Four Ontario-breds will face seven others on Sunday in the $300,000 Grade I Nearctic Stakes, going six furlongs on the EP Taylor Turf course at Woodbine. The race is the […]
Four Ontario-breds will face seven others on Sunday in the $300,000 Grade I Nearctic Stakes, going six furlongs on the EP Taylor Turf course at Woodbine. The race is the final ‘Win and You’re In’ event for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, with the winner receiving fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint race, to be held on Saturday, November 2 at Santa Anita. Two Nearctic runners in Fatal Bullet and Excaper have previous BC experience, with Excaper finishing second in the 2011 Juvenile Turf.
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Based on a the strength of a second-place finish two starts back in the Grade II Play the King Stakes, Excaper has been made the top morning line choice for the Nearctic at 3-1. Lightly raced in 2013, Excaper opened the season with a win in upper AOC company, and most recently ran sixth in the Grade I Woodbine Mile. Second choice in the ML is the UK-bred (although all his racing has been stateside for the past three years) Longhunter (7-2), who most recently won the Kentucky Downs Turf Dash.
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While many in the field will be making their first lifetime start in a graded-stakes event, one who has been consistently campaigning at or above this level is Riding the River (5-1) for trainer Dave Coty. He’s run in ten straight Grade I or II events, and he’s finished in the top three in three-of-five this year, including a win as defending champion in the Grade II King Edward Stakes, and fast-closing third at seven furlongs in the Play the King. He was just a half-length back of Excaper in that one, and finished ahead of that rival in the Woodbine Mile.
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Saturday, January 29 at Gulfstream Park is one of the biggest races of the year: the Pegasus World Cup (G1)! This $3 million race, covering a mile and an eighth on the Gulfstream dirt track, drew a field of nine handicap horses. The eyes of the racing world will be on Gulfstream on Saturday, and you can bet it from the comfort of your own home here in Canada!
The Kentucky Derby trail makes its way to Oklahoma on Friday, December 17 for the Remington Springboard Mile! The race drew a field of nine up-and-coming two-year-olds to go a mile on the main track. The prizes are rich: a $400,000 purse, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points (10-4-2-1) for the first four horses across the wire.
The Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), California’s most important Kentucky Derby Prep in December, is coming up on Saturday, December 11! The race features the most promising two-year-olds in California, set to go a mile and a sixteenth over the dirt at Los Alamitos Racecourse. The race offers a purse of $300,000, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points, apportioned 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.
Let's have a look at the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf betting picks and predictions.
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