Woodbine Harness: Monday 10/5 Analysis
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Monday 10/5 card at Woodbine Harness.
Garnet BarnsdaleOct 03, 2015
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Monday 10/5 card at Woodbine Harness.
About 30 minutes after trainer Ramon Preciado’s 4-year-old colt Amelia’s Wild Ride pulled off a 14-1 upset in the off-the-turf, $150,000 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland, the Parx Racing-based trainer scored in another $150,000 stakes when the 4-year-old filly Hey Kiddo won a match race against Monaguska in the Roamin Rachel at Parx.
Amelia's Wild Ride used a front-running trip to avoid trouble, kicking clear in the stretch to win a spill-marred edition of the $150,000 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday.
The path of least resistance did not prove to be the path to victory for Honor Code, who could only manage a third-place finish behind loose-on-the-lead winner Appealing Tale in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Kelso Handicap at sloppy Belmont Park.
Trainer Richard Mandella was formulating plans Saturday at Santa Anita for stable star Beholder and potential star Lucky Folie, a 2-year-old filly who won her debut impressively Sept. 6 at Del Mar.
Esoterique won her second consecutive Group 1 race Saturday in the $377,000 Sun Chariot Stakes for female turf milers at Newmarket Racecourse in England, a victory that could lead to an appearance in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
Talco, the winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in June, will miss the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 31 after being diagnosed with a bone chip in a knee, trainer John Sadler said on Saturday.
After Belmont Park was inundated with rain the past few days, it’s rather unlikely that any of Sunday’s five scheduled turf races – the first, second, fifth, seventh, and ninth – will remain on the grass. There was no official word about that as of this writing, though, and so for purposes of this how-to-play exercise, we can’t assume anything. You know what happens when we do that. Therefore, we shall concentrate on the races we know will be run on the main track.
Multiple graded stakes winner Golden Lad has been retired and will begin his stud career at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake City, Md.
Rain certainly has put a damper on the Saturday card at Belmont, but there's still value to be had, especially in one of the last pick threes of the afternoon.