The Seattle Stayer

The highlight race for this weekend’s racing in Washington will be the two-mile Seattle Stayer (G1) over the dirt. The race, offering up its purse of $750,000, will be held this Saturday with a post time of 3:00 PM EST. The race is open to three-year-olds and up and has attracted a total of eight contenders for this years’ running. Let’s take a look through the field at this year’s competitors.  

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

Drawing the inside post, this local champion is ranked at number three for long distance dirt runners, and will be stepping back up to Grade I company for this race. The roan four-year-old most recently started in early July during The Big Show (G2) at two miles in Hong Kong. The colt broke out of the gate towards the middle of the field, though began to pick off other runners rather early in the race. The colt would cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred and eleven. He would win his prior start, which came in The Baltimore Special (G2) over the same distance in May. He would run in a much similar style in this race, staying well off the pace early on and going to win by five at the wire. 

2. Went Nationwide – orangepark – M. Walker – 5/1 

Next up will be the four-year-old light grey colt who will be looking for his first graded win of his career despite many near misses. The most recent start for the colt by Quality Road was in The Razorback Route (G1) in Arkansas this past June over a mile and three quarters. The colt was placed towards the rear of the field out of the gate, settling easily back into ninth out of the gate. He would move up gradually throughout the race but was asked the most as the field came into the stretch. He would rally to finish third at the wire, setting a speed figure of one hundred and ten. The most recent win was in January of this year during a listed stakes over the same distance in Ohio. The colt was last out of the gate in the short four horse field, but went on to win by five and a quarter lengths before moving up into graded company. 

3. Grandezza (IRE) – frankster – Z. Kentucky – 5/1 

Following will be the first five-year-old in Saturday’s race, who has found an affinity for the dirt despite a pedigree that seems more suited to the turf. By Shamardal and out of the Hall of Fame broodmare Magniforma, who was by Galileo (IRE) and a turf-runner herself, the bay horse has earned over two million in career earnings so far. The most recent start for the horse was in The Razorback Route (G1) over a mile and three-quarters in Arkansas. The horse was angled straight to the lead out of the gate but would be gunned down in the stretch to finish second while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve., which is the best speed recorded for the colt over the dirt. The most recent win for the horse was in December of last year during The Hit Man (G1) Italy over two miles where the horse took the field gate to wire. 

4. Desert Meola – newsastinr – H. Artack – 5/2 

The first gelding in the field for Saturday as well as the second contender to be sired by Quality Road will be going into the fourth gate. The five-year-old bay gelding most recently started in Arkansas during The Razorback Route (G1) at a mile and three-quarters. The gelding was rated well off the pace at the start, more than eleven lengths off the pace of the front-runner. He was urged to move midway through the race and quickly began to pick off other horses after that, ultimately going on to win the race by three and a half lengths and setting a speed figure of one hundred and fourteen. Including this race the gelding has won six consecutive races including The Atlanta Cup (G3) and The New Orleans Stayer (G3), both over a mile and three-quarters. The gelding will be facing a step up in distance, never having started over two miles. 

5. East Pages – neonshadow3 – V. Kendall – 5/1 

Making his first start wth Grade I company, the four-year-old colt is by top sire Constitution and out of a graded placed mare. The most recent start for the bay colt came in Florida over two miles in The Jacksonville Jog (G3) which the colt impressively won by five and a half lengths with a speed figure of one hundred eight after settling back towards the middle of the field early on at the start. Prior to this start the colt has also won two other consecutive races, both in listed stakes races. 

6. Oxley Hill – karen – S. Rainsberger – 11/1 

The longshot of Saturday’s field, this four-year-old gelding is making a return to the dirt and will be making his stakes debut, making a major jump up in class from his most recent start. The bay gelding by Game Winner most recently started over the turf in a starter allowance race over a mile and five-eighths. The gelding was last out of the gate in the race but wasn’t asked to move until midway through the thirteen-furlong race. He would go on to win by three and a half lengths, while setting a speed figure of one hundred two. The most recent dirt start for the gelding was in May during a listed stakes race over ten furlongs where he would come home to finish fifth.  

7. Computing Ape – bmoney – D. Viz – 9/1 

Taking a step up in class to face Grade I company for the first time in his career, this four-year-old bay gelding by Cloud Computing is a local champion and graded placed earner of just over $300,000 in lifetime earnings. The most recent start for the gelding was in The Big Show (G2) over two miles in Hong Kong. The gelding was sent out of the gate to settle towards the middle of the field at the break, made his move midway through the race, and went on to cross the wire in third, setting a speed figure of one hundred ten, equaling the speed figure he had set in his prior race, The Baltimore Special (G2), in which he finished second. The most recent win for the gelding was this past march during a listed local championship stakes in Kentucky, which he won impressively by four and three-quarter lengths. 

8. Cadet Rat – upperhand2 – Z. Edwards – 4/1 

Last into the starting gate on Saturday will be this five-year-old gelding by More Than Ready, who will be making his first start against Grade I company this weekend. The brown gelding is out of the Hall of Fame and million-dollar earning broodmare Cadet Cat. The most recent start for the gelding was in early July during the Grumpy Old Man Marathon (G2) over a mile and five-eighths. The gelding was urged quickly out of the gate at the break and was held just off the pace in second. At the midway point of the race the gelding had took over the lead, only to be overtaken in the stretch by a late closer and shuffled back to cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred and ten. The gelding saw his most recent win in May during a listed stakes race in Oklahoma over fourteen furlongs. The gelding took this race in gate to wire fashion, winning by four lengths.  

Flrancho’s Picks: 

Win: Desert Meola 

Place: Fleetwood Bundy (TUR) 

Show: Grandezza (IRE)