The Woody Ford
All eyes will turn to Kentucky this weekend for the annual running of the Bluegrass Stakes (G1). However, there will be a full card of graded events on the undercard of the feature race. Here we will be taking a look at The Woody Ford (G1), a race open to three-year-olds and up and run on the turf at a mile and one-eighth. The Grade I race will be offering a total purse of $750,000. Despite the threat of some rain earlier in the week, the track has come up as firm for this year’s running of The Woody Ford (G1). This year we will have a full field going to the gate in the race. Let’s take a look through the contenders.
- Tapit Montjeu Way – dkstables21 – K. Ledwith – 7/1
Sired by top sire Tapit, the six-year-old is one of the more experienced runners in the field with twenty-three career starts. The light grey horse has career earnings just over $700,000 in career earnings and is seeking out his first Grade I win this weekend. The most recent start for the horse was overseas in New Zealand in late February during The Second Coming (G2) at a mile and a quarter. The horse was sent out to the lead out of the gate and held the front of the pace right up into the stretch where he was caught by late closers and shuffled back to finish third. He set a speed figure of one hundred ten for the race. His most recent win was in his prior start, which came in January during the Marcos Footwear Handicap (G2) over the same distance in California. Stalking the pace early in second, he would take over the lead midway through the race before going on to win by two and a quarter lengths. He will be going into the inside rail post.
2. House I Built (ENG) – beerkeg2 – R. Hansen – 10/1
The first horse in the field of three others to be sired by top sire Frankel (GB), the five-year-old bay gelding will be making his twenty-second career start and has career earnings over three million dollars. The most recent start for the gelding came in late March in Texas during the Jennifer Connley BC Turf Cap (G3) at a mile and one-eighth. Wel off the pace early back in tenth out of the gate, he would fade slightly in the stretch to cross the wire in twelfth while setting a speed figure of one hundred six. His most recent victory was in April of last year in The 2000 Guinea Pigz (G1) over a mile in Newmarket. The gelding was held back in twelvth but started picking off other runners at the midway point in the race and eventually went on to win by a length.
3. Dodo Bird (AUS) – jesus – J. Wilson –6/1
Coming into the race off of three consecutive wins, the Australian-bred five-year-old has made seventeen career starts. The bay horse is sired by Churchill (IRE). The horse most recently started in late March during the Jennifer Connely BC Turf Cap (G3) at a mile and one-eighth in Texas. Held off the pace in fifth early in the race. He started picking off other contenders early and had worked his way up to the front of the pack by the time the field reached the stretch, winning by a head and setting a speed figure of one hundred seventeen. Prior to this the horse also won The City Of Gold (G3) at a mile and one-sixteenth and then a listed stakes race over the same distance in January. This Saturday will be the horse’s debut start against Grade I company.
4. Camelford (JPN) – alibilane21 – J. Caves – 38/1
Lightly raced with just nine lifetime starts, the Japanese-bred gelding is sired by Orfevre (JPN). An accomplished Grade II winner, the gelding is coming back to graded company after taking a big step down in class for his recent races. His most recent start was in early February during an allowance race over nine and a half furlongs in Delaware. Held off the pace in fourth early, he gained some ground midway through the race but would cross the wire in third while setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. His most recent win was also in allowance company over the same distance in Kansas in August of last year. The gelding’s most recent start against graded company was The Colonial Derby (G2) at a mile and one-quarter the month prior in Virginia. The gelding would finish sixth. He will go off as the morning line longshot.
5. No Estoy Seguro (FR) – cjt – C. Orza – 19/1
Sired by Siyouni, this four-year-old bay colt will be making his nineteenth career start on Saturday. The most recent start for the colt was in late March during the Sand Castle Turf Sprint (G1) at six furlongs in the UAE. Off the pace in twelfth out of the gate, the colt never found his stride in the race and crossed the wire in thirteenth while setting a speed figure of ninety-nine. His most recent win was in November of last year during the VIC Champions Mile (G1). Closer to the pace in this race, settling into sixth early on in the race. He started to advance midway through the race before taking the lead in the stretch to win the Australian race by a quarter of a length.
6. Captain Mason (IRE) – socalman – D. Givins – 6/1
Bred in Ireland, the five-year-old bay horse has career earnings just over three million dollars and has made eighteen career starts. Sired by Sea The Stars, the horse most recently started overseas in the UAE during the Sand Castle Fee Duty (G1) over a mile and one-sixteenth. Rated in ninth out of the gate, the horse started to fall back midway through the race before eventually crossing the wire in twelfth while setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. His most recent win came in September of last year in Australia during the Deadwood Stakes (G1) at a mile and one-eighth. Held off the pace in sixth early out of the gate, he was urged forward halfway through the race and responded to get up for the win by three-quarters of a length.
7. Money Back Mister – shadowmoss – B. Collins – 10/1
Working our way to the midway point of the field, this five-year-old is one of only two horses bred in the United States to draw into the field. The son of Mandaloun, the bay gelding is seeking out his first graded stakes win this weekend. The most recent start for the gelding was in late March here in Kentucky during a listed stakes race over nine furlongs. Held off the pace in fifth, the gelding would start picking off other runners early on in the race and he would win by half a length, setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. He would also win his prior start, an allowance race over eight and a half furlongs also here in Kentucky. The gelding faced graded company only once before in his career. This was in his three-year-old season on the dirt in New York during the Flying Whales Cup (G3) at a mile and three-eighths where he would cross the wire in tenth.
8. Death Hill (IRE) – asrstar23 – N. Labarache – 15/1
Sired by Dark Angel (IRE), the five-year-old light grey horse will be making his twenty-first career start on Saturday, but he will also be seeking out his first Grade I win of his career. The most recent start for the horse was in late March during the Sydney Cup (G1) in Australia at a mile and a quarter. Settling off of the pace in seventh out of the gate, the horse would start to lose ground midway through the race to cross the wire in eleventh while setting a speed figure of one hundred six. His most recent win was in December of last year during the Sanders Stakes (G2) at a mile and one-eighth in California. Further off the pace early in this race, holding back in tenth out of the gate, the horse started to move forward at the halfway point of the race before winning by half a length.
9. You Wanted To (ENG) – floridaclass – H. Harzheim – 17/1
Making his thirteenth career start and trying to achieve his first Grade I win of his career, the son of Frankel (GB) most recently started overseas in Japan during The Powerful Sun (G2) at six furlongs. Well off the pace in fourteenth at the break, the four-year-old brown colt would stay at the back of the field until midway through the sprint. He would get up to cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. His most recent win was also overseas, this time in Tasmania at seven and a half furlongs in December of last year. This start was an allowance race in which he was placed closer to the pace, stalking the pacesetter from second. He would take over the lead in the stretch to win by a length and a half. Despite his recent races being sprints, the colt has won at distances up to two miles.
10. Hello Kat Strut (FR) – veestars3 – H. Desitter – 6/1
Seeking out his first Grade I win, the six-year-old gelding is sired by Hello Youmzain (FR) and is out of the listed stakes winning dam Stray Kat Strut. The bay gelding will be making his thirty-second start on Saturday, making him one of the more experienced contenders in the field. His most recent start came in late March overseas in the UAE during the Sand Castle Fee Duty (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth. The gelding was off the pace at the break in tenth. Fading midway through the race he would cross the wire in thirteenth while setting a speed figure of one hundred six. His prior start was a winning one. This came in The Nakayama Handicap (G2) at a mile and one-eighth in Japan. The gelding took the field from gate to wire in this race, holding on to win by a quarter of a length while posting a higher speed figure of one hundred fourteen.
11. Sea The Dance (IRE) – uscsteve0 – H. Ross – 12/1
Nearing the latter half of our field for Saturday, the five-year-old by Sea The Stars will be making his eighteenth lifetime start and is seeking his first Grade I win. The most recent start for the bay horse came in late March in Texas during the Jennifer Connely BC Turf Cap (G3) over a mile and one-eighth, where many of the other contenders of this field have had their most recent start. The horse settled into seventh out of the gate and advanced into sixth in the stretch when he crossed the wire, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. His prior start, taking place in late January, was the horse’s most recent win. This was in The Road Rash (G3) over the same distance in the UAE. Out of the gate and settling into seventh again, he would start to advance sooner on the rest of the field and would win the contest by three-quarters of a length.
12. Rebornandredeemed (GB) – willyam13 – W. Kewmwa – 10/1
Seeking his first graded stakes win of his career, the six-year-old is one of the older contenders in this weekend’s field and has made twenty-six career starts. The most recent start for the bay horse was in early March during The Victoria Cup (G2) in Australia over a mile and a quarter over a yielding course. Going to the lead out of the gate, the horse started to fade at the midway point of the race and he would eventually cross the wire in third, setting a speed figure of of one hundred ten. His most recent win was in March of last year against allowance company over a mile and one-eighth in Berkshire. Stalking the pace from second, he would take over the lead in the stretch to win by half a length.
13. Devils Kind (GB) – euroalien – V. Johnson – 7/1
The last of our trio sired by Frankel (GB), the five-year-old bay horse has made twenty-five lifetime starts and is still looking for his first victory against Grade I company. The most recent start for the horse was in late March during the Jennifer Connley BC Turf Cap (G3) at a mile and one-eighth. Stalking from second early in the race, he would fall back in the stretch to finish off the board in fourth while setting a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. His most recent win was in October of last year during The Farley (G3) over the same distance in Newmarket over a course rated as good. Stalking once again from second, the horse dug in in the stretch to win the race by half a length.
14. Have U Ever Seen (IRE) – wintersetopco –
Making his seventeenth career start and seeking his first Grade I win, the son of Australia is one of the younger contenders in our field for Saturday at four years of age. The most recent start for the bay colt came in late March in Texas during the Jennifer Connley BC Turf Cap (G3) over a mile and one-eighth. Off the pace in twelfth out of the gate, the colt never seemed to find his stride in the race and came home across the wire in fourteenth with a speed figure of one hundred five. His prior start, taking place over the same distance in February over the same distance in Louisiana in an allowance race. Stalking the pace early from second, he took over the lead midway through the race and went on to win by an impressive margin of twelve lengths with a speed figure of one hundred fourteen.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Tapit Montjeu Way
Place: Dodo Bird (AUS)
Show: Captain Mason (RE)