As promised, here is the second part of yesterday's post, this one concerning all of the three-year-old stakes races to be run on Sunday and Monday. As I wrote about this week's feature race in my last post, this post shall not include one. I shall merely continue to briefly mention all of the stakes races which I failed to discuss on my last post.
I shall begin with Sunday's races; then move on to Monday's. Enjoy!
SUNDAY, JANUARY 16th
There are three races on Sunday that merit attention, and I must admit that each and every one of them is worth noting.
The first race is the Dania Beach Stakes, a one-mile turf event at Gulfstream Park. A field of ten has entered, with the mild morning line favorite being Lil Bit O'Fun. The son of Langfuhr out of Dash of Humor has won two of his three starts, never finishing worse than second. He broke his maiden first time out going 5-1/2 furlongs by nearly four lengths. He then ran second in a one-mile turf allowance race at Keeneland, finishing five lengths behind the nice colt Banned while beating good colts like Grant Jack and El Grayling. In his final start, he won a one-mile turf allowance race at Churchill Downs by 2 1/2 lengths. This will be his first start since November 7th, but he should be in contention coming down the stretch.
Swift Warrior is the second choice, based off of his decent third in the Tropical Park Derby on January 1st. The late-running son of First Samurai out of Afleet Summer needs a good pace in front of him to set up his charge. Fortunately, a strong pace seems like a possibility tomorrow.
Adirondack Summer is another horse that interests me. He has made two starts, winning a maiden special weight first time out before finishing second in a one-mile allowance race at Aqueduct. On that day, he was bumped and squeezed in the stretch yet still managed to rally strongly enough to finish second. With a cleaner trip tomorrow, he might be able to pull off a victory.
The second race of note is the second race at Santa Anita, a six-furlong allowance optional claiming event for three-year-olds. Luckarack, who drew the rail, could end up being one of the favorites. He won his first three starts, consisting of a maiden claiming race, the Everett Nevin Alameda County Stakes at Pleasanton, and the Cavonnier Juvenile Stakes. However, he has turned in three consecutive off-the-board performances since then, including a seventh-place finish in the Gold Rush Stakes as the favorite last time out.
Chiloquin should also be well-bet, based off of his solid victory in a six-furlong starter allowance race at Hollywood Park.
I wouldn't ignore Drink at Buster's either, who finished a deceivingly good fourth in a 5-1/2 furlong allowance race last time out off of a long layoff. Don't be surprised if he runs better tomorrow.
The final race of note on Sunday is the eighth race at Fair Grounds, a six-furlong allowance optional claiming event for three-year-old fillies. The morning line favorite is Sam's Bliss, who broke her maiden last time out going 5-1/2 furlongs on the turf. She finished a good third going six-furlongs on dirt in his last start and should run a good race.
The second choice is Wicked Deed, who turned in a jaw-dropping late run to win a maiden special weight last time out. Two lengths behind the leader at the eighth pole, she rocketed past to win by slightly more than six lengths. I believe that with a solid pace to chase we will see a similar performance tomorrow.
Ellusive Wildcat, the third choice, could also turn in a good rally. From three starts, she has a win, a second, and a third. In her last start, a 5-1/2 furlong turf allowance race, she rallied from last of six to finish second. I will be watching her run tomorrow closely.
MONDAY, JANUARY 17th
Three stakes races for three-year-olds are scheduled to be run on Monday: the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes at Aqueduct, the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park, and the San Pedro Stakes at Santa Anita. All have drawn fascinating fields which warrant close attention.
The six-furlong Jimmy Winkfield Stakes has drawn a field of six runners, with the narrow morning line favorite being Rift, who drew the rail. He has made three starts, all of them in maiden special weight company and all of them coming at Aqueduct. He began his career in a 5-1/2 furlong event, running second as the even-money favorite. He then finished second once again in a six-furlong race, beaten just 1 1/4 lengths after leading at the eighth pole.
He finally broke through with a victory in his most recent start, a six-furlong maiden race. Sent off as the odds-one favorite, he broke well, took the lead, and never looked back en route to a 1 1/4 length triumph. It was a very strong performance; one which makes him the deserving favorite here.
The second choice at 9-5 is Fort Hughes, who began his career impressively by winning the 5-1/2 furlong maiden special weight in which Rift finished second. The margin of victory was 5 1/2 lengths, which earned him a start in the Southhampton Stakes at Parx Racing. He made a very good run from fourth, but failed to catch Royal Currier by a head. I really like his chances here and believe that he can upset Rift.
Royal Currier is back to try and beat Fort Hughes again. He drew gate three and is the 4-1 third choice. However, I doubt that he will hold off Fort Hughes today.
The 6-1/2 furlong San Pedro Stakes drew seven runners, all of them filled to the brim with untapped potential. There are many that I will be watching, including Industry Leader, who drew the rail. He broke his maiden by 2 1/4 lengths first time out, defeating Pride of Silver, who will be running in the Sham Stakes on Saturday. He then ran second in the Premier Pegasus in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (gr. III), a solid performance which warranted a step up in class to the grade I CashCall Futurity. Sent off at about 7-1, he ran a disappointing ninth. He is taking a step down in class here and should run better in this spot.
However, the colt that I really have my eye on is Sinai. On December 18th, he turned in a dominating wire-to-wire victory in a 6-1/2 furlong maiden special weight at Hollywood Park, turning back the challenge of Arousal in the stretch to win by two lengths. His workouts have been very good and if he can handle dirt he could turn into a very nice Triple Crown contender.
I will also be watching Indian Winter. The highly-promising colt won a six-furlong maiden special weight on August 21st at Del Mar. Sent off as the 6-1 third choice in the grade I Del Mar Futurity, he was forced to steady at the three-eighths pole but still managed to finish in a dead-heat for third. If he runs well on Monday, then he could become a legitimate Santa Anita Derby contender.
Arcadian is the final horse that I shall note. He is undefeated in two starts, having won a maiden optional claiming event at Turf Paradise by six lengths before easily dominating the 6-1/2 furlong Lost in the Fog Juvenile Stakes at that same track, drawing off to a 6 1/2 length victory in a sharp final time.
On January 10th, he worked six furlongs in 1:10 2/5 handily at Turf Paradise, which seems to signal that he is ready for an impressive performance.
Finally, we come to the one-mile Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park. It has drawn a field of seven, from which two horses have caught my eye.
The first is Archarcharch, who broke his maiden in the Sugar Bowl Stakes last time out. It was a very good effort and he strikes me as a colt that is loaded with stamina and should relish additional distance.
The other colt is Grant Jack, a winner of two of his six starts. Last time out, he upset the Springboard Mile Stakes at odds of 14.40-1. If he runs as well on Monday as he did on that day, he can win this race.
Dreaminofthewin is another notable colt. He won a maiden special weight second time out before winning a one-mile and seventy yards allowance optional claiming race. He seems to be rapidly improving and may have a good chance at winning this race.
And that is all. It took thousands of words, but I believe that I have at least briefly mentioned every race of note for three-year-olds being run over the next few days.
On a side note, Blind Luck, last year's champion three-year-old filly, will be running in the El Encino Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita on Sunday. She will be facing Champagne d'Oro, a two-time grade I winner, and Malibu Pier, who finished a good second in the La Brea Stakes (gr. I) last month. Don’t miss it!
Enjoy the races!
-Keelerman
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