Ring Weekend Draws Outside in Canadian Turf

Ring Weekend took advantage of drawing the rail in his back-to-back stakes scores for West Point Thoroughbreds and St. Elias Stables last fall in the grade III Saranac and Hill Prince Stakes at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park, respectively. But his luck ended when he drew post 10 in the Twilight Derby at Santa Anita Park Oct. 31 and bobbled at the start, eventually finishing sixth, beaten only 1 1/2 lengths.

Following a 3 1/2-month layoff, the 4-year-old son of Tapit   was entered in the one-mile Canadian Turf Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 21 and wound up stuck way out in post 14 in the 14-horse field, with one other horse, Ghareeb, entered for main track only.

With a very short run into the turn, trainer Graham Motion will have to decide whether to run or scratch. Ring Weekend has the kind of tactical speed to get a decent position if he breaks sharply enough, something he didn’t do in the Twilight Derby. But with an abundance of speed in the race, he’s going to have to get extremely lucky.

Ring Weekend developed into a top-class grass horse last year after having run on dirt in the spring and summer, winning the grade II Tampa Bay Derby and finishing second in the Calder Derby. He also finished fifth behind California Chrome in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I).

Ring Weekend indicated his sharpness by working five furlongs in a blazing :58 2/5 breezing at Palm Meadows training center Feb. 9. John Velazquez will ride under 121 pounds

The Canadian Turf is a wide-open affair that also attracted the Twilight Derby winner Long On Value, with Joel Rosario aboard under topweight of 123 pounds under the allowance conditions, and Smooth Daddy, who finished second and third, respectively, behind Ring Weekend in the Saranac and Hill Prince and was a fast-closing third in the Topical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park Dec. 20.

The draw wasn’t much better for these two, with Long On Value breaking from post 11 and Smooth Daddy from post 12.

Drawing post 6 and major threat is Gary Barber’s Jack Milton, winner of the Poker Stakes (gr. IIIT) last year and placed in four other stakes—the grade I Secretariat Stakes and Jamaica Handicap and grade II Virginia Derby and Fourstardave Handicap. Javier Castellano rides for Todd Pletcher under 117 pounds.

A major key to the race will be the early speed, which should be dominated by Connaught Cup (Can-IIT) and Play the King (Can-IIT) winner Excaper, breaking from the rail, and Silver Freak, who set the pace in the Fort Lauderdale Stakes (gr. IIT) at Gulfstream Jan. 20 before tiring in the final furlong.

Two other horses who may show speed are the John Servis-trained stakes winner Adirondack King, breaking from post 13, and Grand Tito, who breaks from post 2. The latter will be shortening up from 1 1/8 miles in the grade I Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, run only two weeks ago, where he pressed the early pace only to tire in the closing yards, finishing fifth, beaten only 1 1/2 lengths.