15-1) and Shirl’s Speight (5-2) on the turf for the third event of Saturday’s “Win and You’re In” series. Heading into the contest, Irish-bred Master of The Seas is the opening line favourite at even odds.

The beauty of Saturday’s card is that the “undercard” events would each be considered the main event on most other days. Races six and eight, the Summer (G1T) and Natalma (G1T) Stakes, respectively, are both $500,000 events with trips to the Breeders’ Cup on the line.

All in the Family

The Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders won’t meet in the regular season, but that won’t stop the rival cities from clashing at Pimlico Race Course this Saturday.

Seven contenders will take to the grass for the 17^th running of the Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3T) for a shot at their share of the $200,000 purse. Among the field, two horses in particular stand out, and not just because they have the great Ghostzapper in their DNA.

The pair went head-to-head at Gulfstream on January 28, finishing 1-2. Round one went to Wolfie’s Dynaghost, who paid a handsome $13.20 for his efforts.

Will Smokin T’ even the score or is Wolfie’s Dynaghost closing in on a commanding 2-0 series lead?

In it to Win it

Up until last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins had qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs 16 years in a row. No matter what they faced – injuries, inconsistency, cap-crunches – the team always found a way to be in contention.

The same can be said about 5-year-old mare, Millie Girl, who in seven career starts has never fallen short of the podium. The Catherine Day Phillips trainee takes her talents into the $125,000 Seaway Stakes (G3) at Woodbine.

Millie Girl brings graded stakes experience into Sunday afternoon’s tilt, having raced in the Royal North (G2T) and Nassau (G2T) Stakes earlier this year, finishing third in both.

Good Grades

Iconic Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, will play host to the $400,000 Locust Grove Stakes on Saturday afternoon. The Grade 3 competition features a Grade 1 duo in the form of 3-1 favourite Search Results and Steve Asmussen trainee Pauline’s Pearl (5-1).

The 2023 season hasn’t been as kind to Search Results as year’s past, but the 5-year-old mare has still strung together some quality performances despite not recording a win in her last five attempts.

For Pauline’s Pearl, 2023 has produced a mixed bag of results. In her four races for the year, the Kentucky-bred mare has finished first, seventh, sixth, and first.

Do we side with the wildcard or the horse on the wrong end of a streak?