G-2 THE CANADA

California (CA) Saturday, February 12, 2022 — 2:10:00 PM EST | Race ID : 2800423

Grade II / Group 2*CPU – Purse : $375,000

Restricted to 4 Year Olds, Fillies Only

9 Furlongs | ~1800 Meters | One Mile and and One Eighth Fast Dirt

Perfect weather greets us today, calm winds and highs in the mid-eighties has the main dirt course packed and “lightning” fast. Despite high gas prices and ridiculous parking fees, an overflow crowd is expected to turnout for today’s Grade-2 The Canada, featuring 14 lovely and talented 4-year-old fillies.

Morning line favoritism solidly rests on trainer futurestar’s runner, LAST CALL CHAMP. Listed at 5-1 the daughter of Tapit already has earnings over $1 million in her brief 12 race career. The rest of the field have an odds “window” between 8-1 and 19-1, suggesting a wide open, contentious race is expected.

Here’s the capsule breakdown for the 14 entries:

1	10	NITRO QUEEN	PACE %	11.65%	SPEED %	3.85%	CLASS %	3.53%	BET VALUE	84.56%
			RANK	1	RANK	13	RANK	11	RANK	8

comment … you may not have to look any further than post #1 to find your early pace leader. Trainer asrdistorted’s 4-year-old filly NITRO QUEEN likes to break fast and not look back. Nitro Queen has shown that she can carry her speed a distance, already posting 4 wins at distances between 9 to 10.5 furlongs. Proving she’s not a one-dimensional speedster, the daughter of Distorted Humor in her 2nd race back, NITRO QUEEN, stalked the leader and took the lead entering the stretch to win the 7-furlong Gyllene Uttern Dirt Filly open stake. Gonna have to catch her!

2	19	KEWL HEAT	PACE %	7.87%	SPEED %	2.54%	CLASS %	2.22%	BET VALUE	100.28%
			RANK	4	RANK	14	RANK	14	RANK	4

comment … listed at 19-1, no doubt because of her lack of Graded Stake experience, trainer kewl2020’s KEWL HEAT, has been finding good success at this distance. The daughter of Mo Town, has shown good early speed and may be able to stake a claim for the early lead. KEWL HEAT has been in the money in 6 straight allowance heats, all between 9 to 10 furlongs, so she’s no quitter. Her last start was her best, going 10 furlongs and posting a wire to wire, 3 length win. If she can hang with the early pace, a slice of this purse is a definite possibility.

3	16	STORMPIRE	PACE %	7.57%	SPEED %	7.05%	CLASS %	18.23%	BET VALUE	222.43%
			RANK	6	RANK	7	RANK	2	RANK	1

comment … after a “banner” 2-year-old campaign, which saw her win the Grade-3 Arizona Shoot-out Special and earn place honors in 2 Grade-1 efforts, trainer 2020massatoga2’s filly STORMPIRE, hit a snag in her 3-year-old season. STORMPIRE started 2021 on a high note, with a solid 3rd place effort in the Grade-1 Los Vinagrette Stake, but tailed off in her next 4 efforts. Trainer 2020massatoga2 switched STORMPIRE to the turf and she responded, showing good early speed, hanging on for a well-earned placing in an Open Stake. Back on dirt, looking for redemption!

4	12	PROFIT ORIENTED	PACE %	5.97%	SPEED %	5.90%	CLASS %	4.30%	BET VALUE	84.38%
			RANK	12	RANK	10	RANK	7	RANK	9

comment … another runner that likes to go to the front early. All 3 of trainer buckeyebred’s filly, PROFIT ORIENTED victories were of the coast to coast variety. PROFIT ORIENTED’S finest moment came in the Grade-3 Denny Tario Oaks, where the daughter of Quality Road opened up a “commanding” 9 length lead at the top of the stretch, tired badly, but hung on for a hard-earned 2nd place finish. PROFIT ORIENTED will have stiff competition early in The Canada, so if she manages a piece of the purse, it will be well deserved!

5	11	BRUSHING PEGASUS	PACE %	8.55%	SPEED %	6.95%	CLASS %	2.93%	BET VALUE	89.02%
			RANK	2	RANK	8	RANK	12	RANK	7

comment … trainer urcsteve’s filly BRUSHING PEGASUS, likes to break-fast and run near the early pace. Unlike some of the other runners that need to lead, BRUSHING PEGASUS does her best work stalking 1 to 3 lengths behind the early pace. Despite the fact the daughter of Fusaichi Pegasus lacks the Graded Stake experience of some of today’s entries, she hung on gamely to cross the wire 3rd in the Grade-3 Jersey Oaks. Her 2nd and 3rd races back saw her improving, setting career best speed figures in each of the Open Stake races. Further improvement and a “fast” early pace, may allow BRUSHING PEGASUS to take her game to the next level!

6	8	AELA	PACE %	6.98%	SPEED %	6.61%	CLASS %	6.59%	BET VALUE	73.99%
			RANK	8	RANK	9	RANK	4	RANK	11

comment … it’s hard to imagine that a runner that is eligible for allowance nw2x conditions is considered a seasoned “Graded Stake ” veteran? That’s exactly what trainer velesa2’s filly AELA is, the daughter of Declaration Of War has already contested 6 Graded Stakes, with 2 placings and 1 show on her record. Her last race saw AELA rallying hard through the stretch to erase all but 1 of her 8-length deficit in the Grade-2 Encino Man! Look for AELA to settle mid pack early and unleash her late running charge at about 5 furlongs. Trainer Velesa’s filly was thrown into the Graded Stake “fire” early and her showings make her a “prime” candidate to score in the Canada!

7	8	DRAGON PHOENIX	PACE %	7.86%	SPEED %	7.91%	CLASS %	4.48%	BET VALUE	74.24%
			RANK	5	RANK	5	RANK	6	RANK	10

comment … alternating starts between turf and dirt races has shown trainer amir1647’s filly DRAGON PHOENIX to have stake class ability on both surfaces. DRAGON PHOENIX likes to track the early speed from several lengths back, she’s shown good stretch running efforts, winning at 10 furlongs on both turf and dirt. Her best Graded Stake effort was a 3rd place finish on a tiring, good, dirt track in the Grade-2 First State Oaks. The abundant early speed could well play in her favor as her positioning should give her first crack at “gunning down” the early front runners!

8	16	RIGHTDOWNTHEALLEY	PACE %	2.33%	SPEED %	4.90%	CLASS %	21.14%	BET VALUE	192.10%
			RANK	14	RANK	12	RANK	1	RANK	2

comment … it’s fair to say that at 16-1 odds trainer kroth’s filly, RIGHTDOWNTHEALLEY, is being “overlooked” in today’s The Canada. Just a superficial glance at her past performances, reveals over $1.5 million career earnings (tops in the field) and 2 wins and a fine 2nd place finish in three consecutive Grade-1 races! She’s tailed off a bit since then, running a creditable 2nd in an Open Stake and dominating 2 weaker “HOT” fields. RIGHTDOWNTHEALLEY does her best racing when she’s near the early pace and if she can run back to her early 3-year-old efforts, she’s certainly got the “back-class” to challenge this field!

9	8	SHOOTERS DELIGHT	PACE %	6.57%	SPEED %	7.94%	CLASS %	3.82%	BET VALUE	67.20%
			RANK	11	RANK	4	RANK	8	RANK	12

comment … we finally have a candidate that will break slow and try to “fly” late. Trainer easygoer1’s filly SHOOTERS DELIGHT likes to settle back early and really “turn on the jets” the last 2 furlongs. You only need to look back at her last race, a hard charging, late gaining effort. SHOOTERS DELIGHT stretch rally earned her 3rd place money in the Grade-2 Encino Man at 8.5 furlongs. That effort certainly finds her in “peak” condition and the added 1/2 furlong today should play nicely into easygoer1’s race strategy! If the early speed falters, watch out for this “sharp” filly!

10	5	LAST CALL CHAMP	PACE %	8.12%	SPEED %	11.71%	CLASS %	17.42%	BET VALUE	93.20%
			RANK	3	RANK	2	RANK	3	RANK	6

comment … with a win in the Grade-1 Great Dame and a win in the Grade-2 Black Middle Flower Stake, it’s easy to see why the track handicapper has installed trainer futurestar’s filly LAST CALL CHAMP as a solid 5-1 odds favorite. She’s another filly who skipped the conditioned allowances and immediately found sucess at the Stake level. Look for her to break mid-pack early and patiently wait for the early speed to falter. LAST CALL CHAMP has earned a slice of the purse in 8 of her 9 Stakes efforts, with only an off-track in the Grade-1 Batman Robin spoiling her perfect record. It would be hard to imagine LAST CALL CHAMP not being prominent here, a must include on all betting tickets!

11	8	THE CURGLER	PACE %	6.82%	SPEED %	7.30%	CLASS %	3.54%	BET VALUE	64.75%
			RANK	9	RANK	6	RANK	10	RANK	13

comment … trainer jms4 has patiently guided his filly THE CURGLER up the conditioned allowance ladder and into the Stake wars. She sandwiched a respectable Grade-3 effort in between 2 impressive “drawing away” wins in Open Stake company and looks “primed” and “ready” to move forward and seriously challenge at the Grade-2 level. THE CURGLER looks to position mid-pack early and if she gets to striking distance in the lane, there may be no stopping her, as she’s definitely long on stamina. Major contender to move forward!

12	12	MAYHOPE	PACE %	6.67%	SPEED %	9.59%	CLASS %	2.88%	BET VALUE	99.89%
			RANK	10	RANK	3	RANK	13	RANK	5

comment … trainer peter12 may hope that his filly, MAYHOPE sees a blazing early speed dual up front early in The Canada. The modestly bred daughter of Mohaymen usually breaks near the rear early and steadily works her way into contention. Even though it’s her first crack at Graded Stake company, a close inspection of her record shows that MAYHOPE has earned a top-5 paycheck in all 13 of her career starts! She’ll grind her way forward and has a decent shot at extending her paycheck run to 14, don’t overlook!

13	8	VOTE BY MAIL	PACE %	5.96%	SPEED %	5.08%	CLASS %	5.21%	BET VALUE	59.55%
			RANK	13	RANK	11	RANK	5	RANK	14

comment … another member of the late running gang, trainer blankpoin9’s filly VOTE BY MAIL’S goal is very simple, she needs to keep the field “in sight” at the 4-furlong call. When she falls 10+ lengths behind, VOTE BY MAIL is 0 for 5 in the money finishes. Her best Graded Stake effort was in the Grade-3 Great Fiddlesticks Handicap, where she rallied from 9+ lengths behind to finish 2nd, missing 1st cash by 1/4 length. VOTE BY MAIL will need the pace to allow her to keep contact early so her late rally will be effective, chance on best!

14	19	AMERICAN TAP LADY	PACE %	7.09%	SPEED %	12.70%	CLASS %	3.70%	BET VALUE	186.41%
			RANK	7	RANK	1	RANK	9	RANK	3

comment … trainer elkstables1’s “lightly raced” filly AMERICAN TAP LADY looks to be the “wild card” in today’s field. Her first effort at Graded company in the Grade-2 Black Middle Flower Stake, didn’t turn out as planned as she broke slow and never got into stride. That was only her 6th career start and can be discarded. AMERICAN TAP LADY followed that race with a nice allowance win and then really moved forward with a fine late charge that earned her a 2nd place Open Stake finish and a career “best” 114.171 speed figure. Look for AMERICAN TAP LADY to settle rear mid-pack early and if she fires and moves forward could provide an upset at 19-1 odds. Good chance to move her class level forward!

Lots of early speed “inside” and lots of late rush “outside”! Depending on the pace, of course, I think the tracking mid pack runners should benefit. The 9 furlong distance of The Canada looks to be right at the edge of several prominent early runners stamina distance and the “hot” pace may put the later “closers just a bit too far behind, to find the wire. Best of luck to all the runners!

Here’s the program Spotlight runners:

SPEED (win bet)		LATE MID-PACK RUN (win bet)		CLOSER (place bet)
DRAGON PHOENIX		AMERICAN TAP LADY		SHOOTERS DELIGHT
LAST CALL CHAMP		THE CURGLER
		AELA
		STORMPIRE