By Joe Quillen
Assiniboia Downs Race 3 – Bobby Q Stakes
We head north of the border, and you can tell we are in the month of June when I pull out a race from Assiniboia Downs. Sometimes I wonder if Carmen Sandiego would find this place. For those that don’t know, this is a mostly nighttime track that is in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Today’s race is the Bobby Q Stakes for three-year-olds, and maybe I need to contact AsD to see if they can name this the Joey Q Stakes, but for now, we’ll leave the name alone. We have a short field of five here with a horse that is cross entered
Check out my show “Also Eligible” on Saturday mornings at 10 am Eastern/7 am Pacific as AJ Johnson and I discuss the big races, the latest news in horse racing and much more! This Saturday, we will discuss the final leg of this year’s Triple Crown as we have our first look at the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga.
The 6/5 morning line favorite is the 5 Canyouhearmerunnin and he is making his 2024 debut like most of the horses on the Assiniboia grounds usually do this time of the year. This gelding is probably going to be best suited to sprint, and the five to six furlong distance range should be right in his wheelhouse. He is going to be near the pace and very tough to beat. He’s trained well over the last six to eight weeks and we’ll see if he’s ready to go.
The 3 Keepcalmncruiseon (8/1 ML) is the cross-entered horse as he is entered for a maiden special weight race on Tuesday night at AsD. But he does have a race under his belt already. He broke slowly and rushed up to the lead and powered to a two or three length lead and got caught in deep stretch in his debut. In a short field like this, why not go for the extra money this race would have at AsD as opposed to a maiden race? Weird things can happen in these shorter fields and could lead to an upset by this maiden against winner. Even if he doesn’t run here, he won’t be a maiden much longer.
The 4 Magnolia Speed (5/2 ML) returns on six days of rest, having run last Tuesday night. He is going to be near the pace in this race. He closed well to finish second in a race where he was wide on the turn, and you will lose a lot of ground quickly on these tight turns.
The 2 Lt. Norm (5/1 ML) caught the 3 in the stretch to win by two lengths. If he has a similar trip, he could have his second career win tonight.
The 1 Thirsty Baby (4/1 ML) has been training over the last month at AsD going today’s distance of five furlongs. He’s faced tougher at Golden Gate, but this is the first time that he will run on actual dirt. The race that he did win back in January was a last to first run. He might have to do that again tonight.
I’m going to try to beat the favorite here. I think if you do, you might get a nice payout. If Keepcalmncruiseonruns tonight, I think he will be an upset winner. One of the horses in that race that finished behind him won today at another small Canadian track. If the 3 scratches, I’ll go with the gelding that defated him two weeks ago, which is the 2 Lt. Norm. So the 3 is my main play here, but in the event of a scratch, I’ll take the 2. Either play is $20 to win. Good luck everyone!
Check out my show “Also Eligible” on Saturday mornings at 10 am Eastern/7 am Pacific as AJ Johnson and I discuss the big races, the latest news in horse racing and much more! This Saturday, we will discuss the final leg of this year’s Triple Crown as we have our first look at the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga.