Summer Bird went out for another run this past weekend and wasn’t really pushed at all with Kent Desormeaux piloting him to a 1:02.37 five furlongs. Bird had been clocked at 59.99 earlier over five furlongs and that was apparently a bit fast for for Ice, whom ESPN quoted as saying “WE just wanted to slow him down… Today was more getting him to relax and let him finish.”

Quality Road has been training in Elmont as well and looks set to take a spot in the race, which should feature a total of six horses. This will be Summer Bird’s first go at older colts and we’ll see if he can match up against Woodward runner-up Macho Again- who put in a hell of a late charge against Rachel Alexandra.

Macho Again is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and is a really quality runner.

Ventura came second to Rahy’s Attorney in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile last year. The million dollar race has attracted a number of prominent horses- many of whom are turf or all-weather specialists.

This is a Breeders Cup Win and You’re In race with the winner getting a birth in the Breeders Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

The main challenger for Ventura looks like the stylish Jungle Wave coming out of Katalpa Farm under Sid Attard. He knows how to get the job done and I’m a big fan of a number of Attard’s horses. He’s the type of trainer that you feel like you owe a beer whenever you see him- as his charges have certainly paid for a few of yours over the years. Jungle Wave is another Turf Terror that is relatively lightly-raced for A 4 year-old. He scored at the end of August in the Grade 2 Play the King Stakes over the turf at Woodbine. His previous run was the Bold Venture Stakes where he slotted in second in a field of 5 to Fatal Bullet.

On recent form, I like Jungle Wave, but I don’t know if he can measure up to the class of Ventura. This is a big race and there will be plenty of quality competition involved in the race. Realistically, the morning line favourite will likely to be last year’s winner Rahy’s Attorney. This five year-old comes into the race 2-1-1-6 for the year with that sixth place blip coming in the Grade 2 Sky Classic Stakes. I’m going to give him a bit of a pass on this one as the race was won by Marchfield, who Rahy’s Attorney defeated in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes. Interestingly enough, his two other runs this year came in the Grade 3 Connaught Cup, where he finished 2nd to Sterwins. He then followed that up by beating Sterwins in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes a month later.

So, he either loses to a horse and then beats that horse, or he beats that horse and then loses to it. Considering him and Ventura finished 1-2 last year, we could draw a conclusion that Ventura is ready to take a victory here. Trainer Ian Black has likely had his eye on this prestigious Grade 1 all year and he will have Rahy’s Attorney raring to go.

Even though the draw hasn’t even happened yet, I am going to be backing Rahy’s Attorney and Ventura in an each-way exactor.

My early tip was Gozzip Girl and I also stand by that. He’s at 2/1 in the morning line and I expect him to take a bit of a dip. I think this is good value on one of the country’s best fillies- although we should acknowlegde that the words “best” and “filly” have taken on a bit of a different meaning during the 2009 summer session. I think Gozzip Girl just has so much working in her favour that you can’t pass her up, especially with Kent Desmormeaux on top.

The only real competition I see comes from Maram at 3/1 and Graham Motion’s Shared Account at 4/1. Shared Account bested Keertana, who runs in this race, at the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga in late August. That was her only victory of the season, but she did put in a tough 2nd place to Blind Date in the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks. They will have Ramon Dominguez aboard for the first time and that’s an interesting variable.

Maram is a classy competitor who is 3 from 3 lifetime with wins at Santa Anita in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Race, the Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont and scored in her first race which was a maiden claimer at Saratoga. The only thing keeping me from backing this horse is that she hasn’t run this season and I don’t think she’s helped by the long layoff against quality competition.

Pull Dancer is an interesting selection and the 6/1 price is still a bit short for my likings. This horse isn’t out of the question for a win, but it will take her best to pull this one off. This could be an each-way for the adventurous.

Other notables include Keertana and Miss World at 10/1. Katara sits at 12/1 with Many Kisses the long shot at 30/1.

My selection for the 2009 Garden City Stakes at Belmont Park is Gozzip Girl.
Exacta: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account
Triactor: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account/Maram
Superfecta: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account/Maram/Miss World

In terms of the highlight of Friday’s program, we have Americain, Colony, and Up To No Good all pointed towards the race. Up To No Good being my pick from those three following a very solid outing at Presque Isle Downs and several very credible allowance wins from last year. He may not be the most glamorous, but I like his gritty style of grinding out victories on surfaces of all kinds. I think he’s a real September/October kind of horse if you get my meaning.

Other notables include Thabazimbi, Solitaire and General Chester all appear to still have question marks, but none of those are out of the question. It would be an impressive line-up and it’s nice to see some of the regional runners taking on the Kentucky-breds. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out at the end of the meet.

We are especially interested in a pair of Grade 1 races for the ladies, with the $300,000 Garden City boasting 3 year-old fillies on the turf followed by the Ruffian Handicap for fillies and mares, which will run for the same stakes.

Gozzip Girl is probably the flashiest name on offer with the winner of the $700,000 American Oaks set to take on a very competitive field. The partnership with Kent Desmormeaux looks set to continue and this could be another major statement for Stonestreet Stables, who have been on an absolute tear at the highest level. This horse has won all over the place and with plenty of success on turf, I’m confident she’ll be attracting most of the money. If she avoids complications, I’m backing Gozzip Girl to put together a very classy victory.

Keertana, Katara, Miss World and Pull Dancer are all being floated as competition.

I expect the first Grade 1 of Saturday to have plenty of excitement but the second race, for fillies and mares, is a one-way ticket to the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic and is the most valuable long-term prize. Exotic Indy and Seventh Street are floated as the earlier contenders, but we’ll have another post bringing more detail to that race in the coming days, but of the two we’d side with Saeed Bin Suroor’s Seventh Street any day of the week. A quinella featuring the two could be a popular option against a slower field.

For the Ashley T. COle Stakes on Sunday, I expect a lot of the early money will be on Banrock considering he took the West Point Handicap and the Kingston Stakes (both on turf) and is 1-2-5-1 for the year coming into this one. He did score in this race at this distance in 2008 and that definitely offers up some food for thought.

I think Banrock is a solid favourite, but I’m going to back Extra Zip for a show bet if he’s priced-favourably. He only seems to run against Banrock and finished 3rd in the West Point Handicap. If he’s at 8 or above, I think he’s good money on a place if you think he’s willing to step up a bit in the face of what looks to be a very intriguing handicap race.

Pennington, Get Serious and Hangingbyathread are all regulars on the north east allowance circuit and look set to step into this one as well.

It should be a very interesting opening weekend to the Belmont meet, but we think it could be a good weekend for the headline acts.

Our Early Selections

Up To No Good
Gozzip Girl
Seventh Street
Banrock

Keep in mind it’s like a feed off the guys computer, so the quality isn’t 100% but its watchable. If you don’t want to miss the widely anticipated race with Rachel Alexandra then click the link below! All other Saratoga races will be shown!

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