The Baltimore Special

The last of three graded races on the card this weekend in Maryland will be The Baltimore Special (G2), which will be held over two miles on the dirt and will be open to all horses, four-years of age and up. The Grade II race is offering up a purse of $375,000 and is set to start at 3:00 PM EST. We have a short field for this year’s running of the race, with a total of eight contenders going to the starting gate, including two mares that will be taking on the boys. 

Computing Ape – bmoney – J. Dizzle – 8/1 

First into the gate will be a four-year-old gelding that will be going off as the early morning line long shot in a very closely matched field. The gelding is the only horse in the field to have not started in a graded stakes race yet, making his debut in graded company this weekend in this race. He is coming off of four consecutive wins, all of them by decisive margins. The most recent win for the gelding came in a listed stakes race in Kentucky at two miles. He set a speed figure of one hundred five for the race with a winning margin of four and three-quarter lengths. The other string of wins for gelding were all at the allowance level.  

That’s Damn Nice – givenglory – N. Lawton – 7/1 

Next up will be another four-year-old gelding making his fourteenth lifetime start going into Sunday’s race. The most recent start for the gelding came in Dubai during The Desert Stamina Cup (G1) at a mile and three quarters. The gelding was sent to the lead early on in the race but caved to the closers in the stretch, crossing the wire in fourth while setting a speed figure of one hundred eight for the race. Prior to this, the gelding had won five consecutive races including the Nice To Get In (G2) over the same distance by three lengths. Three of the geldings allowance wins were over two miles. 

Fleetwood Bundy (TUR) – fleetwoodiii – R. Waples – 7/1 

Coming off of four consecutive wins, this Turkish bred colt is already a Grade I winner and is out of the Grade I and million-dollar earning broodmare Elite Titleist. The roan colt last started in New York during The Cayuga Lake Special (G1) at two miles on the dirt. The colt was sent out stalking the pace early in seventh before being urged to start to make a move on the front runners towards the middle of the race. He would go on to win by a length and a half with a speed figure of one hundred eleven, which was a lifetime best for the colt. Prior to this the colt had run almost exclusively in his native Turkey and has won two local listed championship stakes. 

Much Too Oily (GER) – 2021bulbs2 – D. Viz – 5/1 

Midway through the field we have the first of our two mares in the field, this German-bred five-year-old is out of the million-dollar earning broodmare Much Too Deep and is by Soldier Hollow. The mare has made three graded starts to date, all at the Grade III level. Most recently she started in The Charlotte Cup (G3) at a mile and three-quarters. Going to the lead out of the gate, she faded in the stretch to finish fifth with a speed figure of one hundred four. Her most recent win was in her native Germany during an allowance race at a mile and a quarter. She won, leading gate to wire, by two and a quarter lengths. The mare has run against the boys three times before, finishing on the board, and has also faced the two mile distance, most recently in The All Nighter (G3) where she finished third. 

Kymarf Tyfool – yamcheap03 – A. Jolly – 9/2 

Next up, this colt will be seeking his first graded stakes win, though he has placed. The four-year-old by Algorithms made his most recent start in Kentucky at a mile and three-quarters during The Atlanta Cup (G3). The colt broke out of the gate off the pace in seventh and started to pick off other runners early on the race. At the wire the colt would cross third, setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred seventeen, despite being seven and three-quarter lengths off the pace. The most recent win was over the same distance during a listed stakes in Massachusetts. The colt has run over two miles just once, this coming in January during The Buckeye Stayer (G2) where he would finish sixth.  

Spun Silence – rrracing – Y. Cross – 7/2 

By Hard Spun, this five-year-old horse is also looking for his first graded win this Sunday. He’s lightly raced and will be making his nineteenth lifetime start this weekend. The most recent start for the colt was in Kentucky during The Atlanta Cup (G3) at a mile and three-quarters. After being held in a stalking position out of the gate in ninth, the horse would cross the wire fifth, eleven lengths off the pace, with a speed figure of one hundred eleven. The most recent win for the colt was in an allowance race over a mile and a half in Pennsylvania in June of last year. This will be the colt’s first start at the two mile distance.  

Only Hearts (GB) – pocahontas – R. Bokie – 7/2 

Coming off of two impressive consecutive wins, this five-year-old is the second of our mares in the field for this weekend. The mare is already an accomplished graded winner and has brought home over a million in lifetime earnings. The most recent start for the mare came in Dubai during The Desert Lady Stayer (G1) at a mile and three-quarters. The mare set off out of the gate in seventh towards the rear of the field and quickly picked off other contenders early on in the race. The mare would win the race by three lengths with a speed figure of one hundred twelve. Prior to this, she faced the two mile distance the field will be going over this weekend during The Eagle Handicap (G3), which she also won in a similar fashion by an impressive six lengths. The mare has faced the boys just once, this in July of last year in Newmarket during The Greatwood Cup (G2) over two miles on the turf. She would finish second in this race. 

Kiama Cabaret – nomadic – B. Scott – 6/1 

Last into the starting gate this weekend, this four-year-old colt is taking a small step down in class after his venture into Grade I company in his most recent start. By Gun Runner, the chestnut colt saw his last start in March during The Cayuga Lake Special (G1) at two miles. Sent out of the gate in second out of the gate, the colt started to lose ground midway through the race and eventually crossed the wire in tenth while setting a speed figure of ninety-two. Prior, the colt finished second over the same distance in The Buckeye Stayer (G2). The most recent win for the colt was in August of last year during The North Country Derby (G3) in Canada. Just off the pace in second, the colt took over in the stretch to win by a quarter of a length.  

Flrancho’s Picks: 

Win: Only Hearts (GB) 

Place: Fleetwood Bundy (TUR) 

Show: That’s Damn Nice