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The Riskaverse pays homage to Fox Ridge Farm's multiple Grade 1-winning mare, trained by Patrick Kelly, who became the first horse to score back-to-back triumphs in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl [2004-05]. The talented daughter of prominent turf stallion Dynaformer retired with earnings in excess of $2 million and a significant resume which also included triumphs in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., both in 2002.

Brown captured the Riskaverse with subsequent Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Dayatthespa [2012] and Catch a Bid [2019].

Peter Brant's Rastafara will look to defeat winners for the first time. After two on-the-board efforts, the daughter of Shamardal graduated at third asking against impressive next-out winner Baby Blythe on July 24 going the Riskaverse distance over Saratoga's inner turf.

“She ran really well and finally broke though and got her maiden broken last time,” Brown said. “We've always thought a lot of her. She'll have to step it up again but it seems like the right spot for her.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will seek a fourth Riskaverse conquest when piloting Rastafara from post 7.

Minaun and Amy C will attempt to make amends after finishing a respective fifth and sixth in the Grade 3 Lake George on July 23 at the Spa, which was won by the Brown-trained Technical Analysis.

Owned by Bradley Thoroughbreds, Iris Smith Stable, and Rigney Racing, Minaun was four lengths back in upper stretch racing three-wide, but finished 3 ½ lengths behind the winner last out. A winner of the Group 3 Marble Hill last July at The Curragh, the Irish-bred daughter of Zoffany won her first start for Brown off a nine-month respite going one mile over the Widener turf course at Belmont Park on April 30 ahead of a close second in the Wild Applause on June 26 at Belmont.

Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. picks up the mount from post 11.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Robert V. LaPenta's Amy C, a British-bred daughter of Charming Thought, won her North American debut on June 25 at Belmont Park before finishing sixth as the second choice in the Grade 3 Lake George.

Jockey Manny Franco will ride from post 9.

Chiefswood Stables' Third Draft makes her stakes debut off a sharp triumph in an allowance optional claiming tilt over the inner turf for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

The gray or roan daughter of multiple champion-producing sire Curlin, out of Ontario-bred stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Original Script, defeated a group of winners last out that included graded stakes placed Magisterium and Amalfi Princess. She trailed the eight-horse field down the backstretch and made a sweeping wide move in upper stretch to get her nose on the wire in the final jumps.

After finishing behind subsequent stakes winners Technical Analysis and Munnyfor Ro at maiden level, fifth time was the charm for Third Draft in a 1 1/16-mile maiden event on May 8 over the Widener turf at Belmont Park.

“She's been pretty consistent, and I've liked her races,” said McGaughey, who won the 2016 Riskaverse with On Leave. “Her last two have been really good and I'm looking forward to running her in the Riskaverse. She wants to run farther than a mile, so hopefully this can set her up for something later on.”

Jockey Jose Ortiz retains the mount from post 4.

Hoolie Racing Stable and Madaket Stable's Hit the Woah will try to regain winning form for trainer Christophe Clement. The black type earning daughter of Vancouver was a 1 ¼-length winner of an off-the-turf maiden tilt on November 13 at Aqueduct, where she defeated next-out winners Amalfi Princess and Into Vanishing.

Although winless in two starts on grass, Hit the Woah made good showings both times when third in the Sanibel Island on March 27 at Gulfstream Park and seventh beaten 1 ¾ lengths to stablemate Bye Bye in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly on May 15 at Belmont.

She enters from an off-the-board effort in a main-track allowance at Parx in Bensalem, Penn., on June 30.

“She's in very good form and training forwardly,” Clement said. “Last time, we tried the dirt and that didn't work. At the moment this is the right spot for her.”

Jockey Joel Rosario will ride from post 8.

Trainer Brendan Walsh will send out Keeper of Time for her North American debut. The Bradley Thoroughbreds-owned daughter of Mehmas was a last out 80-1 upset winner of the Group 3 1000 Guineas Trial on April 11 at Leopardstown.

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione will ride Keeper of Time from post 2.

Completing the field are Magisterium [post 1, Dylan Davis], Stand By You [post 3, Javier Castellano], Triple Digit [post 5, Jose Lezcano], Designer Ready [post 6, Junior Alvarado] and Love and Money [post 10, Luis Saez].

The Riskaverse is carded as Race 9 on Thursday's 10-race program. First post is 1:05 p.m. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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“We wanted him to go good. I hope it wasn't too fast, but he seemed to handle it really well,” Jerkens said. “He went by the workmate once they passed the quarter pole and galloped out on his own. He had a target in the first part of the work, which is why he probably went so fast.”

Saturday's breeze by the Ontario-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile followed a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.60 on July 16 over the Spa main track.

“We weren't planning on doing that, but the weather was creeping up on us. We gave him a work and the track was heavy and he worked good and he was blowing pretty hard,” Jerkens said. “That work really tightened him up and the work yesterday was no problem at all.”

Centennial Farms' multiple graded stakes winner Rocketry breezed six furlongs in 1:17.70 Saturday on the Oklahoma dirt training track in preparation for the $120,000 Birdstone, a 1 3/4-mile test for older horses on August 5.

“It was a nice long work,” Jerkens said. “We're going to come back and work him in company before he runs.”

The 7-year-old Hard Spun bay was off-the-board last out in the 12-furlong Grade 1 Brooklyn, which was won by emerging marathon star Lone Rock.

Jerkens said he is hopeful that the added distance will suit Rocketry, whose last win came three starts back in the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“That one horse [Lone Rock] looks like a standout in that category. If ever he's going to beat horses like that, it's going that distance,” Jerkens said. “That's what happened in Kentucky. The pace was just too sharp for going that far and they came back to him and he went by them in the very end.”

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“The right thing for the horse is to miss the Derby,” Landry told DRF. “I think (trainer) Jimmy (Jerkens) and I are on the same page with that. I think this horse is going to mature a lot more. The family history is they get better with age.”

Fourth last out in the G2 Wood Memorial, Weyburn is a homebred for Chiefswood Stables. He is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, also the dam of multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Yorkton and mulitple stakes-placed Nipigon.

Jerkens had suggested Weyburn would be a better fit for the Belmont Stakes even before the horse contested the Wood.

“We kind of have that in the back of our head that we'd more apt to aim for something like that than the Derby,” Jerkens told NYRA publicity. “He's a horse that takes some time to get used to new places. He's high maintenance in that regard. We'd like to stretch the year out a little more.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Weyburn has been pegged as the early 3-1 favorite in this year's set of predictive rankings for the 162nd running of the iconic $1 million Queen's Plate, first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, set for Sunday, August 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. Woodbine's annual Winterbook is assembled by Ron Gierkink and Alex Campbell of the Daily Racing Form.

Weyburn stepped into the 3-year-old spotlight with a gutsy nose nod in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 6. Under Trevor McCarthy, the son of Pioneerof the Nile-Sunday Affair was sent off at 46-1 in the Grade 3 event. After a fifth-place finish in his career bow last October and a second in his next start in November, the dark bay has reeled off consecutive wins, including a maiden-breaking performance last December at Aqueduct. Chiefswood won the 2004 'Gallop of the Guineas' with Niigon. Trainer Jimmy Jerkens won the 2017 Plate with Stronach Stables' filly Holy Helena.

“He was a big, good-looking horse, very athletic and he was showing the signs early,” said Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey and Chiefswood Stables' General Manager, Robert Landry, who was aboard Niigon for the Plate score 17 years ago. “He actually wanted to do more than he was ready to do as a young horse. “Obviously, seasoning-wise, he's still a big kid, and it [Gotham] was a big step up for him, going from a maiden win to a graded stakes race. “It wasn't the plan, but good horses overcome those kinds of things. Jimmy [trainer, Jerkens] was really happy with the way he was training and it all worked out.”

The 2021 game plan for Weyburn is still being mapped out by his connections.

His next start will most likely come in the Grade 2 $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3 at Aqueduct. The 1 1/8-mile main track event is a key race on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

“Right now, our main focus is on the U.S. Triple Crown races, but we're not ruling out the chance that he could run in the Plate,” said Landry. “His next race will tell us a lot and we should have a clearer picture of what the plans are after that.”

Stephen, a bay son of Constitution-Naughty Holiday, is the second choice at 4-1. He ended his 2-year-old campaign in style, courtesy of a polished performance in the $250,000 Coronation Futurity Stakes. The victory was a maiden-breaking score for the bay owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling. After an eighth-place finish in the Simcoe Stakes to launch his career at the end of August, Stephen rallied to finish second in his next engagement, a 1 1/16-mile event in October. Bred by Trackwest Racing Inc., the sophomore is one of two (Haddassah) high-profile hopefuls for the Ulwellings and trainer Kevin Attard, both in search of their first Plate triumph. Attard, whose best finish in the Queen's Plate to date was with 2007 runner-up Alezzandro, was third last year with Clayton.

“In Stephen's second start, he got into a little bit of trouble and he had to wait, regain momentum, and then he came with a furious run at the end,” said Attard, of the finalist for Canadian champion 2-year-old male honours. “I was pretty impressed to see that, especially from a younger horse in his second start. Even though he didn't win that day, he ran a winning race. That's pretty exciting to see, obviously when you're going two turns and you have a Canadian-bred, then everything starts to ring in your head that maybe this could be the horse.”

Ranked number three at 6-1, Tio Magico could deliver iconic Canadian owner-breeder Sam-Son Farm with its sixth Plate crown. A son of Uncle Mo-Magic Broomstick, the Gail Cox trainee swept aside a troubled first start on September 7 to win his second appearance, on October 4, by a half-length, as the 2-1 choice. Tio Magico followed that effort up with a game second to Stephen in the Coronation Futurity. He made his 2021 debut on March 11, finishing third at Gulfstream in a 1-mile main track race. Sam-Son Farm, who will receive a special Sovereign Award at this year's annual ceremonies, notched their most recent Plate win with Eye of the Leopard in 2009.

“I thought it [most recent race] was a great effort,” said Cox. “I was really impressed. When he shipped here [Florida], he didn't put a foot wrong, had a great pre-race performance and I thought he ran really well. The winner [Prevalence] is a monster. He's a really nice horse. I was talking to the connections and they hope they are on the Kentucky Derby trail with that horse. I thought 'Tio' didn't give up after those fast fractions. He kept running. He still runs a little green. Junior [jockey, Alvarado] said he had a pretty good look at the horse before he got running again. His two races before, he fooled around a little in the stretch and ducked to the rail. This time, he was way more mature.

“I think he's maturing with every start,” continued Cox. “He had a pretty good gallop out too. This is what you want to see [on the road to the Plate]. I think his speed can be harnessed. I think he's going to become a horse that could possibly sit in behind a little bit or be the speed if nobody else is there. I think he's going to be quite manageable. The plan is that we'll be back to Woodbine around mid-April.”

Haddassah, a gelded son of Air Force Blue-Lady Haddassah, represents the Ulwellings (who also bred the bay) and Attard's other top Plate prospect. He is listed as the 8-1 fourth choice in the Winterbook. Sent off at 9-5 in his career bow last November at Woodbine, Haddassah didn't disappoint in his only start to date, making a strong late surge to record a half-length win in a 1 mile and 70-yard Tapeta race originally scheduled for the turf. The Ontario-bred (and Stephen) stayed with Attard in Ontario over the winter.“He had trained really well coming into that race,” recalled Attard. “If he wasn't going to win that race, a good horse was going to have to beat him. So, there weren't any surprises with him in terms of that first race just because he had shown a lot of talent from the get-go, and you anticipate that kind of effort. Luckily, that transpired. Both Haddassah and Stephen are settled in nicely at Woodbine. This week, you'll start to see them get into a routine now. We let them do a little bit last week, just stretching their legs, so that we can see where we're at. We'll start those foundation breezes and increase things as we go along.

“They [Ulwellings] are great guys. They are supportive of Canadian racing, they foal their mares here – it's nice to have those types of people, who put in the investment, get rewarded.”

Like his namesake, Gretzky the Great (10-1 in the Winterbook) has been just that over his six-race career, a resume that features three wins, one second and a third. Bred by David Anderson, the Mark Casse trainee contested his first four races at Woodbine, making three trips to the winner's circle, including the Soaring Free and Grade 1 Summer Stakes, to go along with a runner-up effort. After a sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf to close out his 2020 season, the colt, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, finished third in his 2021 curtain raiser, the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park on February 26. He is also a finalist for Canadian champion 2-year-old male honours. Casse has two Plate trophies, both with fillies, in 2014 with Lexie Lou and in 2018 with Wonder Gadot.

Dreaming of Drew, a daughter of Speightster-Dreaming of Liz, is one of several strong fillies found on this year's Winterbook list. Campaigned by champion trainer Barbara Minshall, the Hoolie Racing Stable LLC and Madaket Stable LLC rising star fashions a record of 2-2-0 from five career starts. The chestnut, who broke her maiden with a six-length score in her second start last July, was equally impressive in her final start of last year. Bet down to 4-5, Dreaming of Drew led throughout, en route to a 3 ¾-length victory in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes. Listed at 12-1 in the Winterbook, she is a finalist for the 2-year-old female Sovereign Award.

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The Ontario homebred, trained by Jimmy Jerkens and piloted by Trevor McCarthy, exited the gate at 46-1. He bucked those odds and earned 50 qualifying points from his upset score towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Weyburn made his sophomore debut in the Gotham after a third-out December 5 maiden victory over sloppy and sealed conditions at the Queens County oval.

The dark bay son of multiple champion producer Pioneerof the Nile rated in second from his outside post just a half-length off pacesetter Freedom Fighter, dueled to the inside of Crowded Trade down the lane and got his nose on the wire first to complete the journey in 1:38.70.

Jerkens said Weyburn was in good order on Sunday morning.

“He looked good and sound and it looked like he ate up pretty well,” said Jerkens, whose lone Derby starter Wicked Strong, finished fourth in 2014. “He might be a little subdued and tired, but he'll bounce back quickly.”

The next and final local qualifying Derby prep is the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at Aqueduct, offering 100-40-20-10 qualifying points.

Jerkens said he was still unsure as to whether or not his newly minted stakes winner would target a two-turn debut in the nine-furlong event.

“We'll nominate to all of the obvious races, but we don't know what we're doing yet,” Jerkens said.

Weyburn is not Triple Crown nominated but Jerkens said he will likely be supplemented for $6,000. Any horse not nominated to the Triple Crown can be made eligible by March 29.

Weyburn is out of the A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, who also produced Chiefswood Stables' homebred and multiple graded stakes winner Yorkton.

Jerkens said multiple graded stakes winner Rocketry will arrive at his Belmont Park stable on Monday from Centennial Farm in Middleburg, Va.

The durable 7-year-old son of Hard Spun was last seen ending a nine-race slump when coming from ten lengths off the pace to win the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on November 6 at Keeneland.

Jerkens said Rocketry will target the 12-furlong Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn on June 4 at Belmont Park. He was a close second to Marconi in the 2019 edition of the Brooklyn.

“The Brooklyn is in the plan, but how we get there I'm not sure,” Jerkens said.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Farm, Rocketry is out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Farming and was purchased by his owners for $450,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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Rob Landry, a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and general manager for Chiefswood, said the Jimmy Jerkens trainee will be ready to fire fresh off a third-out maiden win in December when sprinting seven furlongs over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track that garnered a 69 Beyer.

“Jimmy said he's been training well. He went in 35 and change this morning,” said Landry. “We had him entered a few weeks' back in a stakes at Aqueduct [Jimmy Winkfield on Jan. 31] but he had a foot abscess and had to scratch, so we're looking to get him started back.”

Voted Canada's Outstanding Jockey in both 1993 and 1994, Landry was aboard Chiefswood Stables' Niigon to win a thrilling renewal of the 2004 Queen's Plate, ahead of a third at Saratoga in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy won by Purge.

Landry enjoyed his best moment in New York when piloting Careless Jewel to victory in the 2009 edition of the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga.

“I had some luck at Saratoga and ended up winning one race there, but it was a Grade 1,” said Landry. “I loved riding at Saratoga because of the history.”

The Ontario-bred Weyburn, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, is out of the A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, making him a half-brother to the versatile multiple graded stakes winner Yorkton, who now stands at Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm in Kentucky.

While Yorkton displayed sprint speed through stakes wins on turf and synthetic, Landry said the sizable Weyburn will appreciate a distance of ground.

“I see him having a lot of stamina,” said Landry. “Yorkton is a son of Speightstown and lot of them are very good at a mile. Yorkton was a very quick horse. I think Weyburn is a little different as he has a high cruising speed but he doesn't have the speed Yorkton had. I see Weyburn flourishing when he goes two turns. He's built like that and he's a big horse. He's lightly raced and I think he'll get better with age.”

Landry acknowledged the Gotham, a 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying race, is a difficult spot to start Weyburn back in action.

“We didn't nominate him for the American Triple Crown because of where we were at with him,” said Landry. “Our plan was an allowance race and to go through his conditions but that didn't pan out and this race is here. We didn't want to cut him back and I don't want to keep him sitting in the barn. We'll see where we're at, it's a very difficult race.”

Chiefswood Stables have expanded their U.S. presence in recent years and in addition to a trio of horses with Jerkens [Edge of Fire, Hard Edge], the Ontario-based outfit also have horses in training with Graham Motion and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

Landry said he is hopeful Weyburn can progress towards a start in the second and third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, although the 162nd running of the $1 million Queen's Plate, first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown on August 22 at Woodbine Racetrack remains in play.

“It might be a little late now for the Derby, but if he was ever good enough for the Preakness or the Belmont this is when you're going to tell,” said Landry. “We've sent a lot of horses down to the states and we're trying to focus on the U.S. races. We'd never take the Plate out of the question, but we're trying to play the game at the highest level. With Weyburn being a half-brother to Yorkton, a good result in this race would really help Yorkton's profile as well.”

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Bred and raced by Chiefswood Stables, Limited, Robert Krembil said, “Yorkton comes from an elite family of Grade 1 winners, champions and sires. Yorkton showed superior athleticism and brilliant speed during his racing career, winning at distances from [six furlongs] to a mile. Chiefswood Stables is committing a significant number of our well-bred broodmares to Yorkton and look forward to giving him every chance to succeed.”

“We are very excited to add Yorkton to our stallion roster” said Marc McLean. “In addition to being an impressive racehorse from a top female family, Yorkton is an outstanding and correct physical with great muscling and size. We are also excited to offer a quality son of Speightstown, who continues to prove himself as a respected sire of sires. Chiefswood Stables is a top quality organization and they are deeply committed to maximizing Yorkton's opportunities to succeed in the breeding shed and on the racetrack.”

Yorkton's trainer, Stuart Simon remarked, “Yorkton was a classy and versatile horse to train. He possessed brilliant speed which carried him to graded stakes wins and placings on three different surfaces.”

Yorkton displayed precocity, front running speed, durability and class. He broke his maiden at two, and won stakes races at three, four, and five. Yorkton's career included stakes victories from 6 1/2 furlongs and up to a mile, with a career top Beyer Speed Figure of 103. Yorkton won or placed in 10 stakes races, with earnings of $546,332.

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