The Woodbine Oaks
- Curlin’s Voyage- Husbands/ Carroll
- The woodbine oaks is a very wide open race today and it starts off with Curlin’s Voyage. In her 3yo season she has a win and a second both at Woodbine. Her 2yo season was very solid as well with a stakes win. Patrick Husbands has ridden her perfectly in all 3 starts in which he rode her. She will be closing late and the rail post should help her be able to shuffle back into the pack early. I think she has a legit chance here and I like her today.
- Pilot Episode- Contreras/ McGuaghey III
- Pilot Episode is a maiden who has struggled against other maidens and comes into here in a 500k stakes race. She is getting synthetic for the first time but she seems to be a sprinter and not a router. I don’t like her at all today and will be passing.
- Bayou Belle- Hernandez/ Attard
- Bayou Belle is one of two Attards in here both with Rafael Hernandez aboard so I expect one of them to scratch today. I am not a fan of this horse as she struggled for 4 races against maidens before winning a maiden race in for the tag. She would need a lot to happen for her in order for her to win today and I will be passing on her.
- November Fog- Husbands/Ritchie
- November Fog is another horse I think is in way over her head. She has a chance of going gate to wire but I don’t think she is the fastest of the bunch. Her 3yo season has been lackluster and I don’t see her improving hugely in a bump up in class.
- Afleet Katherine- Stein/Attard
- Afleet Katherine is a sneaky horse in this field as she is undefeated and lightly raced. Both of her wins came over the Woodbine turf course and at 7F in distance. She will be stretching out today and switching to synthetic but I think she will actually benefit a ton with the distance increase but the surface is the question mark. Stein is a very good jockey and Attard is a solid trainer. I think this is your upset in this field if she takes the surface.
- Mizzen Beau- Bahen/ Casse
- Mizzen Beau is a no go for me. I just don’t like her in this field at all. Casse has been firing a lot lately at Woodbine compared to Saratoga this summer. However, he chooses Bahen to ride here over his go to riders in Kimura or Hernandez. She has some pace in her runstyle but I think she will have to step up a lot in order to have any type of impact.
- Merveilleux- Hernandez/ Attard
- Merveilleux is one of the top tier horses in this field. Hernandez will 100 percent ride this horse as she has a real good chance of winning. She gets blinkers on today and should be near the lead. Hernandez is the top jockey in Canada and loves this horse. Distance is my only question for her and I think the distance might be her downfall.
- Lasting Union- Kimura/ Matz
- I love Lasting Union today. She won hugely at Delaware last time out but has to try synthetic for the first time and she’s going against stakes company. Maryland shippers in early 2019 have been incredible up north. I think the addition of Kimura here is the key factor. She needs to be involved early and Kimura can do that. I think she has a legit chance here.
- Justleaveitalone- Moran/ Mattine
- Moran gets the mount on Justleaveitalone here and I think Looch has a good filly here. I just don’t think she is a stakes caliber horse. Moran will have to get this horse involved early to have any chance. I don’t see her getting the lead at all here and that might be her downfall in this race. Will look elsewhere.
- Infinite Patience- Wilson/ Richards
- Infinite Patience should be the early pacesetter today with her outside post. Wilson will have to be aggressive early with her in order to gain that lead but she seems to be the quickest out the gate. Her 2yo season she faced company at Hastings which is not that impressive and that is probably why she went undefeated. Her first start off of the layoff she got tired late and held for 3rd. I think she will be better here and will be tough to catch. Must use.
TOP PICKS:
#5 Afleet Katherine
#1 Curlin’s Voyage
#8 Lasting Union
The Dance Smartly
- Etoile(FR)- Hernandez/Brown
- Etoile was heavily favored in her debut in America. However, she completely dropped the ball in that start. Since the Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly in France back in the summer of 2019, she just has not found her footing over any surface. This outing is full of 2nds. 2nd race off the layoff, 2nd race of 2020, and 2nd race in America. The Gamely was a very tough race and it was odd that Chad Brown didn’t wait until Saratoga. I like the ship up North though because the Woodbine turf course plays like an European turf course. This should be able to help Etoile which is probably a key factor on why she is the morning line favorite. She is a midpack type of horse and gets a top tier jockey in Rafael Hernandez aboard today. I think she can live up to the hype.
- Theodora B.- Stein/Dickinson
- Theodora B. is an interesting horse. She seemed like she was coming into form back in 2019 and then went on a long layoff off of a career high beyer. She came back in June at Laurel and won off of the layoff. She ran huge in that effort and came back in July at Woodbine in a Grade 3 on the synthetic. She finished very very evenly and it seemed as if she just didn’t like the synthetic surface. I think she is one hundred percent a turf horse and the return to turf with a very underrated jockey in Stein aboard. I think she is coming into form as well and she could get a good stalking trip.
- Romantic Pursuit- Moran/Walsh
- The Goldophin filly for Brendan Walsh named Romantic Pursuit is a very interesting filly as well. I don’t think she will win today but she can 100% get the distance, and she should be running late. She did come up a lot shorter in her most recent start compared to her race before last. I think she is the wildcard here but I’m not the biggest David Moran fan and think its up to him to win this race.
- Elizabeth Way (IRE)- Wilson/Attfield
- The first of two Roger Attfield horses that are in this race is Elizabeth Way. Elizabeth Way ran an impressive race in her first start and first win at Woodbine back on June 27th. She won the Nassau in the final strides and she seemed like she wanted more distance and she gets it today. Emma Jayne is a legitimate jockey still on this circuit and she can get the job done when needed. Must use here today.
- Art of Almost- Kimura/ Attfield
- Attfield put Emma Jayne on the 4 horse over the 5 as she has ridden both. However, this is a jockey upgrade as in Kimura is the best turf jockey at Woodbine in my opinion. She is really good on the turf course she is running on today. She can do the distance but it isn’t her specialty. Kimura rode her in this exact race last year and she finished 3rd and just missed late. I think if she can work out that trip again, Kimura will find the wire this time. She is my top pick and I like her chances a lot today.
- Bold Script- Husbands/Simon
- I am not a fan of Bold Script today at all. I think her only chance is going gate to wire and Patrick Husbands might mess that up. Husbands has been average at best this meet but gets the job done when needed. She is consistent with runstyle but I think she isn’t classy enough or talented enough to win here.
TOP PICKS:
#5 Art of Almost
#1 Etoile
#4 Elizabeth Way