Inventing's last better than it looked
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Inventing ran a deceptively good race in her Woodbine debut. Can she put it all together in the conditioned allowance/optional-claiming feature on Friday the 13th, or will it be another unlucky day for her?
Inventing was trained by Todd Pletcher for the first 10 starts of her career, which were all on the dirt at seven different tracks. The 4-year-old graduated last October at Keeneland and eventually cleared the first allowance condition in front-running style in a June 17 allowance at Monmouth.
Owners Repole Stable and Woodford Racing sent Inventing here during the summer. When debuting for trainer Kevin Attard off a two-month break in an Aug. 20 conditioned allowance/optional claimer, she was rated outside Strega, her front-running stablemate. Strega set soft fractions on a golden rail before holding on to beat the future stakes winner Forever Dixie. Inventing faded from second to fourth in a race that she seemingly needed.
Inventing has worked three times leading up to Friday’s race, in which she drew ideally on the outside in the five-horse Tapeta route. On paper, she looks like the controlling speed, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the aggressive apprentice Sofia Vives put sprinter Beyond Mybudget on the point after breaking from the rail. In that case, Rafael Hernandez could sit outside in second aboard Inventing before making a bid.
Stakes-placed Beyond Mybudget has routed just once in her career, which was a trailing 10th-place finish in the 2020 Wonder Where Stakes going 1 1/4 miles on turf. She was a beaten favorite in each of her last two starts at this level early in the summer before heading to the sidelines.
Trainer Mark Casse sends out Beyond Mybudget and the French import Keyflower in the 1 1/16-mile contest.
Keyflower ran some excellent races here in the past, including a close sixth in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor in 2021 and a troubled fourth against the boys in last year’s Niagara Stakes. She’s been campaigned sporadically this year and is coming off a runner-up placing at this level going about nine furlongs on the grass. Sahin Civaci will ride the 5-year-old, who beat males when debuting on a synthetic track late in 2020 in France.
Lady Brew owns the highest last-out Beyer Speed Figure in the field, an 82, which she got for clearing the first allowance condition after numerous attempts when negotiating a mile on the grass Sept. 9. The closer may have her work cut out for her if the fractions are docile.
Longshot Pemberley is picking up leading rider Kazushi Kimura off a ground-saving fourth behind Keyflower on Sept. 17. In a field devoid of speed, she wired nonwinners-of-two allowance types and $50,000 claiming 3-year-olds in her penultimate race on the grass.
Post time for the eight-race card is 1:15 p.m.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.