TORONTO – Clearly Now, perfect after two starts, puts his unbeaten record on the line while testing two turns and stakes company for the first time, in Saturday’s $150,000 Display Stakes.
A two-year-old son of Horse Greeley, Clearly Now, owned by Uphill Stable, has rattled off a pair of solid performances, both at six furlongs over Woodbine’s main track, including a half-length score on November 3.
Clearly Now earned an 85 Beyer figure for that victory, tops among all Display contenders. He also earned the kudos of conditioner Brian Lynch.
“It was a really nice effort,” offered trainer Brian Lynch. “He was in a good stalking position and he showed a lot of determination to get the job done. That’s just what we wanted to see.”
In his career bow on September 26, the dark bay delivered a 1 ½-length triumph.
Set as the 5-2 morning line favourite for the 56th running of the Display, Lynch is looking for Clearly Now to step up with his best effort to date.
“Both of his races have been really sharp,” said Lynch, of his up and coming colt. “Whenever they win first time out, you like to see them build off it in their next start. And that’s just what he was able to do. He’s been doing really well in his works and hopefully, he can handle two turns and be at the top of his game on Saturday.”
Clearly Now will face nine rivals in the Display, including Avie’s Quality (3-1), who heads into the race off a sparkling five-length win at 1 1/16 miles on November 14.
“Obviously, there are question marks when a horse goes two turns for the first time,” noted Lynch. “But everything we’ve seen in him so far, the strong works in the morning and two good races – that shows he deserves a shot in here.”
Regular rider Emma-Jayne Wilson will be in the irons.
Last year, Maritimer won the Display in a time of 1:43.58.
FIELD FOR THE DISPLAY
Post / Horse / Jockey / Trainer
1 / Mercenary / Skye Chernetz / Dave Cotey
2 / Clearly Now / Emma-Jayne Wilson / Brian Lynch
3 / Avie’s Quality / Luis Contreras / Josie Carroll
4 / Dan the Tin Man / Corey Fraser / Ricky Griffith
5 / Hey You Pick Me / Quincy Welch / Gordon Colbourne
6 / My Name Is Michael / Jesse Campbell / Dave Cotey
7 / Sky Commander / Patrick Husbands / Mark Casse
8 / Really Sharp / Justin Stein / Ian Black
9 / Bear Fabulous Son / Omar Moreno / Reade Baker
10 / Gunderman / Eurico Rosa da Silva / Mark Casse