G1, Bob Woodward Memorial: A full field will go 9 furlongs to capture the crown here in New York

Bob Woodward Memorial

 

Grade 1                                   

 

Track: New York

Restrictions: 3 year old and Older       

Distance: 9 Furlongs   

Surface: Fast Dirt

Purse:  $1,500,000

Post Time: 3:00pm

 

 

Looking through my papers and journals this week I saw that the Bob Woodward Memorial would be running in New York.  I was very happy to see that the field is very tight here with this group of horses that will be taking to what is listed to be a Fast Dirt track as they go the distance of 9 furlongs.  There is one 3 year old in the field that will take on some of the more experienced 4, 5 and 6 year old entries.  All the horse in this field are well decorated and this is going to be field of which is going to be very difficult race to find the winners and make your bets at the window.  I made my way to the track this morning and it is looking well maintained and ready.  I went to the barns and spoke to the owners and jockeys that are doing last minute preparations.  I saw some of the horses and many of them look eager to run.  The morning line odds have been posted and the post positions have been drawn.  Let’s take a preview now of this nice field of horses that will be running in the G1, Bob Woodward Memorial.

 

 

 

 

 

Horse/Odds                                          ____Owner                          Jockey

 

 

1.  Gibson  15/1                                                silversun14                  B Oston

 

In the draw this Bay colt sired by Victory Gallop gets to come out of the first gate.  I do not see this as a big advantage for him as he tends to close late in the majority of his races.  Recently on 05/10/2019 he ran in Maryland going 9 furlongs in the G3, The Billy Donald Stakes where he closed up shop on the field to close nicely down the stretch and get up for a 2 length win.  He ran an impressive 118 speed that day.  He came back to run again on 06/09/2019 going 9 furlongs in Kentucky in the G1, The Barry Foster.  He failed to fire and showed up way back in 12^th place.  He heads out today as one of the longer choices in this field at 15/1 in the morning line.  He will head to the gate on Saturday with jockey, B Oston from Massachusetts riding up top as they head out to represent the GR Simsters residency.

 

2.  What Ever Ya Like  34/1                        asrstar2                        T Ace

 

This is the youngest colt in this race and this 3 year old is shown no love by the odds makers as this son of Union Rags will be headed to the gate at 34/1 and is the longest choice in this field of fourteen.  On 06/23/2019 he ran 8.5 furlongs in Iowa in the G2, Flat Land Derby and picked up a nice win against that field with a 111 speed rating.  He came back to the track on 07/28/2019 to run in the G1, Eddie Haskell Stakes against a field of 3 year olds in New Jersey.  He failed to fire in this race and found himself crossing the wire in 7^th place.  His owner grabs jockey, T Ace from Texas to again to ride his horse as he did in this horse’s last trip to the track.  They will be representing the All-Star Racing residency as they head to gate for this race.

 

3.  Ima So Lucky  11/1                                   blankpoin8                  M Clooch

 

This 6 year old Bay horse sired by Lookin At Lucky has found difficulty this season in hitting the boards.  His last win was in the G1, Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Mile in Kentucky back in November of last year.  Since that time he has failed to find his way to the boards or to another win.  His last outing came on 06/30/2019 in New Jersey when he ran in the G3, The Salvatore Mile of which he showed up a disappointing 7^th in that race.  He will be rode by jockey, M Clooch for this race as they head to the post parade representing Empire State Racing (ESR) residency.

 

4.  Eclipse Solar  8/1                                     erenotto                       O A Haack

 

This Bay horse sired by Malibu Moon is coming off a nice $75,000 Allowance win.  He traveled 9 furlongs in Iowa in that race on 07/13/2019 to close from way back to get up for the win by 2 ¼ lengths against his closest contender.  His owner today grabs the services of a familiar jockey to this horse in, O A Haack   This jockey has paired up with this horse several times in the past but they have not yet went to the winners circle together.  Hispano Parlante residency will be trackside to cheer for this horse representing them as they head down the stretch.

 

5.  Paynterpicture  7/1                                 theduke91                    M Scott

 

This 4 year old G2 winning colt was sired by Paynter and is a Kentucky bred.  He ran well on 06/22/2019 in Arkansas in a Listed Stakes, the Biagis Wranglers when he closed nicely to get up for the win by a narrow margin.  He returned to the track here in New York to run in the G1, The Hit Me Handicap going 9 furlongs on 08/04/2019.  His efforts were only good enough for 5^th that day and he was 3 3/4 lengths back at the wire.  He will be coming into the Bob Woodward Memorial off a fairly short rest.  Wish he could have another week or two off since running his prior race.  His owner grabs the services of jockey, M Scott who rode this horse here in New York in the horse’s last race. The owner hopes his horse is ready for this race and is happy that he found M Scott available to take to the saddle up top of his horse.  They will be representing the ESR residency at post time.

 

6.  King Kam Sepoy  10/1                            dkstables21                  F Gossett

 

This 4 year old colt sired by Sepoy and that is out of the highly decorated mare Queen Kam has run successfully on both the turf and dirt surfaces.  He has a G1 win on both surfaces in his career that includes seventeen lifetime starts.  His last outing was here in New York when he ran on 05/25/2019 in the G1, Cosmopolitan Handicap.  He put up a big closing effort from way back in this field to hit the wire 2^nd and was 1 ¼ lengths back after going off as the 16/1 choice in that race.  He ran a respectable 116 speed in that race and will most definitely need that speed again here in New York if he wishes to find his way to the boards.  His owner contracts the services of jockey, F Gossett from out of California for this race on Saturday.

 

7.  Italian Poetry  10/1                                  bayouranso                  V Reed

 

This Grey colt sired by Medaglia D’oro in his last three trips to the track have been in Graded level races.  These are the only three Graded attempts he has made in his career.  He has hit the boards in one of those three attempts and has yet to make it to the winners circle to get his picture taken in a Graded race.  His last outing was on 07/20/2019 when he traveled a distance of 9.5 furlongs in Arizona in the G2, Gotta Fix The Sprinklers Classic.  He just missed the boards that day coming in 4^th and was 1 ¾ lengths back at the wire.  He takes a step up in Class for this race on Saturday which brings with it a concern for me and the odds makers as he heads out as a 10/1 choice.  He will have jockey, V Reed take to the irons for this race as they head to the post representing the European Union Racing Organization.

 

8.  Outback Seahorse  9/1                           outback8                      B Scott

 

The owner of this 6 year old Bay horse is a scratch bred (AWESOME AGAIN x BROAD BRUSH x MR. PROSPECTOR).  He will have one of the Scott brothers today as jockey, B Scott out of Massachusetts will take to the irons for a ride on the dirt with this horse. B Scott may need to bring a stiff whip and a bag of tricks with him and ask this horse to fire.  He has not hit the boards in his last three outings nor has he even come close.  This horse likes to run at or near the front and will need to find his spot on the track as he drew the eight spot for his post position.  This horse can run and he threw down a 122 speed rating last year in August 2018.  He needs to find that fire in his legs again and bring it here to New York for this race as they head to the gate to represent the Midas residency.

 

9.  Art Director  10/1                                     pompeya                      S L Ledwith

 

This G1 winner sired by King Kamehameha has only missed the boards one time in his last four start when he failed to perform on 06/09/2019 in Kentucky in the G1, The Barry Foster when he showed up a disappointing last place when he crossed the wire with the same jockey that will ride him in Saturday’s race.  Jockey, S L Ledwith from out of Dubai gets the call and a plane ticket to fly her to New York to take the mount in this race.  This horse returned to the track coming here to New York to run on 07/19/2019 in a $48,700 NW2s Allowance of which he handily put away his contenders to get up for a nice win with a 111 speed rating.  This jockey will need to bring his bag of tricks and get this horse in a contending position as they break the gates representing the Hispano Parlante residency.

 

10. Wickedsenseofhumor  8/1                  asrstar5                        R Bokie

 

The Tenpoint master stables bring with them a second entry for this race in a 5 year old Bay horse which is a scratch bred G2 winner (DISTORTED HUMOR x DEPUTY MINISTER x DANZIG).  In his last outing he ran in Ontario going 8.5 furlongs in the G3, The Cultural Centre Cup.  He ran a nice 115 speed rating in that race, but it was only good enough against that field to come in 5^th place that day.  Jockey, R Bokie from Virginia is a familiar rider for this horse and they have done well in the past when they have paired together.  This horse tends to like being at or near the front in some of his best trips.  R Bokie will need to find a way to get his horse where he likes to be as they come out of gate ten representing the All-Star Racing residency.

 

11. Moonframe  12/1                                    waybil                             T Loesch

 

I am unsure as to how it came to be that this 5 year old gelding sired by Malibu Moon came to the waybil stable.  Perhaps he was picked up at auction?  Since running for the waybil stable he has had five races and has hit the boards in only one of those, but it was a good one when he ran in California on 05/25/2019 in the G2, The West Coaster Stakes.  He came from way back to close nicely and get on the boards in 2^nd place.  He ran a 114 speed that day and his jockey, T Loesch will be flying in from South Africa.  He will need to bring his stiff whip and bag of tricks with him and get this horse to fire as he moves up in Class.  They will parade to the gate representing the East-West Connection (EWC) residency.

 

12. Franking Mambo  19/1                        enfuego                           K Ledwith

 

He has made way to the winners circle in several prior Graded stakes outing but this son of Giant’s Causeway seems to shy away running at the G1 level.  He has also shown in several outing he does not like running past the 9 furlong mark.  He has been on the boards in three Graded outings this season, but has failed to pick up a win.  After his last outing going 10 furlongs coming off a short rest in California, he ran a distant last place with a 52 speed rating.  One has to question is this horse ready for another G1 trip to the tack.  The odds makers obviously took note of these concerns as the make him one of the longer choices in this field.  He will have jockey, K Ledwith back on top to take the ride, who also road this horse in that tragic outing on 06/22/2019 in California in the G1, Movieland Shiny Cup.  I certainly look for a better performance for this horse on Saturday and I feel he is better rested for this event.   They will be heading to the gates on Saturday representing the All-Stars Racing residency.

 

13. OG Nyquist Niner  6/1                         baffbunk2                     H Artack

 

The morning line odds makers have made this scratch bred their morning line favorite for this race here in New York (NYQUIST x FORTY NINER x DANZIG).  This 4 year old Bay colt has done very well this season hitting the boards in all but one outing.  Of course this would be in his last trip to the track on 07/20/2019 in Arizona when he traveled 9.5 furlongs in the G2, Gotta Fix The Sprinklers Classic.  He came in 5^th that day and was 4 lengths back when he hit the wire.  He moves back up in Class for the Bob Woodward Memorial and will have a familiar jockey taking the mount in H Artack who has flown in from Turkey to take the ride.  This jockey has paired up nicely in the past with this horse and thus why the owner has contracted him to ride.  Even though he did not do as well as expected in his last race, you must give this horse a look.  I do not think this outside gate position is going to hurt him too bad due to his running style.  They will be representing the All-Stars Racing residency at post time.

 

14. Flat Skunk LV  7/1                                 zbiz0                               M Zeus

 

This 4 year old Bay gelding is a deep closer and you probably will not see him until they come down the final stretch heading for the wire.  He should be seen around the quarter or eighth pole if he fires as he did in his last outing.  This horse is sired by Flatter and the owner has contracted the services of jockey, M Zeus who will be flying in from Spain to take to the irons up top.  In this geldings last outing he ran on 07/20/2019 going a distance of 8.5 furlongs in Ontario in the G3, The Cultural Centre Cup where he closed from way back and took the wire by ¾ lengths.  He put up a nice 118 speed rating in that race and will be looking to bring that speed with him here in New York.  He drew the far outside post, but I feel this is not really going to hurt his chances due to his running style from way back in the field on most of his trips.  They will be coming out in the post parade and headed to the gates representing the Hoosier Racing residency.

 

 

Good luck to all horses and all owners of this race.  Most importantly have fun!!!

 

Never mind my picks as it is all in fun and I rarely pick winners.  Hope you do better than I do for this race.

 

 

 

Skippy’s Picks

 

OG Nyquist Niner:  He has run some strong races this season and performed well until his last outing.  He looks like a horse that should be in mix here at the Bob Woodward Memorial.

 

Flat Skunk LV:  Has ran a lighter schedule this season, but has done well.  Had a nice win in his last G3 outing and I look for him to bring that speed here to New York

 

Paynterpicture:  This horse continues to put up some nice speed numbers and he gets a familiar jockey for this race.

 

 

 

Tarton’s Long Shot

 

What Ever Ya Like:  He will get the call on my exotic tickets at the betting window.  I feel he looks better than the odds makers gave credit.  He could pull in to get on the boards with a good trip and a heavy whip from his jockey.  I will give opportunity to this 3 year old going off at 34/1 to prove himself against his more experienced rivals.