On Saturday, an attractive meeting at the Woodbine Racecourse, Canada, offers three Graded races, especially the E P Taylor Stakes, where four-year-old filly Rougir will attempt to record her second G1 victory. Bound For Nowhere is preferred for the G2 Nearctic Stakes, while Frosted Over could be the best in the G3 Durham Cup Stakes.
Nearctic Stakes
The distance of six furlongs awaits a field of nine three-year-olds and older horses in this G2 race. On the turf surface, the participants will run for the purse of $250,000, with Bound For Nowhere (1-1) being the hot favourite here.
Although the Wesley Ward bound horse is an eight-year-old, he’s in superb form in 2022. The son of The Factor recorded his premiere Graded victory in 2018 in the G2 Shakertown Stakes, where he showed up three more times to achieve second, third, and another first place over the years. Moreover, he gave some solid performances at the G1 scene in the US and Europe, but because of his feeble health, Bound For Nowhere isn’t much exposed for how old he is.
In 2022, he hit the tracks only twice but won on both occasions. At first, he smoothly scored an Allowance race in March and then returned with a bang in the G2 Highlander Stakes in July. He will carry the biggest weight together with Silent Poet (4-1); still, he needs to be considered here. The mentioned Nicholas Gonzales trained gelding looks like the favourite’s biggest threat. The seven-year-old bay has amassed several G2 victories in his rich career, including the Nearctic Stakes 2020. Last season, Silent Poet scored even among the elite, but usually, he’s a very solid G3 and G2 performer.
However, his 2022 form doesn’t look as good as the previous ones, given he didn’t manage to win even at the black-type scene. Still, he shouldn’t be discarded as last time out; he finished last of all but was bumped at the beginning.
Philip Antonacci relies here on four-year-old Fauci (6-1), who has only a maiden and an Allowance win under his belt. Otherwise, he placed numerous times at black-type and Listed scene, plus he finished third in the G3 Franklin-Simpson Stakes in 2021.
The colt is consistent and should run well. Noble Emotion (8-1) is about to experience the Graded company for the first time as so far, the five-year-old gelding has shown up among Listed horses at best. He shouldn’t be dangerous for the preferred contestants, though, which also applies to Roaring Forties (10-1), who hasn’t ever impressed among Graded horses. However, finishing fifth in the G3 Bold Venture Stakes in August wasn’t bad at all, so after winning an Allowance race, he could place on Saturday.
| HORSE | JOCKEY | HORSE RACING ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Noble Emotion | Antonio A. Gallardo | +800 |
| Ice Chocolat (BRZ) | Sahin Civaci | +1500 |
| Wedgewood | Jason Hoyte | +1200 |
| Into the Sunrise | Sahin Civaci | +2000 |
| Fauci | Emma-Jayne Wilson | +600 |
| Roaring Forties | Rafael Manuel Hernandez | +1000 |
| Silent Poet | Justin Stein | +400 |
| Bound for Nowhere | Kazushi Kimura | +100 |
| Cazadero | Patrick Husbands | +2000 |
Nearctic Stakes Betting Pick
Bound For Nowhere, as he’s in great form, and his rivals don’t look particularly strong.
Durham Cup Stakes
The purse of $150,000 lured in nine three-year-old and older horses who will cover the distance of a mile and a half a furlong. They will hit the all-weather surface in this G3 event, while Frosted Over (5-2) is the leading chance to strike gold.
The four-year-old colt triumphed in the last year’s Ontario Derby for Mark Casse, and in 2022, he added another G3 victory in the Dominion Day, where he easily bettered Artie’s Storm (3-1). He succumbed to him prior to that in the G2 Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes and also failed to defeat him last time out in the G3 Seagram Cup.
Back then, Frosted Over didn’t have the most peaceful trip and didn’t manage more than fourth place, while Artie’s Storm finishing a close second. Despite these defeats, Frosted Over could be perceived as the favourite in this field because, under common circumstances, he should be the best horse in the field.
As Artie’s Storm will carry the same weight as Frosted Over, their chances are similar, but in the Seagram Cup, he didn’t have to angle the last turn so wide as Frosted Over did. Artie’s Storm, trained by Roger Buttigieg, took third place in the last year’s Ontario Derby, then collected a couple of black-type victories, while in 2022, his form improved.
His performance in the Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes was a superb one, and even though he failed to shine in his next outing, finishing second in the G3 Seagram Cup Stakes confirmed the four-year-old gelding to be a major player among such a competition. Another contestant we need to talk about is War Bomber (6-1), who was the one causing an upset in the Seagram Cup.
In none of his previous starts did the four-year-old gelding display anything interesting at the Graded stage, but everything went into his stride in August, and he bettered some solid-quality horses. Subsequently, War Bomber aimed at the G1 Woodbine Mile , where he had nothing to say and finished ninth. The drop in the class should help the Norman McKnight bound bay; still, he must prove his surprising G3 triumph wasn’t just a fluke.
Roger Attfield sends in a respected contestant in Hombre (7-2). The four-year-old colt is yet to experience the Graded company as until Saturday; he’s been running mostly the Allowance races. So far, he’s bagged three of them, including the one in September when he scored by almost four lengths. If he’s actually good enough to triumph on Saturday, that is something only the race itself can tell us.
The last to mention is Who’s The Star (10-1), who attempted to succeed in the G2 Kentucky Turf Cup as it was his Graded debut, but he didn’t draw on his black-type victory here and had to settle for eighth place. Back then, the competition was really tough, so he should appreciate Saturday’s one and maybe even defy his odds.
| HORSE | JOCKEY | HORSE RACING ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Like the King | Rafael Manuel Hernandez | +1500 |
| Irwin (IRE) | Antonio A. Gallardo | +1000 |
| War Bomber (IRE) | Sahin Civaci | +600 |
| Frosted Over | Kazushi Kimura | +250 |
| Artie’s Storm | David Moran | +300 |
| Riptide Rock | Justin Stein | +1200 |
| Hombre | Declan Carroll | +350 |
| Special Forces | Luis Contreras | +2000 |
| Who’s the Star | Emma-Jayne Wilson | +1000 |
Durham Cup Stakes Betting Pick
Frosted Over, as we still believe he’s the classiest horse in the field. However, Artie’s Storm and Hombre aren’t far behind him.
E. P. Taylor Stakes
Nine three-year-old and older fillies and mares head into this G1 turf race, offering a purse of $750,000. The field will cover the distance of a mile and a half distance, with Rougir (5-2) retaining the role of a favourite.
The four-year-old filly, trained by Chad Brown, commenced her career in France, where she scored a G3 as a junior, upon which she kept showing some talent also in 2021. That season culminated for her in the G1 Prix de l’Opera, where Rougir caught her rivals off guard and prevailed thanks to a beautiful turn-of-foot, which she couldn’t repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, though.
It was her last start for the French connections as she remained in the US to bag the G3 Beaugay in May. Her following trio of outings among the G1 company didn’t result in anything resembling success; however, she’s about to face much lesser competition on Saturday, so the daughter of Territories may record her second G1 win here.
Currently, Moira (3-1) is perceived as Rougir’s most dangerous opponent. The Kevin Attard bound three-year-old filly will carry considerably smaller weight than the favourite; moreover, her form seems rather good. In 2021, Moira finished second in the G3 Mazarine Stakes but transformed the rest of her career starts into victories. In total, she scored four black-type races, including three in 2022.
Last time out, the Ghostzapper filly delivered an outstanding performance, given she left her rivals behind at least by seven lengths. Such a leap between categories could be too much for her, though. Four-year-old Adventuring (7-2) is another participant to consider because she scored her premiere G3 win last time out.
Trained by Brad Cox, her best effort occurred at the Listed stage until October 2021, when she placed in the G3 Rubicon Valley View Stakes, while in the ongoing season, she’s unbeaten in two starts. Upon winning an Allowance, she bagged the G3 Ladies Marathon Stakes in September, and if she shows something similar on Saturday, she could fight for the win here.
Besides Rougir, there is another interesting ex-European filly – Fev Rover (6-1). The four-year-old daughter of Gutaifan was a very smart two-year-old, scoring the G3 Prix du Calvados in France, upon which she snatched up fourth place in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and commenced her three-year-old campaign with third place in the 1000 Guineas.
Although her following performances were still good, she was shipped to the US for the 2022 season, and so far, she’s finished second in the G2 Dance Smarty Stakes for Mark Casse and then won the G2 Canadian Stakes. Still, she prevailed only by a nose. The last to mention is Mylady (8-1), a Germany-bound filly trained by Markus Klug, who snatched up second place in the German equivalent of 1000 Guineas and third in the German Oaks.
| HORSE | JOCKEY | HORSE RACING ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Munnyfor Ro | Justin Stein | +2000 |
| Adventuring | Antonio A. Gallardo | +350 |
| Moira | Rafael Manuel Hernandez | +300 |
| Rougir (FR) | Kazushi Kimura | +250 |
| Flirting Bridge (IRE) | David Moran | +1000 |
| Henrietta Topham | Emma-Jayne Wilson | +2000 |
| Lemista (IRE) | Luis Contreras | +1200 |
| Mylady (GER) | Andrasch Starke | +800 |
| Fev Rover (IRE) | Patrick Husbands | +600 |
E P Taylor Stakes Betting Prediction
In this competitive field, our pick for the E. P. Taylor Stakes is Mylady due to her solid efforts in the Classic races. Still, the demanding season and journey to Canada might cost her some valuable energy.
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