It is “The August Place to be” and that would mean we are in New York this weekend as it is Travelers Weekend. There are about a dozen grade races being run between Saturday and Sunday in New York, and I have opted to cover the $1.5 million Bob Woodward Memorial, which is a dirt race at a mile and an eighth for horses three and up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a field of 14 horses running, all males, with only one 3-year old and the rest are 4-yos and 5yos. The track is expected to be fast for Travelers Weekend which could result in some very high speed numbers. Of all the entrants in this race, only three have won a Grade-1 race. Here’s a look at the field<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Stuft Crust 9\/1- This front runner, owned by Given, set a career mark speed of 121 back in June and winning the G3 Capitals Dirt with relative ease. His last start was in the G2 Sand Dimas going a shortened 8.5 furlongs and tiring out after cutting all the quarterly fractions and a 113 speed finishing fifth and some 6 lengths back. This colt, out of Medagalia D’Oro steps up into his first try in the G1 class and he has a knack of wiring fields, doing it 8 times in his 19 race career. Stuft has the capability of breaking away from the field and building up large leads and that has been tougher for him to achieve as he competes in the stakes levels. Still, it’s not out of the cards that he could outrun this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Spiritual Minister 11\/1-After winning the G3 Town of Tokyo back in March at 9f (with a career best 120 speed) and following that up with a second (114 speed) in the G2 Slugger’s Breeder’s Bowl at 8.5f, he competed at the G1 level for the first time at the start of March in the Movieland Shiny Cup and finished next to last with a drastic drop in speed to 92 going 10f. The outcome was very uncharacteristic of Spiritual, as Ghostzapper bred horse, owned by Baggio. The colt was competitive in the early stages of the race, but hit a wall just past the halfway marker. It does not seem that the extra distance was the culprit as the drop to the back of the field happened quickly and just after 5-furlongs of racing. Spiritual has hi speeds of 110+ in 7 prior starts (includes the 120 best speed) and maybe the high speeds have tired him a bit. I’d be a bit cautious supporting him off his last start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Omaha At Dawn 19\/1- Is also owned by Baggio and was sired by Omaha Beach and has had a very tough run since winning last years Bluegrass Cup Classic at 9f at 15\/1 odds and winning with a 116 speed. He’s been shutdown since this victory, failing to find his footing in the G1 Breeders’ Bowl Classic, finishing 19th out of 20. The G3 Willing and Able Stakes had Omaha running near the front early on, but he could not hold his positioning and faltering to 7th. The G1 Charles Town Classic, run in April, had similar results, challenging early on and stopping on a dime to fall to 13th. He took a drop in class in his last two starts, going back to the allowance level, looking to rebuild his confidence. I’m not sure if he found the boost he was looking for as his first allowance run had him holding the lead coming into the stretch and drifting back to 6th. He fared a bit better in his most recent allowance race, running hard on the lead and finishing third, beaten by only a half stride with an improved 109 speed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Mobile Preacher 6\/1- This gelding, owned by Lenny271, has five starts this year. He kicked the season off with a 7th in a sloppy surface listed stakes in January at a mile distance. Mobile likes to press things on the front end and in the next start, a listed 8.5f race, he did just that and finished third with a very nice 121 speed. This Quality Road runner next made his first grade level appearance in the G2 Suggler’s Breeder Bowl, and it was a winning effort and this time he laid off the leaders and came on in the stretch run to get the trophy and a speed of 116 (and also beat out Spiritual Minister who is also in this field). Mobiles’ last two races were back in the listed stake level where he was 6th and also had a 2nd in his last start. Jumps up to G1 level but has already shown he can win at the graded level. Seems to be a level headed runner who can press the leaders earlier or back off the lead and be patient to attack late in the race. Being patient may result in rewards in this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Fallen Marker 14\/1-Sired by Empire Maker, this 5yo will be making his 10th start of the 2023 season. All but one start has been at the grade level and he has a record of 1-1-2 this season with his sole win occurring in February in the G2 Pablo Cruz Handicap, with a season best speed of 115. Fallen generally positions himself in the back third of the field and waits for the stretch run to make his move. This worked well for him in his last race, the G2 Booker T. Handicap in which he rallied to take second in this 7.5f race. More often than not, Fallen Marker (owned by DerbyKing) will make up ground and positioning late in the race, but as his 1-1-2 seasonal record reflects, it is not always successful. In this race, he will have more ground and time to make up distance late in the race as he leaves sprint racing for the mile + route. However, he has a pair of route starts in his career and did not hit the board in either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. T. Tornado 9\/1-Current form looks promising for owner Summerset as this former claimer runner (sired by Distorted Humor) has in his last two starts nailed career best speeds of 119. Both of these came in his only grade level races with the first happening in May in the G3 Perfectionistic Handicap where he came flying home from a well back 11th to win the even by two strides at 10\/1. He had a fine run in his last start the G2 San Dimas where Tornado sat a closer fourth early on and closed in the stretch to finish 2nd by just over a length. Shortly after being claimed, he won three straight allowance races (each with a 112 speed) and followed that with a third in a listed stake with a 117 speed before he jumped to the grade level. This former claimer has made an incredible turn around in his racing career and he may just be getting started. One to keep an eye on in this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Ryans Knick 46\/1-The longshot in this field and is the youngest runner in the field at age three. He comes into the race off a very good outing on a sloppy surface in the G3 Colorado Sophomore Classic where he charted a 113 speed and gained his first stakes win. It was his second try in stake racing, the first coming as a young 2yo. In this race, he sat in a midfield 7th spot and waited until the final quarter of the 9f race to make a move and win by a narrow neck. Ryans Kick is sired by Knicks Go and he is owned by Rbokie24. Sitting in the midfield is rare for this runner who usually likes to be the leader or near the leader in the early stages. Ryans faces older horses for the first time and may find the competition level tougher this time out. He did extremely well on the offtrack in taking his graded win and will need to be even better this time out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. Smashville 9\/1-This colt had a nice 3-race win streak to kick off the 2023 season, with the first coming on the turf in an allowance race. This was followed with a victory in the G2 Scrub, notching a two length win after running off the pace early on, and popping a 122 speed. The good times continued for owner MTK76 into the G1 Charles Town Classic and a solid 118 speed with a similar effort, sitting off the pace and taking a win by a good 2-1\/2 lengths. The streak came to an end in the G2 Cornhusker, finishing fifth with no late run effort showing. His last start was in the G1 Hit Me Handicap, where this Ghostzapper bred colt zapped out again, finishing fourth and the late run not appearing. Smashville looks to get things redirected in this start and it could happen. He’s had poor outings before and followed them up with a turn-around win and it could happen again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9. Hunter’s Laptop 8\/1- Here is another horse from owner MTK76 and could be the one with the best chance in this race. Hunter’s Laptop has won 8 of 18 races, so he is no stranger to the winner’s circle. He nailed a career best speed of 120 in his last race, the G1 Out of the City Handicap, but despite this speed, finished third and missed the win by only a stride. Like his stablemate Smashville, he also had a 3-race win streak, but it ended in his 120-speed race. Prior to the streak ending, his streak started with two allowance wins (one an off-track) with the third victory coming in an listed stake race (also on an off-track). Hunter’s been running distance of 10-12 furlongs and this English Channel bred horse will be dropping back in distance for this race. This runner seems to be in peak form and should proof to be a contender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10. Ready for Magic 10\/1-Has only earned one grade level race win in 10 tries and that came back in 2021 in the Northern Derby and since then, he hit the board only one other time which came a year ago in last years running of the Bob Woodward Memorial and a third place finish going a speed of 115. In 2023, this More Than Ready sire bred horse has raced only twice, the first time in a listed stake race, he finished fourth. The other outing was last month on as wet track and an allowance event where Ready for Magic managed to pull off a second for owner Tempted. The last win he has on record came over a year ago in July, 2022 in an allowance race. Chances do not look too promising for Ready for Magic, who could probably use a little magic dust, as he has struggled to compete in the grade race ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
11. Bionic Lungs 6\/1-Owner Lenny271 has another runner in this field who has been very hot of late. This son of Curlin, has been on a hot run of late, winning three of his last four starts which includes a second. In March, Bionic won an allowance race at 9.5f by over two strides and a 114 speed. The win lead him into a 9f listed stake race which was another solid outcome, getting his first stake win by over a stride and an enhanced 119 speed. That speed figure would improve in the G2 Cornhusker Handicap and strike a 121 as Bionic would get caught and beaten by a quarter-length at the line to finish 2nd. But he would recover and run another solid race last month in the 9.5f G3 Washington Drive, defeating his foes by a good 2 1\/2 strides and another fabulous speed figure, this time 120. As long as the sizzling speeds of late have not taken any meaningful ware pn this colt, he looks to be in a very good spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
12. Crooked Crown 19\/1-A former Bluegrass Derby entrant has had a tough time since earning a free pass into the Bluegrass last year when he won the Sand Castle Derby (a Derby Lock race). Since earning the free entrant, he has raced 9 times and all but one was with graded company. He has two wins over this span of time, the first came this past February when he returned to racing after a winter recess and earning the win in an allowance prep race. After this win, he bounced back into stake racing and took the second win in the field in the March running of the G3 Skipping Away, here the Distorted Humor bred colt pushed to stay up on the front end and took the driver’s seat just past the halfway point in the 9f race to win by half of a length with a 117 speed. He had two more starts after this win and finished on the backside of the field in each try. Speeds of 110 and higher have been hard to come by for this horse, however, he can do it and owner Tenpoint hopes he can do that and even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
13. Denny Way 6\/1-A Quality Road sired horse, owned by Kaner, had a nice three race win streak at the end of 2022 which included an allowance win and wins in the G3 Bull Durham and G2 Lewis and Clark with speeds in a tight 116-118 range. The streak concluded when this horse was repointed to exclusively racing at the G1 level and ended with a 9th place finish in his first G1 shot in the Frostbit Mile. But a win would come quickly in his first 2023 start, which was the Glenn Kegasus Tradition Killer, where he charted a 118 speed and won by just shy of 2 strides. Denny was off the board in the Sand Castle Classic, but made amends in the G1 Barry Foster with a 119 speed on an offtrack and second place finish and missing the top spot by two-lengths. He comes off a disappointing finish in his last race, finishing 6th in the Hit Me Handicap, which was raced over this New York surface. Since stepping into the G1 races, Denny Way has been alternating race results with off-the-board finishes flipping to on-the-board finishes. If this pattern holds, he would be due to finish on-the-board in this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
14. Mucho Bernie 9\/1-Fathered by Mucho Macho Man, this entrant has just completed a string of four G3 races this season, starting back in February with a 114 speed and a late running second place finish. He came up short in the Fus Gonner Handicap, crossing the line in fifth after trailing by 10 to lose by under three lengths. In the Birkenstock, Mucho Bernie again rallied late and finished second for owner Jastables. His most recent start resulted in a sizzling speed figure of 121 as a result of a very powerful late run, timing things perfectly , to win the race by a tiny quarter stride. Hard not to like something about this horse who has raced 14 times and only once did not bring home some purse funds (by finishing fifth or better each race). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My Picks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like Bionic Lungs in this race. Form of late has been ideal and as long as his recent string of top speeds has not worn him out much, he’s the one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
T. Tornado has been doing a fine job of late and he’s not done working yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Denny Way seems to be in a pattern of late and if this holds, he’s due for another good run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It is “The August Place to be” and that would mean we are in New York this weekend as it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"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-63734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63734","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\/363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63734"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63746,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63734\/revisions\/63746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}