Wise Dan (Grade 2)- $500.000 Purse
CD- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
June 29, 2024

Even though there was a strong field for the Wise Dan, there was one horse that seemed more attractive than the others. That was Grand Opening, who went off as a strong betting favorite of odds of less than 2/1, as well as being our pick to win. He would not let any of his supporters, going on to trounce the field by three lengths and perhaps establishing himself as one of the early favorites for the BC Mile in four months. Since running fourth in last year’s edition of the race, he had been either first or second in every start, and all of them in top races. He is trained by Riggins Racing and was ridden by J R Velazquez. For each, it is their first win in this race. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:38.53, the quickest edition of the race when run at this distance. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.28)- Grand Opening, our eventual winner from Riggins Racing breaks well from the gate, as does Love Of The Derby right next to him for Mb Stables. But a little quicker than both of them will be Electric Blue, who is trained by Spankys Barn. He will end being the early leader of the race, and holds a length advantage over Grand Opening, who will be on the rail into the first turn. Love Of The Derby is close by to them in third. Next in line is Maxmillion Farm’s Xavier Breath, who went off as a big longshot in his return to the turf. Americas Hope (Nakamura Stables) is fifth on the inside, and Six Pillars (TwinTowersRacing) is three wide here. There’s a gap of about two lengths to Istar (Rock Creek), One Last Punch Line (Alydar Stables) and Calling All Angels (D J C Racing Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.63)- Moving into the backstretch, Grand Opening decides he is not going to wait around to make a move on Electric Blue and draws even with him here after a half mile. Love Of The Derby did not do similar and is by himself in third but only a length back. Xavier Breath is another length back while in the fourth position, and ahead of both Americas Hope and Six Pillars by the same margin. Further back, Istar pushes a length in front of One Last Punch Line while Calling All Angels is by himself at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Grand Opening was a length in front of Electric Blue before the backstretch portion even concluded, and that advantage would only increase as he made his way around the turn. There was not anyone further back making a push, so at the top of the stretch, Grand Opening looked like he had this in the bag already given that there would not be much question as to his ability to maintain this pace. Electric Blue was still second for now, and Love Of The Derby was looking to make a move to his outside. Xavier Breath is next, but had not made a push as of yet, nor had Americas Hope. Six Pillars was quickly bowing out, and One Last Punch Line had passed Istar but still had a lot of work to do. Calling All Angels continued to trail.

(Finish- 1:38.53)- It’s all Grand Opening in this one, as all that was left at this point was to watch him run to the wire as he picked up an impressive three length win. Plenty of reason to like this victory, and just as long as he can keep up this form over the next four months (which is a big ask, obviously), then we might have to say he is the BC Mile favorite for 2024 as of right now. Xavier Breath found his way by Love Of The Derby to be second and get us a decent paying exacta. Americans Hope nipped Electric Blue for the final piece of the purse, with One Last Punch Line getting close to them. Calling All Angels made his way by Istar and Six Pillars, but nothing more.

About The Winner- Grand Opening, trained by Riggins Racing and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a five-year-old gelding by Grande Sournoise and is out of Beginning Of The End. He was bred in Ontario by Team 7 Illusions as a first quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Riggins Racing, via Tockyocky, in a $20.000 private sale in February 2023. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his thirteenth in 23 starts, his sixth stake win and fifth graded win. His career earnings are now $2,244.410.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46³  1:09³  1:38²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 3 Paid 217.00
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 3 – 5 Paid 589.90

Scratched: Absolutely Grande(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES