Whiskeyjack will attempt to dethrone Miner League as the leader of the local sophomore division in Saturday’s $50,000 Irish Day Stakes at Emerald Downs. Miner League was the winner of the Gottstein Futurity at the end of the 2023 season and is a perfect 2 for 2 in 2024 after having earned identical Beyer Speed Figures of 62 in each start this season. The 2023 2-year-old champion is trained by Tom Wenzel for George Todaro. New on the local scene just this month is Whiskeyjack, who produced one of the more eye-catching performances of the season with a win in going-away fashion July 3. The gelding broke poorly and was three or four lengths behind at the start and 13 lengths behind after a quarter-mile. Whiskeyjack didn’t even show up on the TV monitor until well inside the quarter pole but as soon as he did, it was quite evident that he had warmed to the task. The Oregon-bred collared the leader at the sixteenth marker and cruised home to win by 1 1/4 lengths under a hand ride. The Beyer Speed Figure of 66 after significant early trouble puts him squarely in the picture for the Irish Day Stakes. “We went from gulping at the poor start, to excitement at him gaining on the field, to jaws dropping at the finish,” trainer Ryland Harwood said. Saturday’s contest is a whole different equation for many reasons. Chief among them is that jockey Carlos Montalvo, who rode Whiskeyjack to victory and also is the regular rider for Miner League, has opted to stick with Miner League. Jose Zunino has picked up the assignment on Whiskeyjack. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Another prominent difference Saturday is that just five runners are entered, including a pair of maidens. The pace picture is somewhat uncertain and will most likely prove advantageous to those on or near the early lead. Owned by Lee and Connie Erickson, Whiskeyjack clearly has a turn of foot, as indicated by a May 10 bullet half-mile workout in 46.00 seconds at Emerald. The probable pacesetter on Saturday is Tougherthantherest, a Blaine Wright trainee who attended the pace before checking in third in the recent Auburn Stakes won by Miner League. In that race, the winner was handy enough to race just two lengths behind over the first four furlongs before scoring by a comfortable 1 3/4 lengths. The two maidens entered in Saturday’s stakes field include eye-catching Sir Argento, a rare white Thoroughbred trained by Candice Cryderman. He finished fourth in two recent attempts against special-weight company. The other, Jullian in Paris, debuted June 29 in a $25,000 maiden-claiming race and finished fifth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths. Another Wenzel trainee, Jullian in Paris earned a respectable 48 Beyer and has a right to move forward Saturday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.