Weekend Graded Stakes Action - July 4th Style
July 3rd, 2009The holiday weekend brings forth a bevy of Graded Stakes races.
Starting out Saturday on the East Coast, Belmont Park plays host to three Grade 1 or 2s on Saturday and the Grade 2 Tom Fool on Sunday. The Prioress is a rare Grade 1 6-furlong sprint for fillies and has attracted a field of nine very evenly matched gals. There is sure to be good value to be had on any of the nine entrants. The Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes has a field of 7 all looking for their first black type. Of interest in this event is Warrior’s Reward. The likely post time favorite became the center of controversy recently when his jockey Calvin Borel was forced to choose between Kentucky Derby Winner Mine That Bird, scheduled to race in the West Virginia Derby on August 1, and this colt, who is pointing to the Grade 1 Jim Dandy the same day. It says a lot that Borel would give up the mount on a Derby winner for this one. The other graded race on the card is the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap featuring Asiatic Boy and It’s A Bird. The former is coming back off three weeks rest and a 2nd place finish in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs.
The Grade 1 United Nations Handicap also goes Saturday at Monmouth Park. The race has drawn a field of nine, and any of the nine is a potential winner. Lots of familiar names in this one - Better Talk Now, Brass Hat, Court Vision, Strike a Deal, and Presious Passion, just to name a few. This should shape up as a great betting race.
Churchill Downs cards the Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap where Thorn Song is likely to rule as the betting choice.
Rounding out the action on Saturday is the Grade 2 American Handicap at Hollywood Park. While the entire field was not available at press time it was expected to include last year’s winner Whatsthescript.
On Sunday Hollywood Park hosts the always interesting $700,000 Grade 1 American Oaks Invitational featuring a stellar international field. A lot of attention will be on Mrs Kipling, a Neil Drysdale trainee who drew the extreme outside post, but the race appears up for grabs. Two races later the veneralble Northern California based Siren Lure seeks to become a millionaire with a win in the Grade 1 Triple Bend Handicap.