Gierkink's preview: Super Hi 5 jackpot surpasses $500,000

Jackpot Hi 5 carryover exceeds $500K

With a Jackpot Hi 5 carryover of $501,095 up for grabs, Keen Gizmo merits top billing in the 10th, and figures to be much lower than his 8-1 morning quote.

Keen Gizmo finished second in the four-horse Victoria Park Stakes in his last Polytrack try June 22, when he put up an 80 Beyer Speed Figure. Nobody in this large field has come close to earning such a Beyer on Polytrack. Keen Gizmo subsequently finished third in an allowance, and was a very wide eighth in the Breeders’ Stakes.

Habemus Papam (3-1) lost an identical Ontario-sired allowance by a nose after closing inside from off slow fractions Aug. 23.

Henke (4-1) was a stalking third behind Habemus Papam as the favorite Aug. 23. His recent form is more appealing if you draw a line through his distant fourth going 10 furlongs on grass two starts ago.

Frank the Bank (12-1) is a longshot prospect for the exotics, in his fourth race off the sidelines. He seemed to bounce off his authoritative maiden triumph most recently, when a tired seventh behind Habemus Papam and Henke.

Niigon’s Turn (6-1) has been freshened since a wide/closing second in a 10-furlong allowance on turf July 13. He graduated over nine furlongs on Polytrack in June for trainer Stuart Simon.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Simon is 2 for 9 (22 percent) with more-than-45-day comebackers going from turf to synthetic over the past five years, with a return on investment of $2.32.

Pender Harbour cuts back in feature

Pender Harbour (7-5), the 2011 Canadian champion 3-year-old, is the class of the $125,000 Overskate, but how good is he at the seven-furlong distance of this Ontario-sired stakes?

Pender Harbour’s seven-furlong record--2-2-1 in 6 starts--includes a win and two seconds in three starts in allowance company this year. He wound up third behind Phil’s Dream and Ultimate Destiny in last year’s quality edition of the Overskate.

Paso Doble (4-1) set dawdling fractions en route to a handy score Aug. 4 in the 6 1/2 -furlong Shepperton Stakes. The durable 8-year-old did the bulk of his damage from a stalking position in the past, but could employ front-running tactics again here in a field without much speed.

San Nicola Thunder (6-1) rallied effectively in the Shepperton. He was also second most recently in an optional-claiming sprint on grass, which was won Calgary Cat, who returned to win the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes.

Lane 5 for turf

The temporary rail is in the outermost lane 5. There is rain in the forecast for Saturday afternoon, but the ground should be firm for the second, a 12-furlong maiden special in which Interpol (7-5) will be the heavy favorite off a lapped-on second in the Breeders’ Stakes.

Johnny Bear, listed as a first-time gelding, is in with a shot at 4-1 in his first start under the good grass rider David Moran.