Weekend Warrior for Saturday, Nov. 25: Picks for Kennedy Road Stakes, Native Diver Stakes, Hollywood Derby

Thanksgiving week is generally one of the strongest racing weeks of the year, with competitive graded stakes coast to coast. There are plenty of opportunities for horse players on Saturday, but I’m most interested in a race north of the border at Woodbine, as well as two races from Del Mar on closing weekend.

Kennedy Road, Woodbine

PINK LLOYD has been perfect in 2017, winning seven consecutive races leading into Saturday’s Kennedy Road. He deserves to be a very short price, but after a long campaign there’s a part of me that believes he may be tailing off slightly. This 5-year-old gelding figures to go off somewhere near odds of 1-2, and I’m looking to take a small shot against him with a horse that excels on synthetic footing. IKERRIN ROAD is no slouch on a turf course, but he turns into a far superior animal when he sets foot on synthetic for trainer Vito Armata. Claimed for $32,000 in May, Ikerrin Road became a graded stakes winner Sept. 16 when he won the Grade 3 Bold Venture going 6 1/2 furlongs. Today’s distance shouldn’t be an issue for him, and he should be able to work out a perfect stalking trip from the outside. Pink Lloyd is strictly the horse to beat, but Ikerrin Road isn’t without a chance in the Kennedy Road.

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Native, Diver, Del Mar

The presence of Awesome Again winner MUBTAAHIJ and Comma to the Top winner TOP OF THE GAME hopefully ensures a fair price on my selection, IRISH FREEDOM. Irish Freedom was beat on the square by Top of the Game most recently at Santa Anita, but that was at a distance that’s likely shorter than Irish Freedom would prefer. It’s also worth considering that Irish Freedom may be a long-winded, sustained-bid sort of runner. Once the engine starts cooking, it’s difficult to shut it off and then try to turn it right back on. In the Comma to the Top, Irish Freedom was forced to wait briefly behind runners while Top of the Game was able to shoot up the rail, opening up on the field quickly. Once in the clear, Irish Freedom stayed on, finishing third. If allowed to continue with his sustained bid, perhaps the final margin of victory isn’t so large. It can’t be denied that the two best races of his career have come at Del Mar, and nine furlongs appears to be a distance he should relish.

Hollywood Derby, Del Mar

East coast invader MO TOWN will likely attract his fair share of interest, and it’s understandable why. Trained by Tony Dutrow, this son of Uncle Mo exploded in his turf debut at Belmont on Oct.12, winning an N2X event by more than six lengths and earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102. As visually impressive as it looked, it should be noted that the field he beat was mediocre at best, and he’ll likely need to be every bit as good on Saturday if he’s to prevail in the Hollywood Derby. He’ll likely vie for favoritism with a horse I’ve quickly fallen in love with, SHARP SAMURAI. Sharp Samurai has done nothing wrong since being transferred to turf by trainer Mark Glatt, winning five of six starts on the grass. His most recent victory in the Twilight Derby at Santa Anita was visually fantastic, and he gives off the impression that he’s only going to continue to improve with maturation and added experience. The versatility that Sharp Samurai brings to the table should not go unnoticed, particularly in a race that doesn’t appear to have much confirmed early speed.