Hard Right should finally exit maiden ranks
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Anything can happen during the waning days of the marathon Woodbine meet. Many horses will run back on short rest, sometimes successfully. Longtime maidens will graduate due to attrition. Layoff types are hard to gauge and could be first or worst. Horses will move up and down the class ladder looking to get in as many starts as possible before the meet ends Dec. 13.
Hard Right has been knocking on the door and should finally earn his diploma in Thursday’s opener, a seven-furlong maiden special on the main turf. The Dave Cotey-trained 3-year-old filled out the exacta in each of his last four outings on turf and Tapeta, all under Skye Chernetz.
On recent form and from a Beyer Speed Figure perspective, Hard Right towers over a weak field that includes other professional maidens, including Auntie’s Bambino, Beyond Adversity, and Baltic Sea.
Thursday’s featured nonwinners-of-two allowance route includes a mixture of comebackers and recent runners. Crystal Pearl should go favored under Sahin Civaci off a chalky third in an identical spot where he closed belatedly, but the 4-year-old Curlin colt is far from a cinch.
Trainer Mark Casse runs Crystal Pearl and Copa de Plata, who’s competing on fairly short rest off a dull seventh sprinting in his first start outside the maiden ranks. The son of Justify was competitive around two turns in the past and is being reunited with Rafael Hernandez, who won his maiden on him two back going a mile on the inner turf.
Blind River, Guerra, and Lover Boy Mo have all been out of action since the summer.
Blind River has struggled since graduating second time out at Gulfstream in February. Good layoff trainer Katerina Vassilieva is adding blinkers to the Chiefswood Stables homebred, who could be a pace factor.
Guerra could lead the way or attend what figures to be a moderate pace. He set soft fractions before holding on to prevail at this level July 21. He qualifies for the race again because it allows for 3-year-olds to run with a $50,000 claiming tag. Trainer John Mattine, who has impressive numbers with 61-180 day layoff runners, has given the call to the capable Dane Nelson.
Lover Boy Mo was a minor player at this class before coming up empty most recently in the rapidly run Elgin Stakes for graduates of Canadian yearling sales. Trainer Harold Ladouceur’s go-to rider Jose Campos picks up the mount on the 4-year-old.
Hello Stranger has a realistic chance in his second start off the bench. He was in poor form before winning a seven-furlong maiden special on the main turf off a break Oct. 11 and receiving a 79 Beyer, which isn’t far off the Beyer par of 82 for this level.
Rounding out the fourth race field is Royal Presence, who was a well-beaten seventh among three next-out winners in a first-level allowance/optional claimer on the main turf Oct. 3.
* Post time for the eight-race card is 3:10 p.m.
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