November 28, 2024
TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon
Above the Norm
Three cheers for Good Cheer, the 2-year-old filly who’s off to a perfect three-for-three start to her professional racing career.
The promising youngster can secure a fourth straight tally this Saturday in the $400,000 Golden Rod (G2) at iconic Churchill Downs.
After winning her first three contests by a combined margin of 30 lengths, including a 17-length drubbing in her second effort, the 2024 Rags to Riches Stakes victor is hungry for a jump in class.
Any concerns about Good Cheer’s prospects at the Grade 2 tier should be laid to rest, as oddsmakers have tabbed the Brad Cox charge the 4-5 opening line favorite ahead of her graded stakes debut.
Ready for Takeoff
If the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) goes Jonathan’s Way, then the 2-year-old colt will have achieved ‘multiple graded stakes winner’ status after just four lifetime starts.
Returning to Churchill Downs, the site of his first graded stakes conquest (Grade 3 Iroquois), there is plenty on the line for Jonathan’s Way in the 1 1/6-mile tilt.
In addition to a climb in status, the Joel Rosario mount can begin to forge his path to next year’s Kentucky Derby (G1) with up to 10 Derby qualifying points on the line.
Jonathan’s Way finds himself well-positioned as the 5-2 choice leading into Saturday’s Jockey Club.
Triple Coverage
How many Todd Pletcher trained fillies does it take to dethrone Alpine Princess (7-5), the early favorite in Saturday’s $200,000 Comely (G3)?
Apparently three, because that’s how many the veteran conditioner has entered in the 1 1/8-mile affair.
Together, the trio of Life Talk (4-1), Scalable (5-1), and Audacious (8-1) stand as Pletcher’s greatest defense against Alpine Princess, who clocks in fresh off a Remington Park Oaks triumph.
However, with Life Talk and Scalable, Pletcher has something that Alpine Princess is not, and that is a graded-stakes winner.
The former captured the 2023 Demoiselle (G2) while the latter topped the field in July’s Monmouth (G3).
Who’s House?
Basketball fans, remember the 1985-86 season, more specifically the Boston Celtics team that went 40-1 at home?
Please allow us to introduce the equine equivalent of those home court heroes, 3-year-old colt Formidable Man, who remains undefeated at Del Mar after three starts.
While the Michael McCarthy trainee has a way to go before matching the Larry Bird-led Celtics, he can shorten the gap with another Del Mar decision in Saturday’s $300,000 Hollywood Derby (G1T).
It won’t be a cakewalk against a deep set of a dozen rivals that includes 2023 Cecil B. DeMille (G3T) winner Stay Hot (11: 5-2-1) and Twilight Derby (G2T) champion Atitlan (5: 2-0-2), but Formidable Man (9-2) is well-equipped to defend his turf.
It’s Not How You Start…
If the worlds of Major League Baseball and Thoroughbred racing were to swap places, fans would be hard-pressed to spot the difference between Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez and 5-year-old mare Gina Romantica.
Following in the former’s footsteps, the latter has gotten progressively better as the season went on – Gina Romantica recorded finishes of seventh, fifth, third, second, and most recently, first, in the Grade 1 First Lady.
The Jose Ortiz mount will look to continue that upward trajectory in Sunday afternoon’s $300,000 Matriarch (G1T) at Del Mar.
Slotted in post 11, Gina Romantica is one of four hopefuls trained by Chad Brown.
The four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner has won the last four editions of the 1-mile Matriarch.
