VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Jockey Mario Gutierrez was proven right when Dyna Stroll came from off the pace to win the $107,185 Ascot Graduation at Hastings last Sunday.
Dyna Stroll was stretching out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time following five sprints. After she won her career debut going 3 1/2 furlongs in May, Gutierrez told trainer Troy Taylor that the 2-year-old gelding wouldn't get beat when he went long.
Trainer Kelly Breen has been criss-crossing the country this week working fillies for stakes, and Saturday morning he will be at Delta Downs to watch Truth and Justice go through her final preparations for the $125,000 My Trusty Cat.
The seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies is one of six stakes worth more than $900,000 at Delta on Nov. 6. It is the Delta Jackpot Preview Night program, with a number of the stakes expected to produce starters for the $1.6 million Jackpot card Dec. 4. The My Trusty Cat is a prep for the Grade 3, $500,000 Delta Princess.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It's tough to approach Saturday's River Memories Stakes without citing ifs, ands, or buts.
The River Memories, a $100,000 overnight stakes for fillies and mares, is scheduled to be run over one mile on the turf course. But with rain in the forecast, it would be no surprise if the River Memories were moved to the main track.
That would dramatically change the complexion of the 12-horse field.
WHO'S HOT
Jockeys
Leandro Goncalves rode three winners Saturday. Two of them were longshots. Rahystrada won the eighth race and paid $32. One race later, in the Grade 2 Raven Run, Goncalves scored with Satans Quick Chick at $48.80. Goncalves' fans must have been on board because the $2 daily double paid $436 compared with $780.80 for the parlay.
WHO'S HOT
Four jockeys turned in hat tricks in the first four days of the Tropical at Calder meeting. Three of the jockeys - Luis Arango, Cecilio Penalba, and Daniel Coa - were not among the top six riders in the local standings at the recently concluded Calder session.
Penalba had 12 victories all year before his breakout performance Oct. 23, which included wins on both ends of the late daily double. One of the wins came aboard Labadeel in a rare appearance for trainer Marty Wolfson in the featured ninth race.
WHO TO WATCH
Jockeys
Calvin Borel: Few jockeys ride the Churchill Downs main track as well as Borel, whose rail-hugging tendencies are perfectly suited for the track's quarter-mile stretch. Seemingly whenever possible, he will quickly guide his mount to the fence, advance while saving ground on the turn, and then bravely scrape the paint on the rail for the long run to the wire.
