The Dancing North Cup
The feature race on Sunday here in Ontario will be The Dancing North Cup (G2) set to go off at a mile and a half on the turf. The race is open to three-year-olds and up with a total prize purse being offered of $375,000. We’ve had clear skies leading up to this year’s running of the race which should leave us for a firm track at the race’s 4:00 PM EST post time. This year’s running of the race has drawn a small field of seven horses, let’s take a look through the contenders.
- Resurrection Relic – amir1649 – N. Linville – 38/1
Drawing the inside rail and making his graded stakes debut with this race on Sunday, this son of the late Kitten’s Joy is lightly raced with a total of five lifetime starts. The most recent start for the brown four-year-old came in Kentucky in an allowance race over twelve furlongs. The colt was well back in eighth at the start of the race and was asked to make his move at the midway point of the race. The colt would go on to win by two and a half lengths while setting a speed figure of ninety-eight, which is a lifetime best for the colt. This was the second consecutive win for the colt, after first breaking his maiden over twelve furlongs on the dirt in Colorado last April. He will be off as our morning line longshot.
2. Forty Front Niner – crash99 – V. Elliot – 7/2
Making just his second start against graded company and seeking his first win at the graded level, the four-year-old bay gelding came close to achieving a graded victory in his most recent start. The son of War Front most recently started in Kentucky during the CEO Classic (G3) at a mile and a half last April. He came out of the gate last in the small six-horse field. Midway through the race the gelding started to pick up a little steam and was finally given his head as they came down the stretch. Making up a lot of ground in the stretch run, the gelding would come up short to cross the wire in second while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. His prior start, taking place in March during a listed stakes race over ten furlongs resulted in a win for the gelding by a three and one-quarter length margin.
3. Chemical Party (IRE) – pleasanton – R. Radzinski – 5/1
Taking a big step up in class for the race on Sunday, the five-year-old Gelding by Gleneagles will be making his twenty-seventh career start. The most recent race for the Irish-bred came in a starter allowance race in New Zealand over ten furlongs. Third last out of the gate at the break, the bay gelding was urged to make his move midway through the race. He would go on to close in for a third-place finish, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. His most recent win was in his start prior to this which also came in the starter allowance level, though this time over nine and a half furlongs in Australia. He would only face four other contenders in this race where he would spring out of the gate into third and would go on to take the lead by the midway point of the race then winning by two and a quarter lengths.
4. Bannow Drive (JPN) – temp7 – C. Gerhke – 7/2
By the highly sought Japanese sire Epiphaneia , this five-year-old gelding is a Grade I winner of over one million dollars in career earnings in twenty-three career starts. He was produced from the listed stakes winning dam Wexford County, who has produced two other graded winners aside from this bay gelding. Most recently starting in England during the Longstickgoboom Stakes (G2) at a mile and a half in early June, the gelding sprang out of the gate to go to an early lead out of the gate. He would maintain a minimum three length lead throughout the race until the field reached the stretch where he was overtaken by a duo of late closers who shuffled the gelding back to cross the wire in third. He would set a speed figure of one hundred eight for the race. The most recent win for the gelding was in his native Japan in February of this year during a listed Local Championship Stakes race. This race was over the same distance. Again, the gelding would go straight to the front in the race, but no closers would catch him that day as he went on to win by in impressive nine lengths.
5. The Legend Within – teacherlay10 – T. Griffin – 2/1
Returning to graded company after a step down in class for his twentieth career start, the five-year-old horse is sired by Triple Crown champion Justify. The bay horse made his most recent start in Maryland in a listed stakes race over eleven furlongs. The horse came out of the gate and settled into third off the pace of the front runners. Midway through the race the horse was asked to move into contention. He responded and moved into second but wasn’t able to secure the win by the time they reached the wire. He would set a speed figure of one hundred fourteen for his second-place finish, only missing the win by a head bob at the wire. The most recent win for the horse came in last year’s Woody Ford (G1) at a mile and one-eighth. The horse was out of the gate slower in this race, settling into sixth earlier. He was also urged to make his move earlier in the race and would go on to win the race by two lengths.
6. Street Snitch – despracing – B. Renfroe – 4/1
Making his third start against graded company, this four-year-old son of Street Sense started his racing career on the dirt but seems to have found his stride on the turf at the beginning of last year. The most recent start for the brown colt came early last month during a listed stakes race over fourteen furlongs in South Korea. Breaking second out of the gate at the start, the colt started to lose ground as the field entered the midway point of the race. The colt would cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. His most recent graded start was last April in New Zealand during the Great Beer Cap (G3) at a mile and three-eighths where he would finish seventh. His most recent win would be his race prior to this, which took place during an allowance race over twelve furlongs in Australia this past February. He took the field from gate to wire in this race, winning by three and a half lengths.
7. Crimson Tangerine (NZ) – teakau – N. Lawton – 10/1
Finially in the far outside post, this New Zealand bred is seeking his first graded win after coming close on a few occasions. The bay four-year-old colt most recently started in late April in The Loxley Stakes (G3) at a mile and five sixteenths in England. Facing an eight-horse field, the colt broke out of the gate and settled into sixth near the rear of the field early. He maintained this position for most of the race but faded as the field came to the stretch to cross the wire in eighth, setting a speed figure of one hundred one. His best graded stakes finishes include two third-place finishes in both the Table Mountain Mastery (G1) and the Nothern Beer Cap (G3). The most recent win for the colt came in March of last year during an allowance race over a yielding course at nine and a half furlongs in France.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Forty Front Niner
Place: The Legend Within
Show: Bannow Drive (JPN)