Hollywood Hit Wins The King Corrie

Hollywood Hit, arguably one of Woodbine's top sprinters, won the King Corrie Stakes last night, returning to winning form after losing his last time out. In a race that featured just four horses after Sports Select was scratched, Hollywood Hit and third place finisher Essence Hit Man rushed out to an early pace duel. Setting fractions of :21.59 at a quarter of a mile and :44.35 at the half mile, Hollywood Hit began to open up on Essence Hit Man in the stretch but had to go all out to hold off closer Tend in the final furlong.

Before and after the race, there was a lot of discussion as to how Hollywood Hit would fare in the Breeders Cup Sprint if he were to race there on The Score's Bet Night Live program. After the race, Woodbine Racing analyst Jim Bannon felt that Discreetly Mine would win easily over the field in the King Corrie last night and it's hard not to disagree, especially considering that Hollywood Hit ran the final quarter of the race in 26 seconds. Essence Hit Man has already raced against Discreetly Mine at Saratoga earlier this summer in the Amsterdam Stakes and finished second to Discreetly Mine, but by eight and half lengths. Essence Hit Man was six and a quarter lengths behind Hollywood Hit last night and it was very obvious how quickly he faded down the stretch after the early duel.

It would probably be beneficial to Hollywood Hit's connections to see him in another race before considering whether to head down to Kentucky but they may not get that opportunity. The Breeders Cup is only six weeks away and there are currently no six furlong sprint stakes races scheduled at Woodbine before then. So I pose this question to everyone reading this article. What would you do if you were in Hollywood Hit's connections? Would you enter the Breeder's Cup? Would you look for another race in the US on dirt before the Breeder's Cup?

For me, I think I would enter Hollywood Hit in the Breeder's Cup Sprint and see what happens. He might not get into the race based on the current standings but he may be entered automatically if there is less than 14 entries into the race. There's just not enough time to try another race and freshen the horse to compete with the best of the best. Canadian racing fans may also remember that anything can happen in Kentucky as 2008 Canadian Juvenile champion Mine That Bird defied the odds at 50-1 to win the Kentucky Derby in 2009. Although he would be a longshot with Discreetly Mine and west coast sprinters E Z's Gentleman and Smiling Tiger, Hollywood Hit may be able to provide an upset and that may be worth the risk.

Posted in: Woodbine