A huge throng of Sim racing fans will gather by the shores of Lake Ontario for a race of huge proportions this Saturday, the $500k Grade 1 Owner's Stakes. Most will be hoping to see the 2/1 favorite, SEVENTH SENSE, be anointed the next Great One after cruising past yet another graded-stakes field, but there are others in this race that deserve much attention. This race is definitely “Appointment Viewing”.
From the rail goes the intriguing DYNAMIC DESTINY, a powerful-looking brown son of the ever-present Dynaformer. Trained by sticks1 of the strong Phantom Pharms stable, all this guy has done recently is put up four consecutive dominant runaway wins, the most-recent being an impressive win in the Gr. 3 Czech Derby. The speeds have been very good, also. The big question with this guy is whether he can deal with today's significent class rise. He didn't do so well in a pair of big races last winter, but things can change pretty quickly with these young horses. The 13th-ranked long-turfer, he is 6/1 after drawing a middling jockey who seems on the improve in his 5th year on the circuit.
From the #2 spot goes the #2-ranked SEVENTH SENSE, a marvelous-looking son of Montjeu who has been absolutely unbeatable since moving to the long distances. Trained by rapt of the Tees Stables group, he will have the services of highly-regarded jockey B Renfroe and go off at 2/1. Nearly all of the railbird types think that he'll have to have a really bad day to lose, but that's what they said about Big Brown on Belmont Day...
The #9-ranked filly, FALDO, takes a swing at the boys from the 3-hole at 5/1. A grey daughter of Falbrav, this filly has run fairly well against boys in the past and is consistent overall, almost always able to get a nibble from the purse. If she can fire her best shot today, she has a decent shot at grabbing a little more here. Trainer cmd has asked for quite a bit of racing from his filly, this being her sixth try since April 24, so she'll need to continue to be tough. Strong veteran rider B Heenan rides.
FARADAY CAGE is another who comes in here on a roll, with a pair of impressive Grade 2 wins including a stunning performance in the Seventh King Eddie Stakes in which he destroyed a million-dollar winner by over seven lengths. The brown son of Henrythenavigator, trained by skunkmaste, has made quite an impression in a mere 6 career starts. The CPU sets him up at 4/1 and top-ranked rider N Linville is aboard. Might be the top danger in here.
Well... You can't really have a race without longshots, so WHYNOTLOVE? Trained by runslow of And616 Stables after being claimed for $25k a few starts ago, this son of Proud Citizen goes off at 54/1. The chestnut colt appears overmatched here, and possibly on the wrong racetrack. His recent dirt starts have tipped off some ability on that surface.
AUBURN HILLS has made some small dents in quality races at shorter distances, so trainer ibear of the CVBear Racing Empire has decided to try a stretchout for his talented brown Red Clubs colt. At 9/1, the CPU seems to think that this is a tough spot for experiments; however, this guy has been closing very late in shorter races. Maybe that last couple furlongs is just what he needs; strong veteran rider V Townsend stays with this guy for today's run.
MUSHROOMS goes from the 7-hole at 8/1 for trainer stalfrank of Belgium's Zeco Stables. A bit of a head-scratcher here; a distance-bred son of North Light goes well into his 3yo year running in sprints, and when it's decided he should try those long distances, he goes all the way out to 12 furlongs against some of the Sim's best. Who knows? His last was nice, a career-best 104 speed in winning a 7f stakes. LOTS to prove in order to contend today, but it's not impossible...
ELITE BEAT is a 21/1 shot, a son of Beat Hollow running under the eliteracng banner. He has had trouble going much further than 8.5 furlong is his past efforts, and even his best speeds at shorter distances have been below those of the top runners in here. Would be a surprise to see this one hit the board today.
On the outside is GIMLET CHILLED, a 4/1 shot running for skunkfeed2 of the Skunkbarn stables group. He chased today's favorite home in his last outing, 9 lengths back at the finish. The son of Tanino Gimlet gets well-respected rider P Dylan for today's rematch, hoping to return to the winning form of a few months ago when he took home top prize in 3 of 4 including a Grade 3 race.
Okay, let's sharpen that pencil and make a prediction or two here...
SEVENTH SENSE looks practically too good to be true, but I choose to believe he's true anyway. Class and speed edge make him just too tough for even this excellent field.
FARADAY CAGE looks to prove his class level today, and his impressive wins vs. lesser are hard to ignore. Best threat in here, might even pull off the upset.
DYNAMIC DESTINY loses out on the winning streak, but picks up some nice cash for 3rd.
Terrific race here! Also, stick around for a strong Grade 3 turf sprint running right after this one here!
Good luck at the races!
