When you think about a very good Canadian-bred 3-year-old colt, you first think Queen’s Plate.
But Chiefswood Stables’ WEYBURN, a resurgent winner of the Grade 3 Gotham going a one-turn mile in March at Aqueduct Racetrack, continues his American campaign July 31 at famed Saratoga Springs in upstate New York in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, worth $600,000.
The son of Pioneerofthe Nile – Sunday Affair by A.P. Indy has been the big favourite for the Aug. 22 Plate at Woodbine throughout 2021, but owners Robert and Mark Krembil are seeking some increased stallion value for their colt and while he is still doing well in some of the bigger races south of the border, the Plate is not on the agenda.
So while an otherwise modest group of Plate contenders get ready for the ‘Gallop for the Guineas’, Weyburn is attempting to fry bigger fish. A good effort in the Jim Dandy keeps Weyburn in the US, but should his connections decide to bring the colt to Woodbine for the Plate, he would be making his all-weather track debut.
Saturday, Weyburn easily meets his toughest group as his five rivals include ESSENTIAL QUALITY, the Champion 2-year-old of 2021 who won the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes in his most recent start.
Weyburn will be making his first start since running a game second to Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun by a neck in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus on June 13 at Monmouth Park.
The Jimmy Jerkens trainee’s lone off-the-board finish in five starts since his debut in October was a fourth-place effort in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April going the Jim Dandy distance at the Big A.
Weyburn has worked three times at Saratoga this month since shipping from Belmont and will look to again show a competitiveness that has seen him demonstrate marked tenacity in the stretch run.
“He’s a big dude; big and long,” Jerkens said. “He’s a massive horse. When they come back fighting like that, that’s what you want.”
After stepping up to two turns the last two races, Jerkens said Weyburn is learning how to navigate the longer distances.
“He still acts like he’s a little confused by two-turn racing,” Jerkens said. “He breaks on his own and then gets on the bridle and then he was a little keen down the backside [in the Pegasus]. The pacesetter [Lugamo] stopped abruptly and he ended up on the lead by himself, and he looked like he spit the bit out a little bit Mandaloun made a big, sweeping move past him and then he went after him again. He did that in the Gotham, when he lost the lead, he came back on. I guess it’s like a little game with him.
“I think the last race did him a lot of good,” Jerkens added. “His only two-turn race before that was the Wood Memorial and there was a big gap from that race. He should get better with more seasoning.”
Irad Ortiz, Jr., the defending three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey, will ride Weyburn for the first time, drawing post 3.
“Irad is going to have to figure it out. He’s got enough natural speed to where you can pretty much put him wherever you want,” Jerkens said. “I just hope instead of running spotty like that, l just hope he runs a little more even all the way and still has it for the end.”
The Jim Dandy, a prep race for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers at 1 1/4 miles on August 28, will mark the Saratoga debut of Godolphin’s Essential Quality. The reigning Champion 2-Year-Old for trainer Brad Cox has already proved he was more than a talented juvenile, starting his sophomore campaign with wins in the Grade 3 Southwest and Grade 2 Blue Grass while on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring.
Following a competitive fourth in the “Run for the Roses” on May 1 in which he earned his first triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, Essential Quality outdueled Hot Rod Charlie to post a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 5 at the Triple Crown race’s famed 1 1/2-mile distance. The Tapit colt earned Cox his first career win in an American Classic and has registered three works at Saratoga since shipping from Churchill earlier this month.
“He likes it up here big time,” Cox said. “We take him out in the afternoons when it’s not raining and let him graze. He’s a lawnmower. He’s real focused here. He’s doing well.”
Essential Quality earned a 109 Beyer for his Belmont win and has posted six wins in seven career starts, with five of those victories in graded stakes, encompassing three winner’s circle trips in Grade 1s after winning the Breeders’ Futurity in his second career start in October at Keeneland before winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over the same track in November to close out his 2020 award-winning campaign.
“I’m very anxious to see him race again just for the simple fact of how he’s training and how he’s filling out,” Cox said. “He’s a very intelligent horse. He’s been wanting to do more. He came out of last work great. He’s been very sharp and his energy has been great. The cooler weather is playing a role in that. But he’s ready to run. I’m very excited.
Jockey Luis Saez, aboard for all six of Essential Quality’s stakes races, will have the return call from post 5.
More from Horses:
