Top sophomores prepare for battle in $100,000 B.C. Bred Finals

Fraser Downs is hosting a pair of $100,000 harness racing finals for three-year-old B.C. Bred pacers. Eight fillies will have their chance first in the Mary Murphy Final. There are also nine colts and geldings slated for the Robert Murphy Memorial, with one eligible, waiting patiently on the sidelines. Eight pacers will line up on the gate for each stake race, and the ninth horse will be trailing in the second tier. Regular races at Fraser Downs have seven on the gate and have the eighth horse in the second tier.

RACE 6: BC BRED STAKES MARY MURPHY #24 3YO FILLIES – $100,000

1. Crown Princess (6-1)
2. Red N Ready (4-1)
3. Side Piece (3-5)
4. Kahala Storm (15-1)
5. Custard Or Nothing (10-1)
6. Diva Amour (8-1)
7. Heart Of A Dragon (20-1)
8. Westcoast Captive (12-1)

My Grandpa’s favourite bet is an exactor box with horses one, two, and three, and my old man will have a good chance of cashing in on it on Friday night in the B.C. Bred Stakes Final. Side Piece (Shadow Play) should be the heavy favourite, as she has been nearly perfect in 2023. She has yet to lose a race at Fraser Downs this year and only has the one blemish, which came at Century Downs in August. If Side Piece hits her lifetime mark and puts up another mile time of 1:52.4, she will virtually be impossible to beat.

However, a couple of fillies will try their hardest to make it challenging on Side Piece, and the one I think has the best chance for the upset is Red N Ready (Betterthancheddar). After finishing fifth place in her racing debut in February, she has had seven straight races ending either in first or second place. She has booked five trips to the winner’s circle and has a lifetime mark of 1:55.1. Red N Ready made her first start in the B.C. Bred Stakes in the third leg, which was just last week. She finished behind Side Piece by four-fifths of a second, but she did have a solid hold of her place. A lot can happen on the track, and it is not far-fetched to see a scenario where Red N Ready has a better position when the field hits the stretch.

The rail horse, Crown Princess (Bettors Delight), will be making her 22nd appearance on Friday. She has made the second most starts this year of any filly in the field. She held onto second place for a good chunk of the race last week but faltered late and headed up tying for sixth. Crown Princess has been able to keep pace with the favourites for the most part and, with rail should have first dibs on where she wants to set up the race.

My Picks: 3-2-1

RACE 7: BC BRED STAKES #24 ROBERT MURPHY MEMORIAL 3YO COLTS AND GELDINGS’ FINAL: $100,000

1. Lukes Proclamation (6-1)
2. Dillon James (8-1)
3. Mickie Mantle (2-1)
4. Speakdollarsncents (10-1)
5. Domi (3-1)
6. Yenoh Who (20-1)
7. Rum N Raisins (7-2)
8. Usual Suspect (12-1)
9. Chief Is Boss (15-1)

 AE1 More Monet                        

Mickie Mantle (Custard The Dragon) will be looking to add another gem to his crown after he won the Alberta Sire Stakes Super Final at Century Mile earlier this month. He comes into the B.C. Bred Finals as the 2-1 morning line favourite. He won two legs of the event and finished second place in the second leg. Mickie Mantle’s fastest mile came in the first leg when he posted a vast 1:52.1. A big win on Friday will put the colt over $200,000 in career earnings.

Rum N Raisins (Custard The Dragon) has finished better than second place in his last eight starts. This included two wins and a second in the B.C. Bred Stakes to this point. He also made a new lifetime mark of 1:52.2 since returning to Fraser Downs in September. He will have to fight for an early position as he comes from post position seven and will have tough competition on both sides.

Domi (Living It Up) returned to the track for the third leg after taking almost two months off. He managed a third-place finish in his return. Before that, he had back-to-back wins in the first two legs of the B.C. Bred Stakes. Domi has had his starts spread out over the summer, and it has benefited him for the most part. Domi has been a tough one to beat at Fraser Downs and he will have Brandon Campbell in the bike with him on Friday.

My Picks: 3-7-5       

Fraser Downs kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PDT on Friday (Nov. 24)

For complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink