Gierkink: Jackpot Hi 5 carryover of $84,273

Friday, May 16, preview

PENDER HARBOUR STEPS UP

Pender Harbour, Canada’s champion 3-year-old in 2011, ended a drought when he captured a money allowance in dramatic fashion off a winter layoff April 18. He could be construed as a bounce candidate when he meets a tougher group in Friday’s feature, a third-level allowance/optional claimer.

Trainer Mike De Paulo said he bypassed last Saturday’s allowance prep for the Eclipse Stakes after Pender Harbour worked poorly May 4, a five-furlong drill in 1:05.

“He had something bugging him in his mouth, so we straightened that out, and he came back and breezed [a half-mile] in 48 [seconds] the other day,” De Paulo said. “Everything’s good.”

Say No More should be a speed threat with blinkers on and Omar Moreno retaining the mount. He’s coming off a wide fourth over an inside-biased track in the Jacques Cartier Stakes behind Really Sharp, who came back to post an upset in the Grade 3 Vigil Stakes. Sharp Sensation also exited the six-furlong Jacques Cartier to score.

Dynamic Sky is another contender in his second race back from a layoff that began after he finished a distant third in last year’s Queen’s Plate.

ONTARIO-SIRED ALLOWANCE SPLITS

The fourth and seventh races are splits of an Ontario-sired allowance sprint for non-winners of two.

Cristina’s Halo figures to be a major player in the fourth under Chantal Sutherland-Kruse. She graduated in a romp on opening day but then bounced during a second-place finish as the favorite in a seven-furlong allowance April 25. Cutting back to three-quarters should be to her benefit in this spot. The camera-shy Natural Blonde is a solid prospect for the bottom of all exotics.

The seventh is part of both pick fours, and Virreina can be used as a single if you’re not playing a big ticket. She checked in second in both of her five-furlong excursions in April, and her main obstacle might be the six-furlong distance.

JACKPOT HI 5 CARRYOVER

The Jackpot Hi 5 hasn’t been won outright at the meet, and the carryover heading into the nightcap is $84,273. Crowns Dynasty is back on his preferred surface in the $8,000 claimer following a lackluster three-race winter campaign in Florida.