Bring Theband Home preps for Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in Nearctic

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The speedy Bring Theband Home will prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in the $250,000 Nearctic on Saturday’s Canadian International undercard at Woodbine.

Normally a six-furlong main turf sprint, the Grade 2 Nearctic has been shortened to five furlongs on the inner turf for this year while the main course undergoes renovations, which should work out perfectly for the five-furlong expert Bring Theband Home.

Trained by Mark Casse for Live Oak Plantation, Bring Theband Home had a spectacular two-race summer campaign at Saratoga. After taking the 5 1/2-furlong Harvey Pack Stakes with a whopping 109 Beyer Speed Figure on July 4, the 5-year-old won the Grade 2 Troy over the same distance Aug. 3 with a 105 Beyer.

“He has started showing just what we thought he was early on,” Casse said. “We always thought he was a pretty good horse. In all honesty, he was a little bit disappointing, but he definitely loves Saratoga. We hope he loves the Woodbine inner turf as much. This has been our plan for a long time. When he won the Harvey Pack at Saratoga and was so close to the world record, it showed us that he has the talent we always thought he had.”

Javier Castellano retains the mount on Bring Theband Home, who is reacquiring Lasix. The Grade 1 BC Turf Sprint goes Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

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“That is what we are aiming for,” Casse said. “He’s been given a little break and freshened after his most recent race. He’s good and cranked and he’s ready to go.”

The Strikin Viking ships in from England off a victory in a Group 3 sprint over yielding ground in Germany. A private purchase by Wathnan Racing, The Strikin Viking finished a close third in his penultimate race in a listed stakes at Chester. The six-furlong specialist was unplaced in his lone five-furlong start in a Group 3 event over a straight course last year at Newmarket.

“He gave us a lot of confidence to send him to Germany after he was third in his race before that,” trainer Hamad Al Jehani said. “It was a very good race for him in Germany. From there, we decided this race in Canada would suit him. I think he will handle the track very well.”

Chicago shipper Nobals won the 2022 Woodstock Stakes and last year’s Grade 2 Kennedy Road, both six-furlong Tapeta stakes here. He was a beaten favorite twice among his last three outings and appears to have lost a step. Woodbine’s leading stakes rider, Rafael Hernandez, has the mount for trainer Larry Rivelli.

The Wesley Ward-trained No Nay Hudson won an open April 18 allowance at his Keeneland base and subsequently ran second in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint Stakes at Pimlico. Off a 3 1/2-month layoff most recently at Del Mar, he finished a flat fourth in the Grade 3 Green Flash. The gelding is getting back on Lasix, which he used in each of his last two wins.

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