Woodbine's Bold Venture Stakes Up For Grabs

Good luck trying to find a legitimate favorite in the 6 1/2-furlong Bold Venture Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine Sept. 13.

Unless the lightning-fast Black Hornet can distance himself early from his 10 opponents, the $150,000 pot is up for grabs. Black Hornet, a son of Pioneering, is coming off an impressive score in the restricted Kenora Stakes at Woodbine Aug.27. He blazed through a quarter in :21.72 and a half in :43.75 before drawing off a 3 1/2-length victory in 1:08.79 over Bear No Joke, who will be chasing him again in the Bold Venture.

Of the 11 starters in the Bold Venture, seven of them finished out of the money in their last start, which will make it difficult for the bettors at Woodbine to find a horse who can outrun Black Hornet or even Bear No Joke, who at least has victories in last year’s Kennedy Road Stakes (Can-II) and Kenora Stakes.

The only other two horses in the field who are coming off victories are Kitten Candy and Calgary Cat. Both of their wins came in allowance/optional claiming races.

If you’re trying to find a class angle in here, you have to go to Sensational Slam, fifth in the Forego Stakes (gr. I) in his last start, in which the son of Grand slam was beaten only five lengths by Palace, the leading sprinter on the East Coast. Sensational Slam, a former $14,000 claimer, did register a stakes victory in March, taking the overnight Diablo Stakes at Belmont Park in 1:09 flat.

Sensational Slam will break from the far outside post under Luis Contreras and carries co-topweight of 124 pounds, the same as Black Hornet.

Really Sharp, winner of the Vigil Stakes (Can-III) in May and second in the grade II Eclipse Stakes in June, could be dangerous, dropping back into sprints after three attempts at two turns. The son of Sharp Humor, trained by Ian Black, has back class from two years ago, finishing second in the Bourbon Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the grass at Keeneland before being disqualified to sixth for interference, and third in the Nashua Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueuduct Racetrack.

Another angle is the drop back into a sprint by Alpha Bettor, who is coming off a sixth-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile Seagram Cup (gr. III) as the favorite. In his only sprint effort in the past two years, he won a seven-furlong allowance race at Woodbine July 6 in a sharp 1:21.79. The son of Alphabet Soup   has won or placed in a number of graded stakes going two turns, has won of 10 of his 30 career starts, and trainer Danny Vella has him sharp for his return to sprinting.

The aforementioned Calgary Cat was a $25,000 claim from Mark Casse last fall and has won three of his past four starts, with a second, in allowance company for Kevin Attard.