Woodbine preview: Huronia looks like a single

Wednesday, June 25 preview

Turf racing scheduled

It rained Tuesday, and there are two turf races scheduled for Wednesday evening. Saturdayatbernies can handle either surface effectively and should be prominent in the third regardless of the surface. He won two six-furlong Polytrack events in a row prior to his last race, a seven-furlong sprint for $40,000 claimers, where he fought for the lead along the inside before weakening over an outside-biased track.

There are others in the third, a six-furlong, $32,000 claimer, who aren’t fussy about the surface. The speedy Click defeated a trio of next-out winners when he wired $20,000 conditioned opposition May 10. His lone turf attempt was a neck loss in a stakes for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds last June. Buongiorno Johnny is 3 for 7 on the grass and just 2 for 17 on synthetics, but his recent Polytrack form is solid, and he’s dropping off a third in a tough $50,000 claimer.

In the fourth, 2-1 morning-line favorite Bourneville would be the main beneficiary of a surface change, since she’s coming off back-to-back seconds at this Ontario-sired allowance level on the Poly. The daughter of Tethra possesses a weak pedigree for the grass and could be construed as a vulnerable favorite on that surface.

Silent Streak is bred for the grass, top and bottom, and trainer Steve Chircop is probably keen on getting her onto the turf. She got away with slow fractions while earning her diploma 11th-time out on the Polytrack on June 8.

Huronia pick four single?

Huronia, the 5-2 morning-line chalk in the sixth, is a viable single in the pick four, which has a guaranteed pool of $100,000. She came from midpack over a speed-favoring track to end up second when returning from a 10-month layoff June 4 and is getting another beneficial half-furlong to work with here. Her trainer, Stu Simon, has been on a roll of late, and his numbers with runners making their second start off the shelf are good.

Jackpot Hi 5 carryover

The eighth race features a Jackpot Hi 5 carryover of $189,579. The wide-open $10,000 maiden sprint includes the dropping comebackers Myvision and Ticket to Glory, along with first-timer That’s the Gaff.

Horses to watch

MALIBU CHARLIE
Trainer: Brian Lynch
Last race: June 22, 6th
Finish: 3rd by 5 3/4
Beyer: 53
This 4-year-old first-timer by Wildcat Heir was bet down to 4-5 in a weak $16,000 maiden dash. He missed the break before rallying into traffic along the inside on the turn and then flattened out in the final furlong.

VALID VALUE
Trainer: John Charalambous
Last race: June 22, 5th
Finish: 3rd by 3 1/2
Beyer: 74
He closed four wide from off slow splits to finish behind the two front-runners in a seven-furlong maiden special. The son of Rockport Harbor has improved his Beyer power with each subsequent outing and appears to be on the brink of a breakthrough.