September 29, 2023
TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon
Two for the Price of One
On Sept. 30, historic Churchill Downs will host the stakes race so nice they named it twice.
Jokes aside, the $400,000 Ack Ack Stakes (G3) is actually named after a legendary Thoroughbred runner who went 19-6-0 in 27 career starts between 1969 and 1971. The 1-mile affair is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” qualifier event for the $1-millon Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Nov. 4.
Seven competitors, namely Zozos (6-5) and Three Technique (3-1), will vie for a position in the coveted late-season contest.
Three Technique heads into the weekend in the best form, having won his last two starts, including the John A. Nerud Stakes (G2).
Zozos has won four of his past six starts, albeit against lower competition, after finishing 10th in the Kentucky Derby.
The Goddess and the Rebel
For most Thoroughbreds, finishing second, sixth, first, and third over a four-race stretch sounds pretty good.
But most horses aren’t War Like Goddess.
The eight-time graded stakes winning mare out of Kentucky is simply one of the better runners of the last half-decade. In 16 career starts, she’s produced a 10-2-2 line en route to amassing over $2 million in earnings. This Saturday, at Belmont at the Big A, War Like Goddess (4-1) can add to her impressive résumé by defending her title against the boys in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1T).
The $500,000 contest features deep field of nine contenders, headlined by 2-1 favourite Rebel’s Romance (IRE). It’s been an up and down go for the gelding, who’s last seven outings include a five-race win streak, a seventh, and a DNF.
For what it’s worth, the pair squared off once before in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf. Rebel’s Romance won, while War Like Goddess finished three lengths behind in third.
King’s Plate 2.0
Sunday’s Breeders’ Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack is shaping up to be a King’s Plate rematch.
This year’s Plate winner Paramount Prince, and runner-up Elysian Field headline a group that also features Kaukokaipuu, Enjoythesilent, Philip My Dear, Midnight in Malibu, Wickenheiser, Touch’n Ride, and Twowaycrossing, all of whom ran in the 164th edition of the King’s Plate.
While Paramount Prince aims to deliver a repeat performance, Kaukokaipuu is one name hoping for a drastically different outcome. The grey colt, who emerged as a popular sleeper pick ahead of the Plate, ended up finishing in third-last (15th).
However, the Tedston Holder trainee rebounded with a resilient second-place effort in the Prince of Wales Stakes on Sept. 12.
In a race where nine of the 14 competitors are quite familiar with each other, pre-race strategy becomes all the more important.
Ligue 1
Staying on the topic of premier races, let’s take a trip across the Atlantic to Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The lucky winner of Europe’s paramount race for older horses will not only claim the lion’s share of its $3-million purse, but also punch a ticket to the $4-million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) on November 4.
Undefeated 3-year-old Ace Impact leads the talented 15-horse field at 5-2. The lightly raced colt (two career starts) is already a multiple-graded stakes winner, thanks to triumphs in the Prix Du Jockey Club (G1) and Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (G2).
Before we start planning any parades for Ace Impact, there’s two names to keep an eye on – Hukum (5-1) and Westover (8-1). Both are multiple-graded stakes winners, who ride into Sunday in impeccable form. Westover, in particular, has won three consecutive graded competitions, two of which were Grade 1 affairs.
Taking his Talents to Ohio
A Canadian record holder is pulling a reverse LeBron and taking his talents back to Ohio.
Alrajah One IT, who set the stakes, track, and Canadian records in the Maple Leaf Trot earlier this month at Mohawk, is making his next start this Saturday in the $250,000 Dayton Trotting Derby at Hollywood Dayton Raceway.
It seems the injury woes that caused the Italian-bred to miss nearly 13 months are well in the past, and he’s once again ready to show off his dominant form. It won’t be easy in a nine-horse field that also features stud trotter Its Academic, who owns a sparkling 30-17-13 line in 79 career starts, but Alrajah One IT isn’t one to shy away from a battle.
Both talents should firmly be in contention the whole way through, making for the kind of betting action you won’t want to miss out on.
