Presious Passion To Race Against W. L. McKnight Field At Calder Race Course December 13

Patricia Generazio’s 5-year-old gelding Presious Passion will bid for a repeat victory in the $150,000 W.L. McKnight Handicap (gr. II) at Calder Race Course Saturday, December 13.

Raced at 1 1/2 miles on turf, Calder Race Course’s W. L. McKnight field of race horses with jockeys and weight:

Summer Patriot ridden by jockey Javier Castellano carries 115 lbs.
Gran Estreno (ARG) ridden by jockey Jose Lezcano, 113 lbs.
Picou ridden by jockey Jeremy Rose, 114 lbs.
Strait of Mewsina (IRE) ridden by jockey E. T. Baird, 116 lbs.
Al Basha ridden by jockey Jermaine Bridgmohan, 114 lbs.
Hard Top (IRE) ridden by jockey Christopher DeCarlo, 115 lbs.
Windward Islands ridden by jockey Joe Bravo, 117 lbs.
It’s a Bird ridden by jockey Eddie Dominguez, 114 lbs.
Presious Passion ridden by jockey Elvis Trujillo, 118 lbs.
Phil the Power ridden by jockey Anthony Black, 114 lbs.
Logic Way ridden by jockey Manoel Cruz, 116 lbs.
Always First (GB) ridden by jockey Rene Douglas, 118 lbs.
[AE] Running Aptitude ridden by jockey Carlos Olivero, 109 lbs.

Presious Passion was a 67-to-1 shock winner of the W.L. McKnight Handicap last year for race horse trainer Mary Hartmann and, although he won’t be that big a price Saturday, he will not likely be the favorite after two dull efforts in his last two starts when finishing sixth in both the Turf Classic (gr. I) at Belmont Park and Red Smith Handicap (gr. II) at Aqueduct, both races run over ‘yielding’ ground.

Jockey Elvis Trujillo rides Presious Passion. After the W.L. McKnight upset last year, the son of Royal Anthem Presious Passion went on to victories in the Pan American Handicap (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park in April and his biggest career victory in the United Nations Stakes (gr. I) at Monmouth Park, the latter run over a ‘yielding’ course.

Other solid W. L. McKnight contenders in a wide-open field of 12 drawn for the race include Sam-Son Farms’ Windward Islands, Merriefield Farm and Charles Noell’s English-bred Always First, and IEAH Stables and partners’ Argentine-bred Gran Estreno.

Windward Islands ships in from race horse trainer Mark Frostad’s winter headquarters at Fair Grounds to make his first start since a good fourth-place effort last out in the Sky Classic Stakes (gr. II) at Woodbine on October 25. The 4-year-old roan/gray gelding by Cozzene Windward Islands was making only his second start of the year in that race after a sharp allowance victory at Woodbine on October 4.

Always First ships in from Maryland for race horse trainer Tom Voss, who won the 2004 W.L.McKnight with Dreadnaught. A 7-year-old gelding by Barathea, Always First began his career in England, won the Sunset Handicap (gr. II) at Hollywood Park in 2005 for race horse trainer Neil Drysdale, and the Stars and Stripes Handicap (gr. III) at Arlington Park last year and Sycamore Stakes (gr. III) this season for Voss.

Gran Estreno is the ‘wild card’ in the W. L. McKnight field as the 5-year-old makes his North American stakes debut for race horse trainer Rick Dutrow. The son of Lucky Roberto Gran Estreno was a Group I winner on turf in Argentina in 2006 and will be making only his fourth start in the U.S., but looked good winning an 11-furlong allowance at Meadowlands last out on October 14.

Completing the field for the W.L. McKnight are Hare Forest Farm’s Summer Patriot, John Eaton and Steve Laymon’s Picou, Richard Ravin’s Strait of Mewsina, Bembridge Farm’s Al Basha, Des Scott’s Hard Top, Edmund Gann’s It’s a Bird, Find A Cure Stable’s Phil the Power, and Louis Marino’s Logic Way. Lumar Stable’s Running Aptitude is also-eligible.

The W.L. McKnight Handicap (post time 4:27 pm) and its undercard, the La Prevoyante Handicap, highlight an outstanding 12-race program Saturday at Calder Race Course that also will include renewals of the $100,000 Fred W. Hooper Handicap (gr. III) and $100,000 Kenny Noe, Jr. Handicap (gr. III).

Horse racing news edited from www.calderracecourse.com.

Tags: Al Basha, Always First, Gran Estreno, Hard Top, It's a Bird, Logic Way, Phil the Power, Picou, Presious Passion, Running Aptitude, Strait of Mewsina, Summer Patriot, Windward Islands

"Presious Passion To Race Against W. L. McKnight Field At Calder Race Course December 13" was posted on 10 December 2008 10:57 PM under Horse Racing News, Horses, Race Tracks, Racing Picks & Betting Tips, Stakes Races

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