Saturday May 16th, 2009 - The Marine Stakes, Three-Year-Olds, One Mile & One-Sixteenth

History Lesson: The Marine Stakes inaugural year in Canadian thoroughbred racing was 1956 when it was run at Greenwood, downtown Toronto. The race has gone through a number of different distances ranging from seven furlongs to one mile and three-sixteenths. Currently the race is run at one mile and one-sixteenth at Woodbine Racetrack and has been since '76. Used as a prep for the Queen's Plate, this race has seen only six winners go on to win the Canadian Classic over its 53 year span, which includes: Wando '03, Victor Cooley '96, Alydeed '92, With Approval '89, Key To the Moon '84, and Jumpin Joseph '69. Victor Cooley has also achieved the fastest time in the Marine at 1:41.80. Renowned Sam-Son Farm holds the record for most wins by an owner with five and Hall-of-Famer Sandy Hawley owns the record for most wins by a jockey, also with five. Ironically, there are four trainers tied with four wins in the Marine Stakes including the likes of Roger Attfield and Lou Cavalaris Jr. Originally the race was restricted to Canadian-bred horses, but, it is currently open to all breeds in the thoroughbred community.

Marine Stakes 2009: There is not much to the small field in this year's edition of the two-turn stakes race. With six contenders vying for a purse of $150,000, it appears to be a group of mediocre three-year-olds that are going to "duke it out" with all six having a great chance of winning. There is only one Ontario-sired horse in the field, Parabola, while the other five are Kentucky-bred.

Here's a look at the field by post position:

1 Parabola by Trajectory out of Flying Tabriz(Turkoman) Own: Janet Jeanpierre, Trainer: Barbara Minshall, Jockey: Justin Stein

2 His Greatness by Honour and Glory out of Klair Alley(Well Decorated) Own: In His Favor Stable, Trainer: Marco P. Salazar, Jockey: Jono Jones

3 Awesome Rhythm by Toccet out of Galoshes(Storm Boot) Own: Domenic Truimbari, Trainer: John A. Ross, Jockey: James McAleney

4 Bear's Rocket by Lion Heart out of Aim for the Moon(Deputy Minister) Own: Bear Stables Ltd., Trainer: Reade Baker, Jockey: Chantal Sutherland

5 Colonel Rutledge by Orientate out of Rutledge Affair(Colonial Affair) Own: Rutledge Farm, Trainer: Graham H. Motion, Jockey: Patrick Husbands

6 Bear's Prospector by Silver Deputy out of Glory and Grace(Coronado's Quest) Own: Bear Stables Ltd., Trainer: Reade Baker, Jockey: Eurico Rosa Da Silva

The Skinny: The 54th running of the Marine is not likely to be one to remember with such a small field of ,somewhat, lackluster horses. The field only has three horses with earnings over 100k, but, it does bring in some new-comers to Woodbine with the likes of Colonel Rutledge and Illinois Derby third place finisher His Greatness.

Ship-ins tend to take a bit of money on the tote board, but, they don't always come through. However, we can expect good things from His Greatness. The Salazar trainee has earnings of just over $90,000 lifetime and that would include a third place finish in the Illinois Derby, at Hawthorne, back on April 4th over a fast dirt track at a distance of one mile and one-eighth. He would post an 87 Beyer figure on that day, his best career-wise. We should note that the sophomore colt has run his best on the dirt and his synthetic surface races have shown average stats, including his last start at Keenland, where he would run into lots of traffic, finishing eleventh of eleven runners. The competition here is much easier.

The second invader from the south is Graham Motion's Colonel Rutledge. This is a promising, lightly raced colt who has one start off the shelf this season, where he would finish fourth, four and three-quarter lengths out. The son of Orientate is two for three lifetime with earnings of $47,925 and has been under Motion's care for just one of those three races. This will be the first time the colt will race two turns and we should expect him to stalk the leaders, making a bid down the stretch. Colonel Rutledge would post an 80 in his last start and will look to improve here.

Reade Baker sends out two horses in the Marine, one being Bear's Prospector. This sophomore is coming off his first career win in a maiden special weight event, where he would stalk the pace and win easily by three lengths with jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva up. The son of Silver Deputy would post an 80 Beyer in the feat. Notice that Da Silva had a choice in the choosing of the two Baker trainees. Bear's Prospector has raced through the winter and fared well at Gulfstream with a second place finish and two fifth place results. He has handled two turns before and didn't miss a cheque in any of those races. He appears to be maturing as a three-year-old, but, this list of competitors are not maidens, tough spot.

The other Baker pupil is Bear's Rocket, who has also been in Florida for the winter and done rather well. He would finish second in the Holy Bull Stakes Gr.III at Gulfstream on January 31st and has had another place finish here at Woodbine in the overnight stakes, the mile and one-sixteenth Wando, finishing back four lengths to Marine rival Awesome Rhythm. We should expect Bear's Rocket to be a front-runner here and try to hold off any closers down the home-stretch. New rider Chantal Sutherland could only help this horse as she has been anything short of exceptional this year. Major player here.

Parabola is sent out by Barb Minshall and will be looking to improve in his second stint on the oval this season. The son of Trajectory would run in the Queenston Stakes on May 2nd where he did not fare well. The extra distance in this event should be a positive for the '08 Kingarvie Stakes winner, a race of the same length as the Marine, while we should see him close from off the pace. Parabola's two career wins have come at two turns, where he would post Beyer figures of 64 and 73. Expect a better result on this day than in his last race, looking elsewhere though.

John Ross has a very intriguing individual in Awesome Rhythm. As mentioned above, the grandson of Awesome Again was the winner of the Wando Stakes April 25th in his first start at Woodbine and third start of the '09 campaign. Looks to be the horse to beat here as he has had all of his success on the home track in Toronto. We should see Awesome Rhythm come with a strong rally down the stretch looking to improve on his career record of 8-2-1-2 with earnings of $101,796. Should take a lot of money on the tote board, top two choice.

My Picks: 2-3-4

Please feel free to leave your comments and picks for the 54th running of the Marine Stakes.