Ninjas Are Better Than Indians
All eyes this time of year may be on the three-year-old colts, but there’s a contentious little race in Ontario for their distaff counterparts as well. It’s the $65,000 Wooden Ninja Special, a 7.5 furlong turf race with five fillies set to race.
Favored by a slim margin is Winrun‘s Back In Time, a lightly raced daughter of Footstepsinthesand and a winning Fusaichi Pegasus mare. This filly was aimed high from the start: every one of her four races has been in stakes company. It’s not a route that’s usually recommended, but it’s worked for her. Second by a narrow quarter-length at first asking, she was undaunted and won the Arc Elocat Special next time out. Cut back to 6.5 furlongs, she never managed to achieve her favorite front-running position. But she learned from getting a little mud in her face and in her most recent start, lay back in a short field and then kicked clear to win. Her speed ratings have made a steady climb to 85 and it seems likely that she’s got still more in the tank.
Pegasus Prayer, by Sky Mesa and out of another FuPeg daughter, took a little longer to figure out where she belonged. She won at first asking on the dirt and when she started on the turf in her fifth race, it was hard to know what to make of her. Yes, she won. Yes, comfortably. But the 68 speed rating was barelya crawl. She shrugged off all questions in her next effort, setting a hot pace and ending up second by a bob of the head, earning an 85 to match the favorite’s. She’s been third and then fourth in her last two and gets the services of the capable T. King.
Her co-second choice at 5/2 is Wistful0‘s homebred Sugar and Ice, by Victory Gallop and out of a mare by Unbridled’s Song. Another first-time winner on the dirt, she was tried on the grass in her third start and never looked back, wiring an allowance field, and then doing the same in stakes company. Her last few have showed less stick’um, but her speed ratings match well and she’ll be cutting back a half-furlong in distance. Expect her to keep ‘Pegasus company on the lead, and jockey Linville may have the best mental clock on the track.
Jopabelle, down on the inside, made the dirt to dirt move in race number three and ran away with it. Is this starting to sound familiar? She’s found nearly every off-track that’s been on offer: four of her six grass races came on wet surfaces. She’s won three of those six, including the Miss Pye Challenge, and never been worse than third. The King of Kings daughter is out of a stakes-winning Gulch mare, one of two stakes winners to La Cecil‘s credit. She does have speed, but also more than one dimension. Look for her to sit just off the cavalry charge.
And rounding out the field at 9/2 is Lswan‘s Alien Sun, by Muhayaa and out of a Lord Avie mare. Another speedy horse, she’s coming off a free-wheeling win the Led To Freedom Special at this distance, where she earned an 84 speed rating, her highest yet. It was her first turf win in five starts, but the other four were seconds, and it looks like she’s finally learned to conserve her energy, or at least to get far enough in front that they can’t chase her down.