Emmanuel comes in fresh for Canadian Turf repeat bid

The more time the 5-year-old Emmanuel has between starts, the better he seems to run, and the fact Emmanuel returns Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Canadian Turf from a layoff approaching seven months just might be a good thing.

Emmanuel won the 2023 Canadian Turf while not performing quite as well as he had a month earlier in the Tampa Bay Stakes, his first race in six months. Emmanuel, who also won his career debut, is a horse proven to fire fresh, and a race like his comeback 13 months ago at Tampa ought to win him a second Canadian Turf.

The Canadian Turf, carded at 1 1/16 miles, drew 10 entrants, but Giant Game has made his 14 starts on dirt, is cross entered in a Tampa Bay Downs dirt allowance race Friday, and does not figure to run if the Canadian Turf, as seems likely, remains on grass.

With Giant Game out, rail-drawn Saratoga Flash should set the pace, with Emmanuel and Irad Ortiz Jr., drawn in post 3, a candidate to drop down to the fence and get into the pocket.

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Emmanuel hits his peak racing covered up at distances between one mile and 1 1/16 miles, and trainer Todd Pletcher over the last three years has been very strong in Gulfstream turf stakes, with 20 wins from 68 starters, a 29 percent strike rate. A lackluster fifth racing over good ground Aug. 12 in the Fourstardave at Saratoga, Emmanuel subsequently was given a break, returning to the work tab with a slow three furlongs under a heavy exercise rider Jan. 20 at Palm Beach Downs. He quickly ramped up in morning breezes, and his drills with Wit on Feb. 9 and Feb. 16 were appealing viewed on video.

Atone is a somewhat difficult read here since his most recent race, a fourth-place finish Jan. 27 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf, starkly reversed what had been a steady form slide. Atone won the 2023 Pegasus Turf but lost his way the rest of 2023, finishing just third Dec. 2 as the 3-5 favorite in a Gulfstream turf allowance race. In the Pegasus, though, he was beaten less than two lengths by top-class Warm Heart while finishing just in front of highly regarded Integration. Atone did get a lovely run up the fence last month and appeared in the final strides to be gassed.

Smokin’ T, a capable Shug McGaughey-trained 5-year-old, has done his best work on grass with more give than he’ll find Saturday but isn’t without a chance. Siege of Boston probably needs a little more ground, while Ice Chocolat, a sprinter/miler coming off a local allowance win, probably wants a little less. Lightly raced Turf King, trained by Chad Brown, makes his first start since early July and needs to run faster at age 4 than he was as a 3-year-old. Eldon’s Prince and Napoleonic War complete the field.

Honey Fox set up for Chili Flag

Chili Flag, in the pantheon of Chad Brown-trained female grass runners, is just another horse, but she might be the right horse for the Grade 3, $150,000 Honey Fox Stakes on Saturday.

Brown does not focus on Florida winters yet still has won the last two renewals of the Honey Fox, a one-mile turf contest, and three of the last five. This year’s edition is light on established graded stakes performers but very heavy on early and middle speed, and a fast, contested pace raises Chili Flag’s chances.

Horses like Be My Sunshine, Spansive, and Walkathon prefer forward placements, but the real speed in the Honey Fox – For the Flag, Time Passage, and Ancient Pace – all drew outside posts. Their riders will make use of their pace to gain position and the Honey Fox almost has to unfold at a demanding clip.

Chili Flag, a 5-year-old French import, has a decent résumé but lacks a graded stakes win; she may never find a better chance to fill that hole than in the Honey Fox. Chili Flag, the mount of Irad Ortiz Jr., has better positional pace than she showed Jan. 27, when she tried to rally from 10th in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf. A final 2 1/2 furlongs in a solid 28.63 seconds got her into sixth at the finish, and a similar kick can get Chili Flag the money on Saturday.

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