Queenston Stakes- $125.000 Purse
WO- For Three Year Olds Foaled In Canada
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
April 22, 2018

It’s Smokey Stover against two others in the 12th running of the Queenston Stakes, a long sprint for three year old Canadians. Just four are going to the gate, and the silks of Smokey Stover will be seen on two of the entries. The races has had a couple past winners that are more known for their success in the shed, with both Gsin and Ferro going to the winners circle for Team 7 Illusions. So perhaps that will be good news for In The Shed, one of our competitors. It’s not a field that has a ton of name recognition yet, but the best may still be yet to come for them. Let’s meet our runners!

#1- Steel Tunes (Smokey Stover, ridden by J M Campbell)- Sometimes, gelding a horse is what pushes them over the hump, and for Steel Tunes, that may be the case. There was nothing necessarily wrong with his first five starts, but they weren’t pointing at a future in stakes racing. Since the geld, he has gone two-for-two, both in optional claimers. Also, he’s taken a recent liking to going out to the lead and going wire to wire. This is his stake debut, and I think it will end well for him.

#2- In The Shed (Invicta Group Llc, ridden by L Contreras)- Seemed to be on a good path for Mb Stables as a two year old, winning his first two races, and then moving into some ungraded stakes. While he had a couple in the money finishes, they weren’t good enough for Mb, and he was downgraded into a claimer. He was picked up by Invicta Group, and they’ve had one race together. It was a try at the grass that didn’t go well, and we’re going to throw it out. He’s also the only one in this field to have never been part of the Smokey Stover stable.

#3- Walkin Broomstick (Smokey Stover, ridden by P Husbands)- This gelding by Broomsticks Nebraska was showing a lot of potential, and ran in races such as the Grade 1 Champagne early in his career. He remained on the KYD trail into this year. His efforts in the preps saw him finish in the middle of field each time, so its not as if he was being badly beaten. In fact, he’s going to like not seeing the types of runners he saw then, and may like the cut in distance as well. He’ll get it done, unless his stablemate gets in the way.

#4- Viento de Hierro (John Henry, ridden by Alan Garcia)- Excellent breeding on this one, being by Ferro, as mentioned a past winner of this race. Of course, Ferro has the attention of a lot of people now with one of his foals a top KYD candidate. With just one win in six starts, it is looking like Viento de Hierro is just getting into top form right now. This is going to be a great distance for him, but his best races might be down the road, rather then being right here.

Prediction: 3-1-4-2

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded