It\u2019s an honor and a privilege to be covering this race today, since I recently retired the stakes record holder, Sacrilege. The Canary is a race full of surprises, where longshots can score big as we learn who has the mettle to last a grueling 14 furlongs. Adding to the mystery this year is an off track, a factor that can confuse predictions in the most mundane of races. There\u2019ll be a full crowd of 14 fillies and mares heading to post this weekend, with several having a shot at the title. <\/p>\n
La Pata Daisy<\/b>, trained by Usoz<\/i>, isn\u2019t the oddsmakers\u2019 favorite at 8\/1, but I think she probably should be. The Sadler\u2019s Wells mare is a solid performer at this distance and in graded stakes. She is perfectly happy on an off track and on top of that, she has ace jock P Bangs in the irons. I also like that she\u2019s coming off a dirt race, which may fire her up for her preferred surface. She hasn\u2019t won in a while, which raises questions about her competitive drive, but I have little doubt that this closer will at least manage to hit the board. <\/p>\n
Jaded Lovers<\/b>, trained by Ohjoanie<\/i>, who goes off at 8\/1 is a veteran of these longer races and has done all right at 14 panels. She\u2019s more of an allowance\/minor stakes horse, but this isn\u2019t a particularly strong field. She\u2019s 1-for-3 on off tracks, which could be better and could be worse. A solid, honest mare with a decent shot at a paycheck this weekend.<\/p>\n
El Pye<\/b>, trained by Lordpye2<\/i>, is going off at 10\/1 this weekend. I can\u2019t say I\u2019m real excited about her, but she could surprise. She\u2019s only been on the grass once and that was a sprint, so it\u2019s hard to say how she\u2019ll take to this race. Has been okay as an allowance\/overnight stakes mare in long dirt races; she\u2019ll need to perk up with the surface switch to be a factor here.<\/p>\n
Poker Storm<\/b>, trained by Migman11<\/i>, simply hasn\u2019t shown the speed it\u2019ll take to play a major part in this race. She\u2019s a nice mare at the right level, but is out of her depth in graded company. Lousy jockey doesn\u2019t help a bit. <\/p>\n
Kryszostoniak<\/b>, trained by Tfortiger<\/i>, is going off at relatively short odds of 6\/1 and should be a competitor in this race. She\u2019s quite a story, having gone from starter allowance horse to Equinics silver medalist in only a few races. She\u2019s not terribly consistent, going from that big Equinics race to a track-restricted allowance loss only a few races later. But the good news for her connections is that that big race of hers was at this very distance and on an off track. So if she can ever repeat that effort, this is the time.<\/p>\n
Performer XP<\/b>, trained by Azul25<\/i>, will hit the gate at 19\/1, but she\u2019s still a quality mare. She has some nice wins in long races, including one on an off track, but hasn\u2019t fared well in stakes company. She\u2019s one of those who crushes allowance competition, but can\u2019t seem to make the step up successfully. Overmatched here, but likely to have a long and successful career.<\/p>\n
Basic Instinct<\/b>, trained by Lenny29<\/i>, is a sophomore filly who is really stretching out here. Her longest race to date was the 12-furlong Oaks de English, where she was sorely overmatched. She has a terrific record, but I\u2019d like to see her succeed at this level or at this distance before I back her in a race like this one.<\/p>\n
Rock River Quest<\/b>, trained by Airbiscuit<\/i>, is coming off a stakes win at this distance, but with only a 4-horse field. Her only off-track outing was at this distance and she didn\u2019t do too well. She\u2019s a nice mare who\u2019s often placed well in small races, but a very full graded race is a whole \u2018nother matter. She did luck out with a good jockey who\u2019ll steer her well, but I doubt it will be enough.<\/p>\n
PJ Seven Seas<\/b>, trained by Osstable3<\/i>, like several others here has been a solid contender in overnight stakes. This is longer than she usually runs, but she does have a stakes second at 14 furlongs. She doesn\u2019t run speed figures as high as some others here, but she has a shot at stealing this race from the front and has won 2 of 3 off-track starts. With some careful management by her jockey, she could end up with a piece of the pie.<\/p>\n
K\u2019s Western Magic<\/b>, trained by Sheen<\/i>, is the race\u2019s 5\/1 favorite. Sadly, she managed to draw a truly lousy jockey for this race, but you can\u2019t count her out based on that. This race looks just a bit longer than she\u2019d prefer to go, though she has run some solid races at 14 furlongs \u2013 they just haven\u2019t been her best. Her last couple of starts have been lackluster, including a 14-furlong race last time out. I have mixed feelings about her \u2013 she\u2019s capable of running big, but my gut says she won\u2019t this week. I certainly don\u2019t consider her a good bet at these odds.<\/p>\n
Western Pass<\/b>, trained by Bomber93<\/i>, is for my money the most interesting girl in the race. She\u2019s coming off a stakes win at this distance and hasn\u2019t been worse than second in quite a while. Granted, that was a 5 horse race, but she still finished with a time that would be competitive here. She\u2019s done well on off tracks, too. This is a step up that will be a big test for her, but she\u2019s earned the opportunity. She\u2019s very much on form and at 15\/1, I think she\u2019s a steal.<\/p>\n
Oh Susannah<\/b>, trained by Squirrel5<\/i>, is another intriguing youngster. She\u2019s also coming off a confidence-building 14-panel win. It was an allowance, but still a nice race. I\u2019d like to see speed figs a bit higher out of her, but she\u2019s done well on off tracks and looks like a youngster who shouldn\u2019t be written off.<\/p>\n
Our Jacks<\/b>, trained by Karen<\/i>, is 7 years young, but only has 22 starts under her belt. She\u2019s been competitive in allowances and overnight stakes, like a lot of the mares here. She looks to be solidly midpack in this race, but will be hurt by a jock with a 4% strike rate. This field is pretty well-matched and a jockey can make a big difference. Under the circumstances, I don\u2019t like her chances.<\/p>\n
Empire Taker<\/b>, trained by Dormello<\/i>, is last but not least in this crowd. She\u2019s won a stakes at this distance and has lots of off-track wins, but she\u2019s unpredictable. Her recent races have all been against very small fields, so I\u2019m concerned that she won\u2019t be able to handle the big field and the step up in class. Still, she has a strong record and could manage to come away with a paycheck.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it! It should be an interesting race, since there are a lot of very closely-matched mares here. Western Pass<\/b> stands out for me, but she has a lot to prove. Can\u2019t wait to see what happens!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Grade III Canary Stakes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"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-3073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073","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\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}