All kinds of fabulous Triple Crown prep races were run last weekend; many horses rebounded off of poor performances and proved themselves worthy of attempting to get to the Kentucky Derby. Also, the Triple Crown Handicapping Contest continued with week two of the competition, and J.R. ended up with a fairly decisive lead! Read on to find out what happened!
FEATURE RACE RECAPS
As you know, we had three feature races last weekend: the Risen Star, San Vicente, and Southwest Stakes. I shall recap all of them thoroughly here, listing my picks as well as J.R.’s versus the actual results of the race. Enjoy!
Risen Star Stakes (gr. II)
In what was probably the best race of the week, the Risen Star Stakes ended with a bit of a surprise. The five favorites did indeed occupy the top five spots, but not in the order that they were expected to.
As the gates opened, it was Rogue Romance who got away quickest. However, as usual, the colt dropped toward the back of the pack immediately, and was running seventh after the first quarter of a mile.
Therefore, it was Decisive Moment who ended up on the lead. The speedy front runner had proven effective in the past at winning races in wire-to-wire fashion and would attempt to do so here.
Tracking him in second was Mucho Macho Man, who broke quickly and secured a good position in the two-path early. He was followed on the outside by Santiva in third and 121-1 shot Sorgho on the rail in fourth. Next was Pants On Fire, followed by Action Ready, Rogue Romance, Machen, Justin Philip, and Sorgho. Machen broke rather poorly at the start and ended up well off the pace in the early going. About eight lengths separated first from last.
The fractions were moderate, with Decisive Moment rattling off an opening quarter in :24.67 and a half-mile in :49.24. At this point Liondrive split horses and made a run at the leader, coming on equal terms with Decisive Moment following three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.65. But Mucho Macho Man and Santiva were breathing down their necks; and Machen was looming a serious threat on the far outside. In the meantime, Rogue Romance was behind a wall of horses looking for an opening.
Into the homestretch they came and Santiva took a narrow lead. But Mucho Macho Man was battling gamely on the inside and slowly began to draw away. Rogue Romance was extracting himself from traffic on outside, and Machen was beginning to flatten out.
In the final strides, Mucho Macho Man pulled away from Santiva with impressive strides, hitting the wire 1 ¾ lengths in front while stopping the clock in 1:43.98. Santiva finishing a game second, dispelling any worries that he might be too slow to compete against this group. Rogue Romance rallied for third, but didn’t hit his best stride until it was too late. I’m looking forward to his next start. Machen finished fourth, running well but not good enough.
Here are the complete results:
1 Mucho Macho Man
2 Santiva
3 Rogue Romance
4 Machen
5 Decisive Moment
6 Pants On Fire
7 Action Ready
8 Justin Philip
9 Sorgho
10 Liondrive
Here were my picks:
1 Machen
2 Decisive Moment
3 Rogue Romance
4 Mucho Macho Man
5 Santiva
6 Justin Philip
7 Action Ready
8 Pants On Fire
9 Sorgho
10 Liondrive
Here were J.R.’s picks:
1 Mucho Macho Man
2 Justin Philip
3 Rogue Romance
4 Decisive Moment
5 Pants On Fire
6 Santiva
7 Machen
8 Action Ready
9 Sorgho
10 Liondrive
We actually both did pretty well. J.R. picked the winner, which I didn’t, but my top finishers finished in the top five. However, my pick ran fourth, which helped J.R. to earn the large lead which he currently has in the standings of our Triple Crown Handicapping Contest.
San Vicente Stakes (gr. II)
As expected, the San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) ended with The Factor winning in another stunning performance. However, it was considerably closer this time around than it was when he broke his maiden in December.
Sent off as the odds-on favorite in the field of six, The Factor was hustled away to take the early lead. He was followed closely by the speedy City Cool, with Premier Pegasus sitting right behind them in third. Sinai had settled into fourth, with Surrey Star and Sway Away trailing the field.
The opening quarter was run in a moderate :22 1/5. However, Martin Garcia on The Factor had no intentions of setting a slow pace. He asked The Factor for a little bit more and his mount responded with a second quarter in a brilliant :21 2/5, enabling his to pass the three-eighths pole in :43 2/5 with a 1 ½ length advantage. City Cool was beginning to tire, but Premier Pegasus was beginning his challenge, and from the back of the pack Sway Away was beginning to roll.
The Factor entered the homestretch with the lead, and Premier Pegasus wasn’t closing in. It looked like The Factor would win with ease, but Sway Away was really beginning to roll on the outside. Despite having not raced in months, the son of Afleet Alex was closing like a rocket. Despite being five lengths behind at the eighth pole, he managed to get within three-quarters of a length of The Factor. But that was when they crossed the wire. Therefore, The Factor entered the history books as the winner of the 2011 San Vicente Stakes.
The complete results were:
1 The Factor
2 Sway Away
3 Premier Pegasus
4 Surrey Star
5 Sinai
6 City Cool
Here were my picks:
1 The Factor
2 Sway Away
3 Premier Pegasus
4 Sinai
5 Surrey Star
6 City Cool
And here were J.R.’s picks:
1 Sinai
2 The Factor
3 Sway Away
4 Premier Pegasus
5 Surrey Star
6 City Cool
The results of this race enabled me to draw to within a single point of J.R.’s early lead in our handicapping contest, but the results of the Southwest Stakes caused this near-tie to evaporate.
Southwest Stakes (gr. III)
One of the most fascinating races of the weekend, the Southwest Stakes drew a field of eleven sophomores, including grade I winner J P’s Gusto and the promising Elite Alex. They were the two favorites, yet both were beaten.
First out of the gate was Brickyard Fast, who was immediately sent after the lead. However, it was Derivative who would end up with the lead. Those two hooked up in a speed duel early on and ran the first quarter mile in :22 3/5. They were 2 ½ lengths clear of Grant Jack in third, with J P’s Gusto settling into fourth, five lengths from the leaders. He was followed by Archarcharch and Ghost Is Clear, who were racing together in fifth. They were followed by Yankee Passion and Caleb’s Posse; Bonaroo was in ninth. Finally, Elite Alex and Picko’s Pride trailed the field. Picko’s Pride was forced to steady off the heels of Elite Alex in the early going and was twenty lengths off the lead after the first quarter of a mile.
Derivative and Brickyard Fast continued to duel through a quick half-mile in :46 4/5. But Grant Jack and Archarcharch were beginning to inch closer, and J P’s Gusto still wasn’t far behind.
Then everything happened at once.
Grant Jack made his move for the lead. Archarcharch started really coming on the outside. Caleb’s Posse began a sudden move toward the lead. Elite Alex was attempting to circle the entire field. J P’s Gusto was still right there. With just a quarter of a mile to run, the top eight horses were separated by only 2 ½ lengths!
Then the race was blown wide open. During the next eighth of a mile Archarcharch opened up a 2 ½ length lead. J P’s Gusto and Elite Alex were trying to wear him down, but it was no use. Archarcharch stayed on gamely all the way to the wire, finishing the race three-quarters of a length in front of J P’s Gusto, who made a very late run at the winner but was not in time.
Elite Alex finished third, despite taking the final turn six wide. Amazingly, Picko’s Pride rallied for fourth at odds of 79.60-1—despite a bit of a rough trip. With a little more luck, I believe that he could have won.
Here are the complete results:
1 Archarcharch
2 J P’s Gusto
3 Elite Alex
4 Picko’s Pride
5 Yankee Passion
6 Caleb’s Posse
7 Grant Jack
8 Derivative
9 Brickyard Fast
10 Ghost Is Clear
11 Bonaroo
Here were my picks:
1 Yankee Passion
2 J P’s Gusto
3 Elite Alex
4 Archarcharch
5 Picko’s Pride
6 Caleb’s Posse
7 Ghost is Clear
8 Grant Jack
9 Derivative
10 Brickyard Fast
11 Bonaroo
And here were J.R.’s picks:
1 Archarcharch
2 Elite Alex
3 Derivative
4 Ghost is Clear
5 J P’s Gusto
6 Caleb’s Posse
7 Yankee Passion
8 Picko’s Pride
9 Bonaroo
10 Grant Jack
11 Brickyard Fast
J.R. picked the winner, but that was about it. At least MY top five occupied the top five positions at the finish. . .
But congratulations to J.R., who out-handicapped me this weekend to take a 34-23 lead into week three of the contest. Expect to see that lead reversed tomorrow, for I fully intend to redeem myself with some victorious selections in the Fountain of Youth, Hutcheson, and Borderland Derby tomorrow! :)
I shall post our picks tomorrow.
OTHER RACE RESULTS
February 17th
• Congo turned in yet another remarkable performance, surging through another traffic jam to win a one-mile starter allowance race at Aqueduct by 1 ¾ lengths. In his last start, the chestnut colt had to back out of a pocket and charge relentlessly in the stretch to win an allowance optional claiming race. This time, there was no backing out. Therefore, the colt split horses like they were bowling pins and drove through to win impressively under little urging at all. Keep an eye on this one! He’s special!
February 18th
• The one-mile and seventy yards Undaunted Mettle Stakes at Aqueduct ended almost exactly as everyone expected it to. Slight favorite Eminent Tale opened up a large lead in the stretch and held off second-choice Sky Music to win the $60,000 event. The winner was ridden by Ramon Dominguez and is trained by Richard Dutrow. However, Sky Music looked very promising as well. He rallied from last (and four lengths back at the eighth pole) to be beaten just a length. The final time was 1:43.01.
February 19th
• Kathmanblu is the current favorite for the Kentucky Oaks. There is little doubt about that after the bay filly added a fourth stakes victory to her resume in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds. Never far back, she rallied gamely in the stretch to win the 1 1/16 miles event by 1 ¼ lengths in 1:45.13. Inglorious rallied well for second, while pacesetter Gran Lioness finished third.
• Going Away Baby pulled off a 23-1 shocker in the Two Altazano Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park, battling for the lead early before drawing off to a three length victory in the one-mile event, stopping the clock in 1:41.68. Odds-on favorite Patty’s Pride finished last, beaten 43 lengths.
• The Jim’s Orbit Stakes at Sam Houston came down to three horses; separated by just a length at the wire. 3.90-1 shot Hidden Recipe got home first, with 9-1 Maverick Prince in second and odds-on favorite Tamtastic finishing third. The final time was 1:40.66.
February 20th
• The second race at Oaklawn Park resulted in a bit of an upset, as the second longest shot in the field of six came under the wire first. That horse was Keep On Giving, who at odds of 6.30-1 battled for the lead before drawing off to win by 4 ¼ lengths. The final time in the six furlong event was 1:10.78. Mastman finished second, while favored Casperzapper finished fifth.
• Kathmanblu wasn’t the only serious Kentucky Oaks contender to race last weekend. At Aqueduct in the Busher Stakes, It’s Tricky made it clear that she is to be reckoned with by drawing off in the stretch to win the race by eight easy lengths. The final time for the one-mile and seventy yards event was 1:43.21. By Mineshaft, the bay filly looks very promising indeed!
February 21st
• Although Archarcharch was very impressive in the Southwest Stakes, Alternation may have turned in the best performance by a three-year-old at Oaklawn that day. Sent off as the favorite in the seventh race—a mile and a sixteenth allowance race against older horses—he rallied from well off the pace to score by 3 ¼ lengths. Fellow sophomores Dreaminofthewin and Bluegrass Bull finished second and third, while the older horses trailed the field. The final time was 1:45.24.
• The grade III La Habra Stakes marked the return of Oak Leaf Stakes (gr. I) winner Riboletta, who was injured last year before she could compete in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She was not expected to win this race, for it was only 6-1/2 furlongs and on the downhill turf course, (she is a main track distance runner) but it would prove if she had come back well. She ended up running a respectable fifth, beaten only five lengths by winner Cambina. Quiet Oasis finished second. The final time was 1:13.75.
And so that concludes this rather lengthy blog post! Tomorrow, a grand set of stakes races for three-year-olds are on the agenda and we will see if To Honor and Serve can run as well as he did last year. Enjoy!
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment