Thirteen horses. Thirteen jockeys. Twelve trainers. One mile. One million dollars.
Those are the conditions of the grade I, $1,000,000 Woodbine Mile, which should hold quite a bit of weight when the Breeders' Cup Mile rolls around. The winner of this race will likely be one of the favorites in Louisville, should the winner choose to take the route to the Breeders' Cup.
It is currently 28 minutes to post, and Famous Name is currently the favorite at 9-5, down from his 6-1 morning line odds. The five year old son of Dansili will break from gate twelve and is making his United States debut, having raced in Ireland and France his entire career. Although he finished last of six in his last start, the grade I Irish Champion Stakes, he was beaten only 2 1/4 lengths for second by Rip Van Winkle. Prior to that, he won three consectutive races, two of them under 138 pounds.
The second choice at 7-2 is the four year old The Usual Q. T. The dual grade I winning son of Unusual Heat won the Eddie Read Stakes two starts back but finished a disappointing fifth on the Polytrack in the grade I Pacific Classic after leading at the eighth pole. However, he returns to the surface on which he has done his best running and should appreciate the cut back in distance. On the other hand, he has to break from gate eleven.
Currently the third choice at 6-1 is Court Vision. The five year old son of Gulch showed promise at two when he swept to victory in both the grade III Iroquois Stakes and the grade II Remsen, but failed to imptessive along the Triple Crown Trail and ran thirteenth in the Kentucky Derby, beaten slightly over twenty-four lengths by Big Brown.
Then he was tried on turf and turned into a different horse.
Wins in the Jamaica Handicap and Hollywood Derby were followed by wins in the Shadwell Turf Mile and Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap. Throw in some narrowly beaten seconds and a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Mile and you have yourself a top grade I runner who is capable of being competitive at many distances.
On the other hand, he has not raced since early June and this one mile distance may be just a bit too short for him. But he should make his presence felt.
One longshot that I really like is Zifzaf, who is currently 17-1. The son of Breeders' Cup Mile winner War Chant won three straight before finishing a narrowly beaten third behind Get Stormy in the grade II Fourstardave Handicap. He should be able to get a perfect trip from gate three and will have every chance to tackle the leaders as they turn for home.
Victor's Cry should be right in the mix as well if he runs back to his Shoemaker Mile form. Last time out, he finished second to The Usual Q. T. in the Eddie Read and should get plenty of pace to run.
So here are my picks. . .
1 Victor's Cry
2 The Usual Q. T.
3 Famous Name
4 Zifzaf
5 Court Vision
-Keelerman
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