Todd duo of Five Star General, He's the Reason figure to battle it out in Monday allowance

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Five Star General, who won the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby in his last start, makes his 4-year-old debut Monday at Hastings in an allowance race for 3-year-olds and up who have not won a first-place purse of $27,500 in 2020. There is a $45,000 claiming option available, with the stakes winner Driller the only horse in for a tag in the 6 1/2-furlong dash, which drew seven horses.

Post time for the first of seven races is 1:15 p.m. Pacific. The feature goes as race 4 at 2:45.

Five Star General is the class of the race, but he won’t be favored. Instead, he will have to play second fiddle to his stablemate He’s the Reason, who figures to control the race from start to finish.

Owned and trained by Glen Todd, He’s the Reason is a tough horse to get past when he gets his head in front. Last year, he took them all the way going around three turns in the $50,000 Lieutenant Governor’s and the S.W. Randall Plate. With a 2-0-2 record from five starts at 6 1/2 furlongs, he can sprint, too.

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“They are both going extremely well,” Todd said. “A couple of weeks ago, I might have said the General could beat He’s the Reason sprinting. Now, I’m not so sure. I think the General is a better horse in the long run, but it doesn’t look like there is any speed to go with He’s the Reason, so he’s going to be double tough.”

He’s the Reason will break from post 6 with Alex Marti riding.

Todd purchased Five Star General last summer with the goal of winning the B.C. Derby. The Kentucky-bred son of Distorted Humor was perfect in two starts in Vancouver. With two-time Kentucky Derby-winning rider Mario Gutierrez aboard, he easily won the $50,000 Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial on Aug. 5. Gutierrez also was aboard when he engaged in a duel with Grade 3 Canadian Derby winner Explode in the B.C. Derby. It was a thriller, with Five Star General winning the 1 1/8-mile race by a nose.

Efrain Hernandez will be aboard when Five Star General breaks from post 5. Five Star General will likely use his tactical speed to stalk his stablemate.

“They won’t be dueling,” Todd said.

Coulterberry looks like the main threat to the Todd pair.

A Mark Cloutier-trained 7-year-old, Coulterberry won 4 of 7 races last year, including the $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic at Emerald Downs. The only time he finished worse than second was in his final start of the year in the $113,000 Harvest Plate at Century Downs, where he never got involved.

Driller, who won the Harvest Plate in 2018, worked a bullet five furlongs in 59.40 seconds on July 6. Trained by Mel Snow, he appears to be primed for a big effort since he finished eighth in the 2019 Harvest Plate last October.