Neepawa, Aheadbyacentury face questions in Breeders' Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Neepawa is proven on turf, but how far does he want to go? Aheadbyacentury is untested on turf, but his stamina is not in question. They will clash over 12 furlongs, or exactly one lap around Woodbine’s roomy course, in Saturday’s $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes, the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

Neepawa raised his profile on Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream Park in January, when he graduated with ease on the grass. After running fifth in back-to-back stakes there in March, he returned here to finish third in an allowance and then 10th in the Queen’s Plate. He bypassed the second Canadian Triple Crown race, the Prince of Wales Stakes on dirt at Fort Erie, and is coming off a third in the nine-furlong Toronto Cup Stakes.

Trained by Mark Casse, Neepawa is a Chiefswood Stable homebred by the late super-sire Scat Daddy. His broodmare sire, Niigon, won the Queen’s Plate for Chiefswood in 2004, when he was ridden by current Chiefswood general manager Robert Landry.

“I don’t think he’ll have a problem with the distance,” said Landry of Neepawa. “I believe he has a lot of stamina. He galloped out in front after the Toronto Cup.”

Aheadbyacentury has run well without finding the mark since beating Neepawa over nine furlongs in the Nov. 5 Coronation Futurity. A closer, Aheadbyacentury wound up second in both the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales behind Wonder Gadot, who is bypassing the Breeders’ in favor of the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 25.

The track was not sealed prior to a rainstorm that hit shortly before the Prince of Wales, and the result was a deep, sloppy surface for the 1 3/16-mile event.

“It was a nasty track,” said trainer John Ross. “He was sliding around. He pushed his bandages up. Thank goodness he didn’t burn himself. You worry about your horse getting jarred up, and he was stiff for a couple of days, but he’s okay. He’s got some toughness about him.”

Aheadbyacentury galloped over the main turf here last Saturday to the satisfaction of his connections. The son of Midnight Lute and a Touch Gold mare possesses a main-track pedigree, but Ross won the 1997 Breeders’ with John the Magician, who was also bred for the dirt.

“It’s not really the main pedigree for turf,” Ross said. “I’ve seen some Midnight Lutes run okay on it, and Touch Gold has a little turf pedigree. I know one thing for sure is that he’ll like a mile and a half.”

Seven other Canadian-bred 3-year-olds were entered in the 127th running of the race.

KEY CONTENDERS

Neepawa, by Scat Daddy
Last 3 Beyers: 82-65-77

◗ Casse won the Breeders’ with Marchfield in 2007.

◗ Jerome Lermyte rode Neepawa in the Toronto Cup and has the mount in the Breeders’. Lermyte has won two stakes this year for Casse, including the Bison City with Safe to Say.

Aheadbyacentury, by Midnight Lute
Last 3 Beyers: 83-87-77

◗ Could become the first horse to finish second in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown.

Say the Word, by More Than Ready
Last 3 Beyers: 71-83-79

◗ Based in Maryland with trainer Graham Motion, the Sam-Son Farm homebred was a distant sixth in the Queen’s Plate. He earned his diploma on the Keeneland green, and turf is perhaps his preferred footing.