Once again, Boyce the choice in Hawthorne stakes

If it seems like trainer Michele Boyce’s name has been coming up with unusual frequency regarding the limited Hawthorne stakes schedule this season, it has. Boyce has gone 7-4-0-1 in stakes during this Hawthorne meeting, and she stands to add another victory to that total Monday in the $75,000 Polar Expedition Handicap.

Boyce has three of the eight entrants in the Polar Expedition, which is open to older Illinois-breds and carded for 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Readthecliffnotes is the 8-5 morning-line favorite and gave Boyce one of her 2023 stakes scores when he captured the Black Tie Affair Handicap, another Illinois-bred contest, under 118 pounds on July 13. Readthecliffnotes returned with a fourth-place finish facing open company in the Outbound Ike, and on Monday is the 120-pound highweight under Manny Esquivel.

Boyce also sends out Jeff the Lion, weighted at 115, and the speedy mare Cat Attack, a front-end threat under just 114 pounds.

Boyce won’t be winning any more 2023 Hawthorne stakes after Monday, the final day of a meet that began in early March. Hawthorne this week changes its track surface over for a harness racing meet, and Monday also is the last day of Thoroughbred training.

Boyce on Thursday won the Peach of It Handicap with Journeyist, a 5-1 shot who easily beat 1-5 Katie M’lady, so don’t assume Readthecliffnotes at a much shorter price has a stronger chance than Cat Attack. An 8-year-old with a commendable 15-10-1-0 record on the Hawthorne dirt track, Readthecliffnotes has lost a step or two since he steadily produced Beyer Speed Figures in the low 90s. He wants to race close to the pace but probably will cede the lead to Cat Attack.

Five-year-old Cat Attack has a turf-route allowance win from just three well-spaced starts this year, while Readthecliffnotes races for the sixth time during 2023. The mare has notched five of her six career wins on turf, but the last time she tried a dirt route, she went wire to wire in a convincing Illinois-bred allowance-race win last December.

Temper Tantrum is listed at 7-2 on the morning line and carries 119 pounds despite the fact there’s no evidence he’s a dirt horse. Switching from turf to dirt in the Black Tie Affair, he was beaten seven lengths by Readthecliffnotes.

Weslan, at 15-1 on the line, isn’t without hope, nor is another predicted 15-1 shot, Beealea, who raced for Boyce until he was claimed this past spring. Beealea (115 pounds) has been facing open starter-allowance company, and the winning effort two starts ago that produced an 84 Beyer puts him right in the mix.