Gierkink: Purely Hot should be favored in Hendrie

Saturday, May 24, preview

Turf racing returns to Woodbine this weekend with an optional claimer Saturday and the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes on Sunday.

The European-style E.P. Taylor turf course, which encircles the main track, is 1 1/2 miles in circumference. Its stretch, at 1,440 feet, is the longest of any track on the continent. The course can be divided into five lanes, with the innermost lane saved primarily for the days on which major stakes are staged, such as the Canadian International and Woodbine Mile.

Speed can be more effective when the portable rail is placed in lanes four and five, while closers may have an advantage when the entire course is used. However, that theory didn’t hold much water in 2012-13, when the course seemed to play fair regardless of the rail placement or course condition.

More horses enjoy the expansive Woodbine layout compared with the tighter turns of an infield course, according to trainer Mark Casse.

“My feeling with the Woodbine turf course is that more horses handle it, compared to other courses,” Casse said. “I find that most of my good horses will run over it.”

Saturday’s sixth race, a seven-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares, is headed by Smartyfly, who’s exiting a flat fifth in a nine-furlong N2X at Keeneland. Her seven-furlong form is good, but she’s done the bulk of her damage in turf routes, most notably a three-length triumph in the 10-furlong Wonder Where Stakes last August.

Hobnobsnob will lead the way in her first appearance since Oct. 19. Her work tab is light, and she figures to need one to help prepare her for the July 31 Victoriana, an Ontario-sired stakes that she won last year for trainer Earl Barnett.

Hendrie Stakes

The Grade 3 Hendrie, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, has an intriguing mixture of shippers and local runners. Purely Hot, based at Keeneland with trainer Tevis McCauley, should be favored off a victory in the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes here April 26, when she benefited from a lively pace to win going away under Chantal Sutherland-Kruse, who picked up the mount at the last minute.

Kitty Wine broke the track record for about seven furlongs at Keeneland while airing in a first-level allowance in April. She could link up on the lead with Unhedged, who’s making her first start for Casse off a second in a 6 1/2-furlong optional claimer at Keeneland. My Option, a Grade 3 winner over Arlington’s Polytrack, is a closer trained by Chris Block, who campaigned 2011 Canadian Horse of the Year Never Retreat.

The Casse-trained Spring in the Air rallied wide to beat out longshot Mekong Delta for second in the six-furlong Whimsical. Both can make an impact again if the pace is on the quick side.