G2 Buck Dharma Preview

A field of 13 horses will take part in this 11F route on the turf. Here is the field:

#1 Dancingwithdastars (East-West Connection) 6/1

Summary: Comes into this on a three race win streak, highlighted by some nice front running victories. The last in the Southern Bird he hung on by a neck, but one has to be impressed with the figure he put up, which is the second highest in the field today. The Friendofthefamily in October he was ahead by as much as 9 lengths, so I would assume he is going to go to the front and play catch me if you can. He cuts back to 11F, which he hasn’t run since a disappointing 7th in the Popular Aim in June. He has improved since then and looks to put his win streak on the line for this one.

#2 The Mark of Nuka (GR Simsters) 5/1

Summary: The second choice on the board is coming off a surprise 6th in the G3 Galaxian last out. He had been pretty consistent finishing ITM lately, with the only other blemish being in the G1 Ark De ComicDog where he finished 8th. That is a $6 million race, so this one has faced one of the best fields in the game. I would be concerned a bit as his speed figures popped in the spring running on off-turf and the last two have seen a decline. He will need to find that form again to be competitive in this race.

#3 Harp of Erin (East-West Connection) 7/1

Summary: His last two sets of races have been interesting to see. He won a LCS back in April, and followed that up with a nice second in the G2 Longstickgoboom. The G1 Sword Swallower proved to be too much for him after that. He reset a bit going today’s distance in the Seriously Churn and won quite impressively. The 2nd in the G2 Narrow Land was followed up by a disappointing performance in the G1 LA Turf Cup. That’s a long-winded way of saying take out the G1’s and we can see why he is 7/1 in this field. Bump that figure up a bit and should be a fit for a podium finish.

#4 Mayom (British and European Racing Club) 14/1

Summary: He finished his 3 year old season successfully as he won 3 of his last 4, which also included a second place. One likes to see that his last race was his highest speed figure when he won the A.P. Slew going today’s distance of 11F. His speed figure will need to improve, but has every right to as he enters his 4 year old year. Likes to be a front running type, but others here may be quicker. See if he can sit off the pace a bit and get the first run of the leaders. Interesting 4 year old debut.

#5 Siren Charms (Empire State Racing) 8/1

Summary: When he loses he isn’t even close, so kind of a boom or bust type of horse. His last one was a bust in the G1 Singapore Cup as he was defeated by double digit lengths. His best race of career probably came before that as he took down the G3 New Oak by a head. He throws those bigger values in once in a while, but at this point they seem like outliers. Would like to see him put a couple of them together. Will pass based on consistency, but if he is on his game he does like to finish ITM (75%).

#6 Balon D’or (Otium) 29/1

Summary: Took him 4 races to break his maiden, but since that win has strung together 4 in a row. Very lightly raced as this will only be the 9th time he has been taken to the starting gate. He has worked his way through the allowance ranks, and really the last three haven’t even been close. This is a tough spot for a stakes debut with so little experience, but maybe he gets brave off that win streak. Of course he needs to keep improving and a lot at that, but wouldn’t be surprised if he outruns his odds.

#7 Obsidian Pharoah (Empire State Racing) 9/2

Summary: Defending champ, and favorite, took this one down last year by a neck. 3 of his last 4 races have been at this distance, which have all been graded races. He finished ITM in all of them with a second last time out in the G1 Singapore Cup. Likes to come from way back and although he hasn’t got up to win since this exact race, he sure runs competitive races, as shown by his #23 TL ranking. I can’t pick to win, but an ITM finish is definitely a good possibility. Has been facing some very tough fields in the last year.

#8 Pytheas (Empire State Racing) 7/1

Summary: Seems to have settled down the last two with quality victories in both races. The last one in the Eight Thunder where he ran away from the field and won by close to 3 lengths was the most impressive. Nice to see that his speed figures stayed pretty consistent as well, so maybe he is turning the corner a bit as he enters his 5 year old season. Will probably need to see another bump to be dangerous here, but his running style should suit him here. Definite contender.

#9 I’m the Answer (GR Simsters) 7/1

Summary: His last 7 races have followed an interesting pattern. Win, bust, win, bust, win, bust, win… If the pattern continues. The win in August in the G2 Del Webb was his best race in both quality and speed figure. That figure would put him in the mix here, so he just needs to finally put one back to back. His latest victory in the Roan Around Savage was almost equally impressive. I won’t back based on the pattern, but am interested to see if he can break out of it.

#10 Red Brenin (Empire State Racing) 9/1

Summary: Some definite positives with him. Highest speed figure in the field and has come ITM 100% of the time. He does only have 9 starts, which was highlighted by the win in the G3 Manatee Cup last out. I don’t want to say the number was an outlier, as he has won 5 in a row and the figures just continues to climb. Taking a look at the breeding, he probably is still peaking which makes him a scary threat to continue his winning ways.

#11 Yerkes (East-West Connection) 19/1

Summary:  Winner of 4 in a row as he has worked his way through the allowance ranks in those. He never really was challenged, even winning one of them by almost 6 lengths. He does have history in stake races from the summer where he was able to capture a third in the G2 Seventh King Eddie. Just entering his 4 year old campaign, he has reason to keep growing and improving. Will see how confident he is coming in on that win streak.

#12 Buried in Snow (No Residency) 15/1

Summary : Most experience by a mile in here as this will be his 26th start. Only have won 6 of them, all allowance types as he has yet to take down a stake. This will be a tough one to get his first one, but he did come second two back in the Rotten Storm, so maybe he has some life left in him. Cross the last one out as he clearly didn’t want to go 16F, so the cut back could help. His top speed figures don’t really get him in the top tier here and it has been a while since he has run those. Look for others who are on the way up.

#13 Kitten’s Icarus (No Residency) 71/1

Summary: Not much to say here. Has never run a speed figure in triple digits, so not sure we can expect him to compete against these. Winner of 3 in a row and only just turned 4, but have to think he is in over his head. Biggest question is can he beat any of these?

Field In Numbers

Horse	Speed – Career	Speed – Distance	Speed – Last6M	Points
Red Brenin	120.4	120.4	120.4	39
The Mark of Nuka	119.9	115.6	119.9	30
I’m The Answer	116.8	116.8	116.8	30
Siren Charms	116.9	116.9	115.3	30
Dancingwithdastars	120.1	104.9	120.1	27
Obsidian Pharoah	116.1	115.7	115.7	25
Harp of Erin	116.3	116	113.7	23
Phytheas	115.3	115.3	115.3	21
Mayom	115.1	115.1	115.1	17
Buried In Snow	114.6	114.6	108.6	12
Yerkes	113.7	103.1	113.7	10
Balon D’or	108.2	108.2	108.2	8
Kitten’s Icarus	98.1	–	97.7	3