'Judiths' warms up for stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Judiths Wild Rush, Canada's reigning champion sprinter, will prepare for the July 22 Bold Venture Stakes in the allowance prep for that event Friday at Woodbine.

This year, Judiths Wild Rush has picked up right where he left off last summer. Following a six-month layoff, he finished third in the Grade 3 Deputy Minister Stakes on Feb. 5 at Gulfstream and subsequently finished fourth there in the Grade 2 Richter Scale BC Handicap on March 4.

Judiths Wild Rush ran two huge races here two weeks apart in April, winning the Jacques Cartier and Vigil stakes and earning 105 Beyer Speed Figures in both.

Trained by Reade Baker, Judiths Wild Rush returns from a two-month freshening Friday and might need a race before regaining his best form.

There is also a chink in the armor of Main Executive, the probable second choice in the 10-horse field. Main Executive, a front-runner with 6 wins in 8 starts, has won his last two races after dropping his season opener. He led all the way over a sloppy track in an April 22 optional claimer and then earned a 100 Beyer when he won the restricted New Providence Stakes on May 13. Three horses came out of the New Providence to score: Dave the Knave, Barbeau Ruckus, and Bold Thing.

Main Executive contracted a virus after the New Providence. He missed some training time, and had to bypass the June 10 Steady Growth Stakes. Like Judiths Wild Rush, Main Executive has been working quickly during his hiatus, but might not be poised to fire his best shot.

The logical upset candidates include Are You Serious and Gangster.

Are You Serious was arguably the leading 3-year-old sprinter on the grounds last year. He defeated Main Executive when he won his debut in August, and eventually went through his allowance conditions. He capped his campaign with a 10-1 upset victory over Bishop Court Hill and Gangster in the Kennedy Road Stakes.

Are You Serious ran flat when he came off the sidelines in the Jacques Cartier, finishing sixth, beaten 7 1/4 lengths by Judiths Wild Rush. He rebounded with an allowance victory at Fort Erie, for which he received a 96 Beyer.

Gangster has made a good living chasing Woodbine's top sprinters. He closed for second in the Grade 3 Vigil in his second start of the meeting and was recently a late-running third in a slow-paced classified allowance.