What’s On Track: Future Stars & Golden Opportunities Around Horse Racing This Weekend

TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon

Golden Opportunity

This Saturday, historic Churchill Downs in Kentucky will play host to a top-flight event for 2-year-old fillies.

The $400,000 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) presents a stiff challenge for the group of eight youngsters, but three stand out from the pack in the early going.

Thorpedo Anna enters the 1 1/16-mile affair as the 8-5 opening line favorite despite owning a lesser resume than her two main challengers, West Sunset (2-1) and Central Avenue (5-1). She’s undefeated through two career starts, but neither race reached the listed or stakes levels.

West Sunset, on the other hand, is also 2-0-0, but her latest win was of the Listed variety (Rags to Riches Stakes). Central Avenue is 1-1-0, but her second-place finish came in the Frizette Stakes (G1) is perhaps a sign of things to come.

A Tale of Two Favorites

The two opening line favorites ahead of Saturday’s $200,000 Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct, Raging Sea (5-2) and Defining Purpose (3-1), have had very different careers so far.

Besides both being 3-year-old Kentucky-bred fillies, these competitors have next to nothing in common.

Raging Sea has raced six times to a 2-1-1 line, while Defining Purpose has double the experience, going 4-1-2 from 12 starts.

The former has competed in just two graded affairs, both at the Grade 1 level, finishing third and fourth. Conversely, the latter has run in eight graded affairs (four Grade 1, two Grade 2, and two Grade 3), winning the Ashland (G1) and Indiana Oaks (G3) Stakes.’

For what it’s worth, Defining Purpose finished fifth in last year’s running of the Golden Rod.

The Road Ahead

The road to the 165^th running of the King’s Plate (August 17, 2024) starts this Saturday at Woodbine with the $250,000 Coronation Futurity.

Ten 2-year-olds will take to the Tapeta for a chance to score a significant win leading up to next year’s King’s Plate. Among the competitors is Naptown (3-1), a Graham Motion trainee who captured his first career win back on October 29 at Woodbine.

The Ontario-bred Colt headed the field of 12, also at 3-1, holding firm before opening up and cruising to a 5 1/2-length victory.

In a race where experience will be at a premium, having won on the Tapeta before, albeit at a much shorter distance (7 furlongs compared to 1 1/8-miles), could prove to go a long way come Saturday.\

Fit for a Princess

The second stakes event on Woodbine’s Saturday card, the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes, also has major implications down the line.

Also set for the Tapeta, the 1 1/16-mile Princess Elizabeth is a coveted score on the path to the 69^th running of the Woodbine Oaks, the first jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown Triple Tiara Series.

The contest for 2-year-old fillies features a group of nine that includes John Mattine trainee Sounds Practical (8-1). She’s proven to be a strong contender through two career starts, going 1-1-0 with a sound 3 ½-length victory to her name.

Sounds Practical will duke it out with several other accomplished entrants, namely Olivia Rose (5-2), Airosa (3-1), Hurricane Clair (4-1), and War Painter (6-1).

Hollywood Ending

Eight hopefuls will take to the Del Mar turf this Saturday for the $200,000 Seabiscuit H. (G2T).

Named after the legendary Seabiscuit, whose story inspired an era, as well as a blockbuster film featuring Toby Maguire and Jeff Bridges, the contest is a 1 1/16-mile affair open to 3-year-olds and up.

Hong Kong Harry (IRE), a 5-year-old gelding who owns an impressive 10-2-2 line through 17 career starts, enters as the early 8-5 favorite. The Philip D’Amato trainee is coming off a remarkable 2022 campaign that saw him cross the finish line first five times, including in three graded dashes.

This year, however, has been a little more uneven through four starts. Starting with finishes of fourth and eighth, it appears Hong Kong Harry has found his footing of late, running to a third in the Shoemaker Mile (G1T) and City of Hope Mile (G2T) Stakes.