Gierkink's preview: Chicago invaders in town for Matron

Saturday, July 26, preview

Raiders from the Windy City have fared well here this year, and there are two accomplished Arlington shippers in the Grade 3 Ontario Matron: My Option and La Tia.

My Option (3-1) is sent out by trainer Chris Block, who won several stakes here with 2011 Canadian Horse of the Year Never Retreat. My Option is a Grade 3 winner going short and long on the Polytrack at Arlington, where she captured the seven-furlong Chicago Handicap by 6 1/2 lengths with a career-high 99 Beyer Speed Figure on June 28.

Formulator fact: Block is 1 for 3 with sprint/route starters in graded stakes over the last five years ($8.53 return on investment). One of those two losers was when My Option finished fourth in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs in November.

La Tia (5-2) figures to cut loose on the lead in the 1 1/16-mile Matron. She has traveled here before, winning the 2012 La Lorgnette Stakes after ducking in early in the stretch and finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Canadian on turf last September. La Tia romped in the Grade 3 Arlington Matron over nine furlongs two starts back, earning a 94 Beyer, but was a flat third most recently as the 1-2 favorite in a stakes for Illinois-breds.

Toasting (20-1) ships in from Saratoga off a distant fifth in the Grade 2 Ruffian at Belmont. She was third in a minor stakes at the Ocala Training Center in her lone synthetic-track excursion in March 2013. She was supplemented for $3,000 by trainer Tom Albertrani.

The Woodbine-based contenders are Royal Fury (6-1), Northern Passion (8-1), and Spring in the Air (7-2).

Colin Stakes standout

Conquest Tsunami (1-5) lays over a small field in the $125,000 Colin Stakes, a five-furlong dash for 2-year-olds. The unbeaten Mark Casse charge figures to head a cold exacta with Honkeytonk Man, who overcame a troubled start and a wide trip to secure second in the June 21 Victoria Stakes.

Honkeytonk Man and another entrant, Rouge Et Blanc, are both maidens trained by Arthur Silvera, who entered the latter back in a maiden race Sunday.

Casse said he entered the maiden Conquest Boogaloo as a backup and could scratch that son of Scat Daddy.

Jackpot Hi 5 carryover growing

The Jackpot Hi 5 carryover heading into the nightcap is $65,351. Open Ice Hit (3-1) deserves top billing in the huge field of $8,000 conditioned claimers off a troubled, closing second over a speed-favoring track in his first outing in more than a year July 6.

Horse to watch

FOREIGN ACCENT
Trainer: Danny Vella
Last race: July 25, 9th
Finish: 3rd by 1 1/2
He mounted an eye-catching, wide rally from well off sleepy fractions to finish a clear third in a seven-furlong sprint for $16,000 maidens. It was his first try in the lower ranks, and the 3-year-old shouldn’t be a maiden much longer.