Two-year-old stakes season kicks off at Fraser

As the harness racing season continues in British Columbia, it is now the two-year-old’s turn to take centre stage at Fraser Downs. Five of the nine dashes on the Thursday (Sep. 28) night card at Fraser Downs are for the B.C. Bred Stakes for both fillies and colt & gelding divisions.

RACE 1: BC BRED STAKES #25 BETTY MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO FILLIES 1ST LEG (1ST DIV) – $15,000

1. Is He Watching (4-1)
2. Over Ice (6-5)
3. Lumby Dragon (8-5)
4. Wednesdays Child (20-1)
5. Catch Me On Top (10-1)
6. Catchmegracefully (7-2)

Lumby Dragon (Custard The Dragon) has the most racing experience in the field, and she has capitalized on it. She has already visited the winner’s circle twice in her three career starts and has a lifetime mark of 1:56.3. She is coming in from Alberta and making her first start, and usually, I give a horse a start or two at a new track. However, I think she has been too hot in Alberta to ignore.

The main obstacle in front of Lumby Dragon is the current two-year-old Queen of B.C. Over Ice (Custard The Dragon). She has only made one start, but in that start, she not only won but did so in 1:56.0. That time is the fastest time of any filly in the first division. The odds maker gave Over Ice a 6-5, but it will be close between her and Lumby Dragon.

It’s relatively wide open for third place, and I could see any others in the field on the triacter ticket. I will put Is He Watching (Hes Watching) on Thursday’s opening race ticket. She finished the second last time out and came up short behind Great Emotion, the morning line favourite in the second division. Is He Watching has yet to win but has finished second and third in her two career starts. She knows how to be near the front, and I like her chance to be there on Thursday.

My Picks: 3-2-1

RACE 8 BC BRED STAKES #25 BETTY MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO FILLIES 1ST LEG (2ND DIV) – $15,000

1. Martini Please (3-1)
2. The Divine Miss M (12-1)
3. Vintage Lass (7-2)
4. Great Emotion (2-1)
5. Senorita Draco (5-1)
6. Lilly Blosom (15-1)

Although she has yet to get her first win, Vintage Lass (Vintage Master) has the fastest lines in the program. She finished second place her last time out, which was recorded at 1:58.1. Before that, she had a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:57.4. Vintage Lass will team up with Kelly Hoerdt, and she will break that maiden.

Martini Please (Dali) has also yet to win in her brief racing career. She finished second place in her only career start by a handful of lengths, but it was recorded as a 1:58.1 mile. That time is identical to what Vintage Lass did her last time out. Martini Please drew the rail, and will have an early chance to find a good spot for the race.

Great Emotion (Domitian Hanover) is the only filly in the second division to have a previous win. She broke her maiden last week with a mile time of 1:58.4. She won convincingly over a few entrants in the first division. Great Emotion comes in with morning line odds at 2-1 as she tries to make it back-to-back wins.

My Picks: 3-1-4

RACE 2: BC BRED STAKES #25 ROBERT MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO COLTS AND GELDINGS 1ST LEG (1ST DIV) – $15,000

1. Mcmoney (5-1)
2. Buddy Knocks (6-5)
3. Betterthanluck (4-1)
4. Oscar The Grouch (8-1)
5. Thereallkents (10-1)
6. Phone Nine One One (6-1)

Waking up to 6-5 morning line odds is Buddy Knocks (Bettarthancheddar). He is a perfect one-for-one in his early career, and he paced his debut mile in 1:55.2. No one else in the field has a time close to that, and Buddy Knocks should be the obvious choice. He will have Scott Knight in the bike on Thursday.

The choice for second place is a lot harder than picking the winner in this one. With the two-year-old season just kicking off in most western Canada, these horses have little racing experience. Based on past performance time, my next pick has to be Betterthanluck (Betterthancheddar). He finished fourth in his racing debut, but he paced the mile in 1:57.4

Lastly, Mcmoney (Mcwicked) draws the rail and will make his racing debut. He has had two qualifying miles before this, and in his first one, he posted a 2:01.2 time. He shaved off over two seconds and paced a 1:59.0 mile on his second attempt. IF Mcmoney gets a cozy pocket trip right off the gate, he should fly down the stretch in a perfect position to score.

My Picks: 2-3-1

RACE 3: BC BRED STAKES #25 ROBERT MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO COLTS AND GELDINGS 1ST LEG (2ND DIV) – $15,000 

1. Iknowbetter (3-1)
2. Wannabeabigstar (2-1)
3. Moneybags (4-1)
4. Sylvester (5-1)
5. Outlawstaythcourse (6-1)
6. Iyam A Vertical (8-1)

Wannabeabigstar (Shadow Play) finished second last time out, behind a horse I have already talked about, Buddy Knocks. He only lost by three-quarters of a length and one-fifth of a second slower. He looks in the best form out of anyone in the field. He should have no issues if he is forced to the middle of the pack early.

The colt with the most wins in the field coming into this race is Outlawstaythcourse (Shadow Play). He’s won twice in four starts. His lifetime mark is 1:58.0, which he did last week in his first race at Fraser Downs. The start before that, he paced a victory in 1:59.3 at Century Mile. Sometimes, mile times do not matter, and sometimes, the number of wins does not matter. This race should be interesting, but Outlawstaythcourse should be around the front when the field heads down the stretch.

Also, Sylvester (Custard The Dragon) went winless in his first career start, but he did have a solid 1:58.3 mile and ultimately finished third. That mile time is right up there with most of the colts in the B.C. Bred Stakes. Hopefully, you will hear the announcer say, “I tawt I taw a puddy tat” when Sylvester is coming down the stretch,

My Picks: 2-6-4

RACE 7: BC BRED STAKES #25 ROBERT MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO COLTS AND GELDINGS 1ST LEG (3RD DIV)- $15,000

1. Blunders Thunder (15-1)
2. Living To The Max (2-1)
3. Nothininmoderation (6-1)
4. Ali Gator (10-1)
5. Pull The Trigger (8-1)
6. Key Dragon (7-2)
7. Nothing Bugs Me (3-1)

I’m unsure if much will bother, Nothing Bugs Me (Custard The Dragon) in this race. He won wire-to-wire in his debut and paced the mile in 1:56.4. He is set to make his second start on Thursday night but will have to come from the far outside post position. It will be interesting to see if he takes the early lead or will settle in the middle of the pack. Either way, Nothing Bugs Me has shown speed and will take off business.

Key Dragon (Custard The Dragon) heads into Thursday night with morning line odds at 7-2. He finished third behind Nothing Bugs Me his last time out and paced the mile in 1:57.2. He draws one position to the left of Nothing Bugs Me, and he, too, will have to decide where he wants to go when the gates fly up.

The morning line odds favourite is Living To The Max (Living It Up), who comes in at 2-1. The odds maker likely gives him the nod because of the 1:55.3 mile he did at Track On 2 on Aug. 27. However, he hasn’t had much to write home about since then. In his last start, he broke early and finished eighth by a great distance. He’s had two weeks to figure out the problem and could likely bounce back on Thursday. However, I will play it safe and take him for third.

My Picks: 7-2-6

Fraser Downs kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PDT.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink