El Cohete stretches to two turns on turf
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – El Cohete will experiment around two turns on the inner turf in Thursday’s Woodbine headliner with a new rider in tow – Sahin Civaci. He should be favored in the nonwinners-of-three event that combines Ontario-sired allowance types with $40,000 claimers.
El Cohete has stuck to sprinting since placing in back-to-back Tapeta routes in July 2023. He went to the sidelines for nine months after beating nonwinners-of-two allowance opponents with a 77 Beyer Speed Figure a year ago.
Following a trio of competitive performances on the Tapeta in the spring, trainer Mike DePaulo tried El Cohete on the main turf July 6. He had a wide trip then while rallying from fourth to finish a close third with a career-high 79 Beyer. Runner-up Summer Commander came right back to prevail at the same nonwinners-of-three level on the Tapeta.
El Cohete worked a bullet five-eighths in 57.80 seconds on the Tapeta on July 27. The son of 15 percent turf route sire Society’s Chairman shouldn’t mind stretching out to 1 1/16 miles on Thursday. In the past five years, DePaulo won at an 11 percent rate when going sprint to route on turf, with a return on investment of $1.37.
Also entered in the feature are Lil Bit Gangsta, Moddassah, Itsastormymonday, Pierre, and Southern Style.
Lil Bit Gangsta is moving up from the $25,000 claiming ranks but isn’t out of his league from a Beyer perspective. Ryan Munger rode him for trainer Krista Cole when he rallied for second in his May 30 season opener on the inner turf, after which he finished a fading third on the main course.
Moddassah was promoted from second to first after the disqualification of his stablemate Conacher against $15,000 nonwinners-of-two stock over the inner course July 6. The 64 Beyer he earned then won’t cut it in this spot, in which the capable Jalon Samuel retains the mount.
Rafael Hernandez is back aboard Itsastormymonday after riding El Cohete in his last two outings. He made all three of his starts in Tapeta sprints, graduating over seven furlongs Dec. 1 and beating nonwinners-of-two rivals over the same distance in his only race this year, May 10.
Itsastormymonday is by Get Stormy, who has sired 14 percent turf route winners, including graded stakes winners Got Stormy and Get Smokin. The gelding is the first foal from a mare who placed on turf, and the second dam was an allowance winner sprinting on the Keeneland grass.
Pierre, the fourth-place finisher in the 2024 King’s Plate, ran with a $40,000 claiming tag when clearing the nonwinners-of-two condition on the Tapeta on June 21. He checked in third behind a peaking Swift Delivery in his only turf outing in allowance company last summer.
Southern Style is the lone one-time winner in the lineup. He has been in a tailspin since graduating over a mile on the main turf in September and is getting some class relief while competing with a claiming tag for the first time.
Post time for the eight-race card is 3:10 p.m.
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