Here are my recaps of last week's major racing action along the Triple Crown Trail. Remember, you can click on the names of some of the stakes races to read a more detailed recap. Enjoy!
Stakes Recaps
LeComte Stakes (gr. III)
Thoughts: The top three finishers each showed something that the others didn't, making it hard to compare their performances against each other. Mr. Bowling showed grit in holding off multiple stretch challenges. Z Dager displayed the ability to turn in an impressive turn of foot after waiting in traffic. Shared Property overcame gate thirteen and a wide trip to just miss. I'll be looking forward to seeing all of these colts next month in the Risen Star (gr. II).
San Pedro Stakes
Thoughts: Midnight Transfer had every excuse to lose this race, but somehow managed to overcome some serious traffic to win by a nose. He'll get a chance to stretch out in the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) in March, where he will also get a serious class test against some very good horses. I was quite disapointed by Drill, who made a sweeping bid around the turn to reach contention before tiring badly to finish fifth.
Kitten's Joy Stakes
Thoughts: Howe Great proved something to me in this spot. He had won an allowance race on the Gulfstream turf back in December, but that was in gate-to-wire fashion after setting a very slow pace. In the Kitten's Joy he once again went gate-to-wire, however, this time he set an excellent pace before kicking home with brilliance. The UAE Derby (UAE-II) has been mentioned as a potential goal for this colt.
Silverbulletday Stakes
Thoughts: The scratch of favored Applauding left this race wide open, and Larry Jones-trainee Believe You Can was able to take advantage of that. Sent to the lead by jockey Rosie Napravnik, the filly set a moderate pace and finished well to win the race by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:42.34, over one second faster than the colts ran later on the card in the LeComte Stakes. Summer Applause, the even-money favorite in the five-horse field, tracked Believe You Can all the way around the racetrack, but was unable to wear her down in the homestretch while turning in a very good effort.
Sweetest Chant Stakes
2011 Natalma Stakes (gr. III) runner-up Dayatthespa was favored while making her 2012 debut, and most certainly ran to her odds. Far behind early on after a slow break, she started her run halfway through the one-mile event and simply inhaled her rivals in the stretch, closing her final quarter in something like :22 3/5 seconds to win going away by 1 3/4 lengths. Whoelottashakin matched the winner's bid from the quarter pole to the eighth pole, but was not good enough in the late stages. Ready Signal set a good pace and led into the stretch before tiring to finish sixth.
Other Races of Note
A pair of races at Gulfstream Park on Saturday yielded intriguing results. The first one, a seven-furlong allowance optional claiming event carded as the seventh race, featured the stakes-placed Angel's Tune as the 1.40-1 favorite in the seven horse field. However, after chasing the pace while four-wide, the colt tired in the stretch and wound up third behind runaway winner Tarpy's Goal, who rallied from second for trainer Dale Romans to win by 2 1/2 lengths. The winner stopped the clock in a good 1:23.46 while making amends for a poor effort in a five-furlong turf allowance race just five days before. Dangerous Trick finished second after setting the pace in a good effort.
The other Gulfstream race of note was a six-furlong maiden special weight that went off as the ninth race of the day. The event featured a pair of first-time starters trained by Todd Pletcher, and the duo proved much the best of the other competitors. Liberty Bound, a son of Mr. Greeley ridden by Javier Castellano, sat just off the pace in third early on before coasting home a winner by 4 1/4 lengths. Z Vilna found himself off the pace after a poor break, but closed well to finish a clear second while never a threat to the winner. Both colts showed promise and are ones to watch when they make their next starts.
The final race I shall mention in this post was run on Saturday at Santa Anita. A one-mile and a sixteenth maiden special weight on the main track, the favorite figured to be the highly-regarded Candy's Jewel, but after his scratch, Holy Candy was sent off as the favorite at 1.70-1. However, who was favored didn't really matter, because the Bob Baffert-trainee Castaway stole the show under Martin Garcia. Sent straight to the lead, the son of Street Sense set a solid pace of :23.47, :46.94, and 1:10.31 before coasting home a winner by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:41.83. Holy Candy did rally well to finish second, but never really threatened. None of the others were anywhere near contention at the finish.
-Keelerman
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