In the three major stakes races for three-year-olds last weekend, two of them had heavy favorites which fell to defeat. One of them, Tapizar, is now off the Derby trail with a bone chip. Despite these tremendous upsets, the races helped a great deal in clearing the very muddled Triple Crown trail.
Below are brief recaps of all of the best racing action from the last weekend. . .
February 11th
• A nine furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park yielded fascinating results. Bowman’s Causeway, a son of Giant’s Causeway, rallied strongly in the stretch to win by a length and a half. The final time was 1:50.87, not hugely impressive but respectable nonetheless. The colt strikes me as a Belmont Stakes-type horse; a three-year-old who will outstay his rivals in the test of champions to pull off a Summer Bird/Birdstone/Drosselmeyer kind of upset.
• The seventh race at Fair Grounds may potentially impact the Triple Crown Trail. A mile and a sixteenth allowance optional claiming race, the winner was Forbidden Forest by a nose over favored Prime Cut with Bluegrass Jam just a half-length back in third. All three ran excellent races and all three may end up in a stakes race sometime in the future. Keep an eye on them!
• The seventh race at Santa Anita saw Bench Points extend his undefeated streak to four wins. Despite being last of four and three lengths off the lead at the eighth pole, he rallied furiously under jockey Alonso Quinonez to defeat odds-on favorite Da Ruler by 1 1/4 lengths. The final time for the six furlongs was a sharp 1:08.22. I can’t wait to see Bench Points, a two-time stakes winner last year, stretch out to two-turns.
February 12th
• Dynamic Holiday is now the leader of the three-year-old turf fillies division. In January, she won the Tropical Park Oaks at Calder Race Course. At Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, she rallied from five lengths back with five-sixteenths to run before drawing off to win by 1 ¾ lengths. Fancy Point, who was expected to run well in her first start since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, ran last of twelve.
• A seven furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita Park turned out two promising sophomores. Albergatti and Chico d’Oro ran one-two all the way around the track, with the former defeating the latter by 1 ½ lengths in the brilliant time of 1:20.66. It was 8 ½ lengths back to the third place finisher. Both colts merit great respect, although they are obviously a bit behind in preparing for the Kentucky Derby.
• The Sam F. Davis Stakes, one of the three major prep races for the Triple Crown on Feb. 12th, ended up being the only race of the three to be won by the favorite. Odds-on choice Brethren extended his undefeated streak to three wins when he drew off in the stretch to score by four lengths while eased up at the finish. It is apparent that the half-brother to the 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver has a lot of talent. On the other hand, very disappointing in the Sam F. Davis Stakes were Monzon and Washington’s Rules, both of whom were expected to run well but ended up fifth and eighth, respectively.
• The Robert B. Lewis Stakes ended with very surprising results. The odds-on favorite at 0.30-1 was Tapizar, impressive winner of the Sham Stakes in January. However, the colt was very rank in the early going and tired in deep stretch to end up fifth, beaten 6 ¼ lengths. But the colt’s dismal performance was explained a couple days later when it was announced that he had a bone chip in his knee which will have to be removed surgically. However, the prognosis is good that he will be able to return to the races sometime in the future. The winner was Anthony’s Cross, who ran a much-improved race with the addition of blinkers. Previously third in the Sham Stakes, he rallied from just off the pace to win by a nose of the hard-knocking Riveting Reason. Both colts look like potential Santa Anita Derby contenders. 68.60-1 shot Quail Hill finished third.
• Comma to the Top showed us on Saturday that he probably doesn’t have the stamina to race at a mile and a quarter on the first Saturday in May. Despite receiving a nearly perfect trip, the colt ran into a brick wall in the stretch. He was just a head from the front at the eighth pole, but tired late to finish 4 ¼ lengths behind the winner. The winner was Silver Medallion, who rallied from off the pace to win by 1 ¼ lengths. He managed to do this despite a rough trip during which he was impeded twice by Comma to the Top. Jakesam, the pacemaker, finished second with Positive Response a strong third.
February 13th
• Free Entry looks like a very promising colt. In a one-mile allowance race at Gulfstream Park, he rallied from just off the pace to win by 1 ¾ lengths in 1:37.62. A 74.30-1 shot, Imperial Czar, rallied strongly to finish second. Favored Rocking out finished third.
In a couple of days, I shall post my thoughts on this coming weekend’s races, where Jaycito, Rogue Romance, Elite Alex, The Factor, J P’s Gusto, and others are expected to highlight the Triple Crown prep races. Until then, enjoy the races!
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment