While browsing through the entries for today at Aqueduct and Fair Grounds, I happened upon a pair of promising-looking maiden special weights that could potentially have some influence on the Triple Crown trail in the coming months.
The first one is a mile and a sixteenth main track event at Fair Grounds, with a purse of $46,000. Eight are entered, with the 9-5 favorite being the Street Sense son Sir Bond. Trained by Neil Howard, the colt ran second in both of his starts at two, first behind the highly regarded Hierro and then to the promising Z Dager. What is especially interesting is that Hierro is entered to run in Saturday's Sham Stakes (gr. III) at Santa Anita. Should Sir Bond win impressively later this afternoon, it would certainly bode well for Hierro's chances in the Sham, considering how soundly Hierro thrashed Sir Bond in their lone meeting.
The second choice on the morning line at 3-1 is Money Only, trained by Steve Asmussen and to be ridden by Robby Albarado. He too is exiting a potentially key maiden race; that being a six furlong maiden event at Churchill Downs, in which he ran sixth behind the promising A Boy Named Em. He has since recorded six good works at Fair Grounds and should be sharper this time around.
Another contender could be Proper Empire, a son of Empire Maker trained by Tim Ritchey, who finished third in his only start to date. But that third place effort came against the potential star Radiant Talent, who won by nearly five lengths in a strong performance. Once again, we can get a feel for just how good Radiant Talent might be by watching how Proper Empire performs later this afternoon.
Out at Aqueduct, the intriguing maiden race of the day is a nine furlong inner track event featuring a field of five. Todd Pletcher has a pair of runners, and not surprisingly, they are the two morning line favorites. Raconteur, perhaps the more highly regarded of the pair, has lost every one of his five starts but has nevertheless turned in some good performances. A son of A.P. Indy out of the Storm Cat mare Miss Kate, he is clearly bred to succeed with time and distance, so I would not be surprised if he dominates this race.
Red Bendel is Pletcher's other runner, and I must admit that I can see this colt being something special. Owned by Zayat Stables of Pioneerof the Nile and Nehro fame, Red Bendel finished a very distant fourth in his lone start to date, a one-mile maiden special weight at Calder. However, he picks up leading rider Ramon Dominguez for this afternoon's engagement and should be ready to roll this time around.
Longshot Knock Rock is perhaps best known -- if known at all -- for his antics in a maiden claiming race at Saratoga during the summer, in which he held a clear lead with five-sixteenths of a mile to go before bolting to the far outside. Despite this, he somehow managed to come back on for third place. He has yet to crack the trifecta since then, and most recently finished 12 1/4 lengths behind the above-mentioned Raconteur, so he'll have to seriously improve to be a threat for the win here today.
Lawyer Dave was beaten just a head last time out going a mile and Aqueduct, a race in which he tracked slow fractions before coming home in good time. He is certainly eligible to improve with the added distance and could be a major contender.
Last of all is Five Sixteen, 8-1 on the morning line. A gelded son of Invasor, he perhaps has the most room for improvement among any of the runners entered here. In his first start, going seven furlongs over the Saratoga main track, he ran sixth while slowly improving his position. He was then tried at a mile and a sixteenth on the Belmont turf, and after sprinting away to battle for the early lead, stopped badly and wound up a distant last. A number of factors probably contributed to that dismal effort, and I expect him to run much, much better this afternoon.
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment