Classic winners Coltimus Prime, Ami’s Holiday square off in Ontario Derby
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Canadian classic winners Coltimus Prime and Ami’s Holiday headline the field of eight for Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Ontario Derby for 3-year-olds over 1 1/8 miles on Woodbine’s Polytrack. Coltimus Prime won the Prince of Wales Stakes with a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure on dirt at Fort Erie on July 29 and will now switch back to Polytrack for the Ontario Derby.
“I’m not concerned but maybe a little apprehensive about going back to Polytrack,” said trainer Justin Nixon. “I’m not big on changing surfaces, but it is what it is. He’s won on it before, and he’s training well, so I’m not overly concerned.”
The performance on dirt last time had Coltimus Prime’s connections thinking about a start in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 23. But they decided to skip the race after Coltimus Prime breezed twice over the Saratoga surface.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Coltimus Prime. Trainer Justin Nixon is 1 for 16 with a $0.39 ROI over the last five years on synthetic with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“We brought him down there, and we breezed him over the track, and he didn’t work the way he usually does,” Nixon said. “Maybe the Queen’s Plate-Prince of Wales double might have taken more of a toll on him than we thought.”
Ami’s Holiday enters the Ontario Derby off a win in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Stakes on the turf course at Woodbine on Aug. 17. He was the only horse to compete in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown this season, placing in both the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales before his win in the Breeders’ Stakes.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Ami's Holiday. Trainer Josie Carroll is 4 for 10 with a $2.61 ROI over the past five years moving from turf to synthetic following a win. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
KEY CONTENDERS
Coltimus Prime (Last 3 Beyers: 93-59-68)
◗ Coltimus Prime was forwardly placed in both the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales and could find himself toward the front with jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva. “We’ll let the chips fall where they may,” Nixon said. “He’s got good tactical speed, he doesn’t have to have the front, and just let the horse and rider do their thing.”
Ami’s Holiday (Last 3 Beyers: 80-86-86)
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Josie Carroll has an impressive 38 percent strike rate with runners going from turf to synthetic at Woodbine over the past two years, with a return on investment of $2.54.
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Picozza (Last 3 Beyers: 79-80-80)
◗ Picozza has raced primarily on turf but did make one start on Keeneland’s Polytrack back in April, earning a 92 Beyer when second behind Medal Count in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Lunar Rover. Trainer James Bond is 4 for 41 with a $1.19 ROI over the last five years with horses coming off a maiden victory. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan