Bison City Stakes ($250.000 Purse)
WO- For Fillies Three Years Old Foaled in Canada
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
August 10, 2024

It took multiple last-minute entries, but the Bison City Stakes will be held this Saturday, with five Canadian fillies heading to the starting gate. The resulting field could be seen as a bit soft, since only one horse has earned over $100.000, and three have made less than $60.000. But you have got to start somewhere, and here we are. The race first appeared on the schedule in 2008 and has been held every year since than other than in 2010. Last year’s winner, Starving Artist, out of Wood Duck Stables, was just hitting her best stride when she ran here as well but has since gone on to make over $500.000 and has been knocking on the door of a graded win recently. Here’s a look at the field of five:

1- Cheap Shot (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- One of two entries in the field for the trainer, and the one that would seem to have the better chance at winning. Up until her last race, her career had been spent on the grass, but she was to the dirt three weeks ago for the $500.000 WO Oaks. Only beat one horse in that race, but did gain ground in the stretch for what it’s worth. This field is not as strong, so that will help, too.

2- Rubimaulu (Fractious, ridden by E J Wilson)- Makes her debut for Fractious here after being picked up in the Arindel stable liquidation for $301.010. Prior to that, she had not run since February, and it was a poor effort as well, finishing well behind the winner in the Grade 2 Alexandra at FG. Was better as a two-year-old, and it is through that where she is the highest earner in the field, at over $200.000. Anything out of Hanamaulu is fun to watch.

3- Cycle Breaker (Mb Stables, ridden by D Davis)- Won in her second career start, coming a day before Rubimaulu last ran in a race. Cycle Breaker has been busy since then with four stake races run in, including three graded. While she was not shut out in them, she did not show a ton, either. She will move from the turf to the dirt here on three weeks of rest. We’ll see what happens.

4- Cherokee Scent (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by J R Davila Jr)- She went long earlier in her career, and that’s how she broke her maiden. That came at BTP, and she was dropped into a $9.500 claimer here a month after, where she also won. That’s the last time she did get a victory but has been competitive in sprints as of late. Most recently, she was third in a N1X allowance at SAR.

5- Four Star Daughter (Wood Duck Stables, ridden by P Husbands)- The trainer hopes to win his second Bison City Stakes in a row, but Four Star Daughter will have to be at her absolute best to have a chance. She’s won just once in nine starts but has been competitive enough in recent races to get a chance here. In late June, she was fourth of five here in an allowance, but only missed by a length. If her odds climb, take a shot.

Prediction: 2-1-5-3

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded