Welcome to Vermont for the running of the 2010 Equinics $1 Million Dollar Long May It Wave Sprint.
As I write this, I am zipping up my coat, tightening the scarf around my neck, blowing warm air into my hands and rubbing them together. I am freezing! It is currently a balmy -5.8 degrees Celsius and the forecast for the coming week is nothing better than -4! Let�s hope it improves before race day (although it is the WINTER Equinics after all!).
It must be noted that I have only just got off the plane after jetting in from sunny Queensland, where it is �Beautiful one day, Perfect the next�. Actually it is currently raining heavily as the result of a tropical Cyclone, but I digress.
Why am I here? Well I have headed over the good old U S of A to supervise my charges in some of this year�s big G1 Equinics Races and thought while they are all safely tucked up in their stables, I have a spare moment or two to analyze each of the horses participating in the 6F Dirt Sprint. It is going to be a tough one to call as a lot of the entrants have yet to race as 3YO�s and the ones that have seem to be going well. The other main difficulty is that a lot of horses are just coming back from a short Christmas lay off and their trainers are unsure of what condition in which their stars will return.
Anyway, let�s get down to business.
Drawing the coveted 1 gate is the home town hero, WAR MINISTRY(KY) (War Pass x Storm Cat x A.P Indy). Trained by baileybarn, this colt has built up an imposing record, winning 8 of his 9 starts and has 6 wins in a row. He has run 2nd at his only other start. Baileybarn has him primed and ready to go on the back of a handy win in the Tortured Vision Stakes last start, his first as a 3YO. If you can draw any negative for this guy, it would have to be that he only raced against 3 other horses in that Stakes race, although the 2nd placed horse in that race was also G1 placed. Hasn�t had to travel to race here and that is surely in his favour.
Lining up in Barrier 2, is invasorstc�s ANY GIVEN CAT(KY). From the URC Residency, this colt is by Any Given Saturday, a son of Distorted Humor. His Dam Sire is Tale of the Cat and DDS Capote. In his 11 starts, he has already earned over $400k, and has run 2nd in a G3 last start, just failing at the end, but running a handy 95 SP in his 1st start as a 3YO. Already a two time Group winner as a 2YO (G3 Television Stakes & G2 Stanford) and ranked the No. 4 Dirt Sprinter, this guy is going to be hard to toss here.
Trainer zwylde from Del Penn has brought a lovely looking grey named EMERALD PRO(KY) here for this race. With 10 starts, $509k in the bank and 3 consecutive wins he is a likely type. Has raced in Group Company 3 times, but is yet to win at that level. Extremely consistent at Stakes level, may be ready to take the next step as a 3YO.
Next up, we find the GR Simsters entry � SPINELESS LEFT(KY). Trained by lopo, this guy has only one thing on his mind and that is winning. From 6 starts, he has 4 wins and obviously isn�t a fan of the Place and Show columns on his record. He has won his last 2, and before that ran just over 6 lengths 5th in the G1 Sparkling Wine Stakes. After starting his career on turf, lopo quickly switched tactics and has reaped the rewards.
Hailing from Queensland, our next runner is familiar to me as he is one of mine. ICE CREAM AND MILO(KY), trained by mexican is yet to race as a 3YO, and when I saw him over at the stables, he was shaking and his knees were knocking together. At first I thought it was the cold and trouble adapting to the temperature difference, but after seeing what he is up against, I think he is nervous!
Yet to compete at Stakes or Graded level, I am hoping he at least watches these other guys and learns something to take back home to Queensland. He may be lucky to beat the ambulance home. At least he is out of Gate 5 � my lucky number!
Out of gate 6 comes the Sim Hispano entry, CORONAL HAACK(KY). Trained by hack, he looks far from being one. Has had 2 Starts for 2 Wins as a 2YO, and is yet to race as a 3YO. Swooped home from near the back of the field on both occasions and won impressively. It is difficult to know how he will go with no exposed 3YO form but you can rest assured hack wouldn�t be here if he didn�t think he was a chance.
Our next horse to look at is another with only 2 career starts. From the Hong Kong Racing Club and trained by karchy, we have DELINQUENT(KY). The difference between this horse and CORONAL HAACK before it is that DELINQUENT has already had a 3YO run. With not a lot of racing to gauge performance, I think it is safest to just say that this guy could be extremely competitive. Has shown a lot of early gate speed, as have a number of others in the race and it may be prudent for some trainers to revise their riding tactics to take on the big guns.
Interesting is what I would call this horse�s name � sometimes I just don�t know where people come up with their names, but I do know I often sit down on a breeding night and rack my brains so I�m sure it happens to others. LARRYTHESTABLEGUY(KY) is the second grey in the race. Now there should be a grey in every race because it gives the punters something to follow. This guy fits the bill. Grey + Funny Name = Certainty. Not an overly imposing record, hitting the board 5 times out of 9 but he has reached the magical 100 SP in his last race, The Tale of Two Places Memorial. While he didn�t win that race, it shows that he has come back in good order as a 3YO. In first run as a 3YO he went down by a � in the G3 Special Bid Stakes. That race also featured Any Given Cat and Tourist Attraction, both of whom he meets again here.
Trainer bluefox from the Midas residency brings us our next competitor. PINCHINGDALE(FL). This horse is one of the few in the race that like to swoop late and has used this tactic successfully in his career to date. He has had only the one 3YO start, a win, back at Allowance level after contesting 2 Group races to round out his 2YO season. He is also the first horse I have come across in this race not bred in Kentucky! His trainer bluefox has tried to see if PINCHINGDALE could stay, running him in the G3 Nashua Special over 8F. While he was a long way back, he was starting make some ground and could still be a future router. The best guide to his chances here is his effort in the unusually named G1 Hopeless Stakes where he motored home from near last to finish 3rd by a small margin. He is definitely one to watch.
Next up we have the 19th ranked Dirt sprinter from NWRC, TOURIST ATTRACTION(KY). Trainer sledge4 has put the spit and polish on this one and comes here on the back of a nice win in the G2 Swale Stakes in Florida. In that race, TOURIST ATTRACTION ran a handy 99 SP to take his record to 4 wins from 9 starts. Another one who likes to be up front and amongst the early action meaning we could see some hearts broken early if the pace goes on.
Wearing saddlecloth 11 is boble17�s strapping Chestnut, BOGOS(KY). From the Blazing Saddles Residency, this guy looks very impressive. Yet to make an appearance as a 3YO, his 2YO form is pretty good, having not missed the board in 7 tries. His best effort to date was 2 starts ago where he won the King Woody Memorial Stake with an ultra impressive 99 SP. Another Kentucky bred this one by Forestry. Does like to get back in his races, however didn�t last time and that was possibly his downfall.
From EAAA we have BUNGOWANNAH(KY), another from KY. (Is anyone else getting bored of these Kentucky breeds? Ha-ha) Trainer bbudgies8 has come here with a very different strategy to his counterparts. BUNGOWANNAH had an impressive strike rate of 3/3 on the Dirt before his last run when bbudgies8 sent him out on the grass in a Stakes event which ended painfully, beaten into 5th place. It is known in the Sim that sometimes a change of surface can freshen a horse and maybe that was what his trainer was doing. I for one am interested in this guy�s first 3YO run back on his favoured Dirt.
SHEIK DJIBOUTI (IRE), Sheik Djibouti, Sheik, Sheik, Sheik, Sheik Djibouti � Wow, what a name for a racehorse! Ohio and trainer rackme32 have presented this son of Rock of Gibraltar to shake his booty and hopefully run away with the booty on offer. A somewhat strange race to enter, given that the Sheik has had 4 starts, all on turf and has amassed over $150k, has run 2nd in a G2 and now attempts dirt for the first time. Could be a big arse(k) here (sic) If names mean anything, this guy must win.
THRILL OF A TIGER(JPN), is our next starter. Trained in Ireland by calle, this son of Deep Impact made a real impact in his first 2 starts, winning them both over the 8F. Calle, then stepped him up to tougher grade and he has been struggling for form. His best return since the bar was raised for him is a 7th in the Paramus Mile. His game dam, Charlie�s Tiger won a G1 over 9F, and was placed in Group class on 2 other occasions also over the route. I would prefer to see him in a longer race that up against some of these highly strung sprinters but you never know.
From the East West Connection, in gate 15, we have THREADLIGHTLYTIGER(ENG) trained by stablebums. This colt started his career on turf, and after 4 races and failing to break his maiden, his trainer decided to switch to dirt and had instant success, winning 4 of his next 5 starts including the Ohtobeastar Stakes last time out. It is an impressive record, only missing the board on one occasion. He should definitely not be treated lightly.
Our next entrant is from Residency State and trainer idiotproof. Called JAPANESE DRAGON(PA), this strapping lad has won 3 from 6 and is ranked 49th in the Dirt Sprint division with a G3 win to his name in the Baby Tree. One point to note with this guy is that all 3 of his wins have been on Good Dirt so idiotproof is sure to want some rain falling on the Vermont circuit before the weekend. The current prediction by the weatherman is for only a 5% chance of an off track � it will probably snow!
I couldn�t believe it when I saw that stalpipo had a runner in this race. I have a connection with this trainer that I am not proud of. I once owned a horse called Big Farcough Horse and somehow she ended up in a cheap claimer, stalpipo claimed her and as far as I am aware has nearly won $1 million with her. I have followed her closely for the last 7 years and shed a tear every time and dream about the what ifs � well done stalpipo.
Anyway, that is not the point of my article, so we move on. From Benelux, stalpipo has prepared URKO�S STORMKING(KY), a winner of 2 of his 5 starts to date. Looking at his speed figures, it appears that he may have gone amiss at his last start as a 2YO in the Benelux Special Stakes. It was his first attempt at a route, although the 40 SP in an 8F race off the back of a 96 SP in a 7F race screams trouble. It has been � weeks since that run and I am sure stalpipo will have sorted any issues and Urko�s Stormking will be fit and firing to repeat or better his effort in the North Wildwood G1 where he ran 2nd.
I thought by this stage I would really be struggling to write something worthwhile. With this, the 18th of 20 runners, I thought I might just about have used up all of my petrol tickets. Clicking on the data, I think I may have stumbled upon our race favourite � well he should be! Hailing from Minnesota Downs and prepared by unshaded99 is ZIGGY HEARTED � the no.2 ranked dirt sprinter. Ziggy has the form on the board and his resume reads as follows: A G1 winner, Participant in 2 other G1�s. Runner up in the G2 Dell Computer Futurity. Winner of his last 2 Stakes appearances.
This son of Lion Hearted has amassed nearly � of 1 million dollars after just 8 starts and has broken the 100 SP last run. I will be backing him for sure.
Where would the Equinics be without an entry from fabfarms? In a world of trouble I would suggest. Luckily for the organizers, he has presented ELECTRIC BRIDLE(KY) from the Great Plains residency. A veteran of 8 starts, this son of Unbridled�s Song has been doing most of his racing over the mile with reasonable success. His sprinting performances have him with 3 starts for 2 wins and you can�t complain about that. Seems to be another that enjoys being either on the pace or sitting and sprinting, so we are definitely in for a crackerjack race.
Rounding out our entries, we have an Officer x Storm Bird x Turn-To chestnut by the name of SWITCH ACROSS(KY). Owned and trained by stormcat55, this colt has racked up 3 wins from his 6 starts, with a last start wire to wire win in The Muskray Ghost Special Stakes with a modest speed figure of 80. Probably for the best guide to how he is traveling, we need to go back 3 starts to the Kings Quest II II Stakes, where he ran 6th of 7. The winner of that race is also engaged here, that horse being URKO�S STORMKING. Switch Across�s trainer stormcat55 obviously isn�t concerned � maybe he has heard the injury rumours and knows his colt can turn the tables. As appears to be the case with many runners, we have another who likes to lead and as we all know, not everyone can be in front.
Well, that is it from me, at best guess, I am going to tip Ziggy Hearted to swoop over the top of them all, but with so much early gate speed engaged here, it may be run at too much of a clip for anything to be able to run on. To run the placings I think we will see Vermont�s own War Ministry and the URC�s Any Given Cat.
I have been here a week now and it is still yet to crack into the positive temperatures. We are looking at a top temp of -4 for the race and that really could sort the wheat from the chaff.
Good luck to all those entered in this year�s Equinics.
|
