Betting the Canadian International on a Budget

Hillstar, above exercising at Woodbine, is a top contender for the Pattison Canadian International Stakes on Sunday. (Photo by Michael Burns/WEG)

The $1-million Pattison Canadian International Stakes has a long and storied history.
In recent years, especially, horses shipping in from Europe have dominated the race.
This year’s edition of the 1 1/2-mile race at Woodbine again features a couple of contenders from overseas who look formidable.
English-bred star Brown Panther is the morning-line favorite at 2-to-1, and deservedly so. He comes off a dominant 6 ½-length score last month in the Group 1 Irish St. Leger at the Curragh. The race really was never in doubt for the 6-year-old son of Shirocco. However, it halted a 3-race winless stretch for Brown Panther, and he’d previously shown a preference for running at the Curragh. His recent races have been at longer distances than the what he’ll be asked to run in the Canadian International, but he still boasts an impressive five wins from seven starts at 1 1/2 miles.
BROWN PANTHER

Photo by Michael Burns/WEG
Another English-bred that catches the eye is Hillstar. Trained by the legendary Sir Michael Stoute - who won this race in 1996 with Singspiel - the 4-year-old son of Danehill Dancer has finished no worse than second in his last five races, which were all Group 2 or Group 3 races. Two strong angles with this one are the fact that he’s going to be first-time Lasix and that jockey Ryan Moore ships in to ride the colt. Hillstar also is 4-for-4 in the money at the distance.
From a pace perspective, Reporting Star probably will attempt to get to the lead and slow it down up front as much as possible. He finished third in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes despite setting extremely slow fractions and coasting on an uncontested lead.
In the Canadian International, he might very well face some more pace pressure early on from fan favorite The Pizza Man, who didn’t break as sharply as usual in the Northern Dancer and never really had a shot in that race.
Longshot O’Prado Ole also has some early speed and shouldn’t be too far off of the lead.
Lastly, Big Blue Kitten is a horse who can’t be overlooked. He shows three consecutive Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or higher. The Pizza Man is the only other horse in the field to post a 100, and he’s only done it once. Jockey Joel Rosario jumps off of contender Dynamic Sky — who finished second last out in the Northern Dancer — to ride Big Blue Kitten. If the pace is honest up front, expect this horse to fly late to grab a major slice.
Working with a $20 budget, we’ll try to maximize our return by using Hillstar on top in a few trifecta tickets and hope for a longshot to fill out the bottom half of our tickets. Fortunately, Woodbine offers trifectas starting at 20 cents, so you can spread pretty well, if you like. 
Selections
#7 Hillstar
#9 Big Blue Kitten
#4 Brown Panther
Bets
$.60 trifecta part wheel 7 with 4,9 with ALL ($.9.60)
$.60 trifecta part wheel 7 with ALL with 4,9 ($9.60)
Total=$19.20

$1-million Pattison Canadian International Stakes
Woodbine, Sunday, Race 6, Post Time 3:32 PM ET
1 1/2 miles, Turf, for 3-year-olds and older

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

M/L

1

O'Prado Ole

Channing Hill

Dale Romans

20/1

2

The Pizza Man

Florent Geroux

Roger Brueggemann

6/1

3

Suntracer

Carlos Marquez, Jr.

Chris Block

12/1

4

Brown Panther

Richard Kingscote

Thomas Dascombe

2/1

5

Dynamic Sky

Patrick Husbands

Mark Casse

15/1

6

War Dancer

Luis Contreras

Kenny McPeek

12/1

7

Hillstar

Ryan Moore

Sir Michael Stoute

5/1

8

Pyrite Mountain

Jamie Spencer

Todd Pletcher

12/1

9

Big Blue Kitten

Joel Rosario

Chad Brown

3/1

10

Reporting Star

Justin Stein

Pat Parente

20/1