Gierkink's preview: Display, Maple Leaf top 11-race card

Four of the leading local jockeys - Patrick Husbands, Eurico da Silva, Jesse Campbell, and Gary Boulanger - are riding in Breeders’ Cup races on Saturday at Santa Anita, which explains the numerous changes on this card

Display Stakes

Carded as race 4, the Display Stakes kicks off the early pick four, which has a guaranteed pool of $100,000.

The Chicago shipper Bourbon Cowboy is a little low on the morning line at 6-5, in his first try going 1 1/16 miles in this $125,000 event for 2-year-olds. A son of Cowboy Cal , Bourbon Cowboy is adding blinkers off a runner-up placing in a sprint stakes at Presque Isle, and is bred to handle a route of ground.

Glenville Gardens (2-1) finished second in both of his outings traveling seven furlongs, including in the Swynford Stakes. He was probably best in a recent maiden special, in which he was stuck in traffic early in the lane before coming on late to lose by a head to Sea to Sea.

Hollywood Critic, another promising maiden, should be lower than his 6-1 morning-line quote. He was third in each of his excursions, most notably in the Grade 3 Grey Stakes going 1 1/16 mile s Oct. 5. He is a three-quarter brother to Canadian champion turf female Arravale.

Sea to Sea (4-1) was hard-ridden from an outside stalking position to gamely win his debut over Glenville Gardens, earning a 61 Beyer Speed Figure. This Sam-Son Farm homebred by Tiznow shouldn’t mind the added yardage.

Maple Leaf Stakes

Strut the Course and Miss Mischief are the obvious protagonists in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes, a 10-furlong test for fillies and mares which goes as the ninth on the extended 11-race program.

Strut the Course (5-2) put up a big 90 Beyer when she rallied from off a lively pace to take the 1 1/16-mile Classy ‘n Smart Stakes by 7 1/2 lengths Sept. 28. She has worked a pair of bullets in the interim, and this longer distance seems within range for the daughter of Strut the Stage, who’s always on her toes in the paddock.

A victory by Strut the Course should give her a foothold on the Sovereign Award for this year’s Canadian champion older female.

Miss Mischief (7-2) won her last three outings over the Tapeta surfaces at Presque Isle Downs, including the $100,000 HBPA Stakes with a 95 Beyer. Like Strut the Course, she’s competing beyond 1 1/16 miles for the first time, and has worked quickly here on the Polytrack leading up to this engagement.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Miss Mischief’s capable trainer, Dale Capuano, is 0 for 5 at Woodbine over the last five years. Three of those runners were either second or third.

Secondary contenders in the diverse 11-horse field include the durable 8-year-old Moonlit Beauty (10-1), who led throughout last year’s Maple Leaf at 25-1; and Julie’s Love (9-2), a Graham Motion-trained turf expert from Maryland.