Despite British Columbia\u2019s reputation for being rainy, wet and miserable, the turf track has come up firm for this Saturday\u2019s DEBBIE DEAREST Special,<\/B> named after the six-time stakes winning horse who never succeeded in a graded race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Seven horses will make the 6f trip around the course.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>With only two having graded race experience, and no graded wins between them, let\u2019s hope Debbie Dearest\u2019s curse isn\u2019t contagious.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 PP 1 is held by HERBSTREIT <\/B>(Danzig x Seattle Slew x Buckpasser)<\/I> trained by peeps11 <\/I>(who now coincidentally owns my homebred nag Cheap Critic). With one stakes win already under his belt, in week 2888, Herb is being tried at a shorter distance this time out.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She hasn\u2019t raced at less than a mile since she was three; coming third in an attempt to break her maiden.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I\u2019d tend to agree with the bookies assessment of 8\/1 – <\/B>I\u2019m not convinced that a shorter distance will suit this horse; I\u2019d like to see her try 8f dirt next time out.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 PP 2 holds CAT CAPE CANASKRA <\/SPAN><\/B>(Cape Caneveral x Carr de Naskra x Storm Cat) <\/B><\/SPAN><\/I>trained by fredtaylor<\/I>. \u00a0<\/SPAN><\/B>This one\u2019s a long shot at 34\/1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She looks over-classed here; especially since coming off a few lackluster starts for her new owner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Shortening up from the 14f she ran last time looks to be a good choice, though this one is another I\u2019d like to see try the dirt since her SP\u2019s improve slightly on that surface. \u00a0 \u00a0 PP 3 is home to the EVEN<\/B> favourite CRASH BANG ANGEL(IRE) (Rock of Gilbraltar(IRE) x Thunder Gulch x Halo)<\/I> <\/B>trained by irt1<\/I>. With solid speed figures and a win last time out at a similar distance this one\u2019s the one to beat.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019ll most likely go out in the lead and try to hold it the entire race, but if someone can beat her out of the gate she may quit. Of her nine career wins, eight have been when she led wire-to-wire. \u00a0 \u00a0 PP 4 was picked by WESTERN SONG<\/B> (Unbridled\u2019s Song x Gone West x Storm Cat) <\/I>trained by stoners<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This is the horse that should challenge the favourite for the early lead since she made a good effort last time out by taking the lead early and just getting passed at the wire.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her SP\u2019s are not that consistent; but with a strong turnout she could crack the top three. \u00a0 \u00a0 PP 5 holds DENVER DOLL<\/B> (Miesque\u2019s Son x Atticus x Kris)<\/I> trained by denveru<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A solid turf sprinter, this one also likes to sit near the lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She tends to fade towards the second half; the shorter distance may suit.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>At 9\/1<\/B> I\u2019d take this one to show. \u00a0 \u00a0 PP 6 is held by SASHA<\/B> (Polish Navy x Royal Academy x Quest for Fame)<\/I> trained by syndicate<\/I>. The oldest mare of the bunch, she still has strong SP\u2019s and may like the smaller field. This race is really turning into a race for the lead since this one also likes to tuck into the front pack.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>At 7\/2<\/B> I\u2019d be surprised if this one isn\u2019t in the action as they approach the wire. \u00a0 \u00a0 On the outside in PP 7 is MEDAGLIA D\u2019JUR<\/B> (Medaglia D\u2019Oro x Dayjur x King of Kings)<\/I> trained by southside<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>If I had to predict a closer it\u2019d be this one; although she also likes to sit in the front pack out of the gate she looks to have a stronger closing kick then some of the others in this field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I\u2019d try saving her at the beginning and then closing in on the front pack around the 3f mark \u2013 just like she did when she broke her maiden back in 2601.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I normally wouldn\u2019t want to fix what isn\u2019t broken, but in this field a closer may have an advantage as the others jostle for the lead. \u00a0 \u00a0 This one should prove to be exciting.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I predict a lot of action out of the gate since so many of these fillies like to take the lead early.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The horse to watch is CRASH BANG ANGEL(IRE)<\/STRONG> at such short odds the bookies don\u2019t think it\u2019s likely this one will be upset.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I disagree, if a few of the others can get in front early it plays to their advantage.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>My prediction is 7-3-5<\/EM>, but I\u2019d be quick to bet I\u2019m wrong. \u00a0 Whose Got the Most Early Speed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}