Derby Hopefuls Set For Jimmy Two Times Special

THE stable-sponsored race of the week, perhaps of the year, is the listed Jimmy Two Times Special Stakes in Malaysia on Saturday.

This race has got to win some kind of prize, if for nothing else but that name.  The Jimmy Two Times Special.  

You would think that this race was named after someone, perhaps a cousin, who had a friend, who had a friend, who knew of a gangster in another friend’s family tree, maybe, one who was long lost and just casually brought up in a conversation. And that maybe there was some terrific tale behind the name of Jimmy Two Times..

It’s really not as dramatic as all that, says Lenny, the owner of The Empire Stable, who sponsors the $75,000 nine-furlong listed stakes event on the dirt this weekend, one that is full of three year old Bluegrass Derby hopefuls.

“I’m not sure about the Jimmy Two Times name,” said Lenny, whose Empire Stables sponsors this race.  “The sad truth is that I have another horse named Jimmy Two Times. That‘s about it.  I think (the movie) Goodfellas was on, when I named that horse. Jimmy Two Times was the dude who said the ends of all his sentences twice.”

Lenny, who always is happy to throw out a big laugh or a joke, anytime, anywhere, said, “If you need something better, just say my top assistant, Jimmy, has a terrible stutter that started after a stable ‘accident,’ and now he has to say everything twice so we can understand…something. We’re using the proceeds from this race to get him a transplant of sorts.”

Okay, so here we go, with Lenny‘s race for three year old colts, on the dirt, all Bluegrass Derby hopefuls, all probably aiming for the Dubai Derby Prep Lock race, mostly dirt colts that were somehow accidentally shipped overseas, whose containers were unfortunately mislabeled–and also some turf colts, who sometimes turn into dirt horses while frolicking on the overseas grass courses.  There’s even a filly in here, trying to beat the boys at their own game in The Jimmy Two Times Special Stakes. 

There are, indeed, quite a few turfies turning to dirt, some for the first time here in Malaysia, in this weekend’s Jimmy Two Times Special Stakes. And there are also quite a few very nice looking colts, colts who have some pretty sweet looking dirt pedigrees. And, despite the wide and varying range of pedigrees in this race, the one thing these three year old colts–and that special filly–have in common is that they are all somehow trying to end up in the same place on the first Saturday in May, in Kentucky, for the Bluegrass Derby.

Here is the field, for the running of the listed $75,000 Jimmy Two Times Special, at 9 furlongs on the dirt, for three year olds, in Malaysia this weekend.

Genghis Khani (5/2) is a son of Dalakhani, out of the Hennesy mare Carol Of The Bells. This guy started racing late, and he has made up for it, in a very big way. This will be his fourth race in 42 days, when he hits the dirt in Malaysia Saturday. And they haven’t been just any old races, either. Check out this guy’s past performances. He broke his maiden on December 3 with a stunning 92 speed figure in an eight-furlong $45,000 MSW event on the dirt in Iowa. Then he took a really long break from the races, and this is where it gets really interesting for the colt from Pisano Stables. His connections shipped him over to Rhode Island, where he ran third in the eight-furlong listed Long Bomber Dirt Mile. All he did there was come from the back of the pack late to finish third with a blistering 96 speed figure. Pretty nice, so far. But, wait, it gets better. After that race on January 21, Ghengis Khani shipped to Florida on February 4, where he ran in the Grade 3 Good Cow. He finished sixth there, beaten 7 lengths, but he still managed a whopping 98 speed figure (a career high). Then, two weeks after that, Pisano Stables put him on a plane to Dubai, where he finished third in the Grade 3 Dubai 2000 Guineas. He popped another near 100-speed figure there (96). Phew! This has been one busy colt, and he’s your 5/2 morning line favorite here.

Muttering Bill (5/1) is one of two co-second favorites here in the Jimmy Two Times Special Stakes. Muttering Bill is owned by the sponsor of the race, The Empire Stables. Lenny’s got a pretty nice one here. This son of Tapit is extremely well bred, coming out of the Distorted Humor hemare Death By Stimulus. Muttering Bill broke his maiden at first asking, just like your favorite here, Ghengis Khani. But Muttering Bill (who is in no way, shape or form related to Jimmy Two Times) did it way back in July, in a seven-furlong sprint. It would be almost five months before Muttering Bill would win again, in his third allowance try. He popped an 88 speed figure in that win in December in an eight-furlong race on the New Zealand dirt. In fact, all of Muttering Bill’s races have been off American soil. Right after he scored that first allowance win, Muttering Bill was sent off to race at 8.5 furlongs for the first time, and it would also be his first–and only–stakes try. That came right here in Malaysia, where he’ll be racing this weekend. He finished sixth in the Black Fire Special Stakes that day. About a month later he hit the allowance circuit again, again in Malaysia, where he scored his third career win, over eight furlongs. He popped a career-high 91 speed figure there. And really, he won for fun in that four-horse race, drawing off to win by two lengths there. He doesn’t have quite the speed figures that morning line favorite Ghengis Khani has coming in here, but Muttering Bill is a bit more rested. This should be interesting, to say the least.

The other co-second favorite here in Malaysia this weekend is Symbolic Prize (5/1). The son of Symboli Kris S out of the listed dirt sprint stakes winning Pure Prize mare Montana Prize has been a pretty busy guy himself lately, much like the race favorite Ghengis Khani. This will be his second race in two weeks, when he takes the track in Malaysia this weekend. He’s run eight times so far in his career, and he’s broken the $130,000 mark in earnings. He’s won three times, finished second three times, and finished third once. His only off the board effort was in his only listed stakes try three starts back, when he ran sixth in the listed 8.5 furlong Silverworse Dirt Juvenile Stakes in Dubai on Christmas Eve. He’s run exclusively overseas, six times in Japan, where the money is very, very good. He has been pulling some very, very nice speed figures, too. Mid to high 80’s for the most part, until his last start, when he finally popped the magic 90 SF barrier (94) in a 9-furlong allowance win in Japan. He’s coming in here on a two-race win streak, both allowance events in Japan, and both were pretty impressive scores. It’s easy to see why you’re getting 5/1 on the colt from Novanora Stables. He’s a hot one. Symbolic Prize is on a roll, and let’s hope that the short two weeks’ rest between races doesn’t jump up and bite him here.

A couple of Irish-bred colts come in here as your 6/1 morning line colts. What these two have in common is that they’re not only from turf sires, but they both have run the majority of their races on dirt.

The first one is Push On A String (6/1), a son of Montjeu out of the Distorted Humor hemare Ocean Breeze. This start on the dirt in Malaysia this weekend will be Push On A String’s first time trying the dirt. All six of his starts prior to this weekend have come on the turf, and he was doing pretty well there, in fact. He has either won or finished in the money in all six of his turf starts, and he was jerking some very hot speed figures, too. When his connections, Jake Stables, moved him up to 9.5 furlongs two starts back, he was a very game second, and he popped a very game 93 career-high speed figure. Last time out, Push On A String went 9.5 furlongs again, and he won, but his speed figure dropped a bit, despite the win. He toyed with that field in Malaysia back on February 11, winning in gate-to-wire fashion. He really blew the field away there, opening up by 5+ lengths on the field midway through the race, and he eventually won geared down by a little over two lengths. This colt has shown a lot of early speed on the grass. We’ll get to see how that form transfers to dirt here in Malysia this weekend. Might be one to keep your eye on in this spot, if that speed on the grass transfers well to the dirt. You see, Push On A String is breaking from the two hole this weekend, and if he can get out in front of these quickly, he can get a very nice ground-saving trip on the rail.

Slew O Dances (6/1) is an Irish-bred son of Danehill. He’s owned by Chilcoat Stables, and this guy is out of the Seattle Slew mare, Slewperfecta. He’s really nicely bred, with Forty Niner back there, which means he’s got a Triple Crown-winning damsire, and a Kentucky Derby-placed DDS. Not bad. Slew O’ Dances comes in here with only three starts, and two of those were on the turf. When he couldn’t win in either of his two turf starts, Chilcoat slipped him into a dirt race last time out, a mile long $45,000 maiden special weight event in Berkshire, where he really blew up. He not only won, but he pulled a career-high 92 speed figure there. He skipped the allowances and comes straight from that maiden win to run in Malaysia on Saturday. Slew O Dances has run exclusively in Spain and the United Kingdom. He doesn’t have near the experience most of these have, but if he runs anywhere close to that last winning effort (a 92 speed figure), that should make him competitive here, to say the very least. I have a feeling he’s going to be more than competitive here, though. He’s been gaining ground late in all his races, including his win last time out, and he’s picking up an extra furlong here in Malaysia this weekend.

The only filly in this race is the Japanese daughter of Fantastic Light, Navigating (9/1). She is pretty hot coming in here to Malaysia this weekend. She’s won four of her seven starts, and she’s finished second in three others. And she’s got over $123,000 for her connections, Pedro’s 2^nd Racing Empire. Navigating is out of the Dubai Millenium mare Gone (GB), who didn’t do a whole lot on the track in her day. But she’s got a couple nice foals in the shed, so far, and both of them are Japanese-bred. The Rising Sun connection is working well for this mare. One of her other foals, the four year old Animation, is a graded stakes winner who’s been running extremely well on the turf. Navigating tried the grass once too, after a few dirt starts. She was running mostly in sprints, all overseas, before Pedro’s 2^nd Racing Empire brought her up in distance two starts back. She scored a win at 8.5 furlongs in a full-field allowance event in Dubai, a pretty impressive score there for Navigating. She popped a career-high 94 speed figure there, 12 points higher than anything she had previously thrown before. Then she turned right around last time out and won again, when she was brought up to 9 furlongs in another allowance event. It was a short field of three others she faced there, which probably accounts for a slight drop in speed figure (88), but that’s okay. This is a filly who’s shown a lot of early speed. She should be on or near the lead in Malaysia this weekend, if her past performances are any indication. Remember, this filly is stakes-placed too, and that happened way back in May of last year, when she finished second in the listed 6.5 furlong Robin With Beer Dirt Juvenile Fillies Stakes. This will be her first time facing the boys when she runs in Malaysia this weekend.

Red Beans And Rice (12/1) is yet another one here who has run most of his races on the turf (all but one, in fact), and when Skunkbarn Stables put him on the dirt, he showed not only an improvement in speed figures, but he also won…handily. The son of Teofilo has raced six times, won three, and finished on the board in the other three. This colt is no slouch, and he knows how to get the money. He, like a few others in here, was doing fine on the turf, for his first five starts. He was winning, or at least picking up a check, and then suddenly he went to the dirt, and he fired big time. He threw a career-high 86 speed figure in a 9-furlong allowance event in Berkshire. And he won by 3+ lengths, his largest margin of victory ever. His speed figures aren’t quite up to par with most of the others here. It might be interesting to see how he fires second time on the dirt though. This guy has been gaining ground late in his races, and it will be really interesting to see how the colt from Skunkbarn will do in his second try at 9 furlongs.

Neighbour (12/1) from 501 Stables raced only three times last year, and his speed figures were about the same as a lot of the others in here who ran as two year olds, for the most part. Then he took ten weeks off from the races in the winter, before coming back and popping some nice speed numbers (87 and 84) in his only two 2012 starts. He won last time out at 8.5 furlongs in a big money allowance event in Germany. The son of Discreet Cat out of the Danzig mare Slew Learn loves to hang near the back of the pack and make a late rush. He’s done that in practically every one of his five starts so far. He’s made a little over $67,000 for his connections. He does have two wins in those five starts, and he’s really maturing well since he turned three. If a lot of early pace develops on the front end, that could work to Neighbour’s advantage here. You might want to watch this guy late.

Wiesse S AP Wessie (13/1) has more starts than anyone in this field. The three year old colt also has more stakes tries than anyone in this field, and that experience could very well make the German-bred son of Wiesenpfad one to watch here. Like Neighbour, his speed figures aren’t quite up to most of the rest of this field. But one thing I’ve noticed in these stakes races, especially listed stakes, is that sometimes you’ll see a horse like this, at relatively long odds, and they’ll pull off a shocker, or at least finish on the board and pay some pretty nice prices to their backers. A lot of that could be attributed to the fact that they have so much stakes experience. Wiesse S AP Wessie has raced 13 times in his career, and the last six, starting in September of his two year old season, have been all stakes races. He’s only won one of the six, but he’s also got a second and two thirds in those six stakes tries, and that’s something to watch for here. He faced Symbolic Prize (who’s at a much lower price here in Malaysia this weekend) and he beat him two starts back, when Wiesse S AP Wessie finished third in the Silverwore Dirt Juvenile Stakes. The colt from Manni153 Stables was just about the same price then that he is this weekend, and Symbolic Prize was 6/1. Watch this colt, because he might just jump up and surprise this field this weekend, just like he did in the Silverwore Dirt Juvenile Stakes.

Always Invincible (16-1) is the longest shot in this race, according to the odds makers, but that is based solely on the fact that he just broke his maiden two starts ago, and he’s only had one allowance race. It’s definitely not based on his speed figures in those two races, because his speed numbers are much better than a lot of these with lower odds. He’s another one who could surprise this weekend. He’s an Irish-bred son of Invincible Spirit out of the Smarty Jones mare, Never A Lady. He’s also got Lemon Drop Kid back there in his pedigree, and that means he can definitely get the nine-furlong distance he‘ll be asked for this weekend. Like a lot of these, he started his career on the turf, and when that didn’t go so well, he was moved to the dirt by his connections, Adschus03 Stables. Always Invincible really started popping some big numbers on the dirt. Two starts back, he threw an 83 speed figure, when he broke his maiden in his sixth start. Then last time out, he finished second in a nine-furlong allowance on this very same Malaysian dirt course he’ll be running on this weekend. He threw an 88 speed number last time out, after leading most of the way. This colt has a ton of early speed, and he could very well set the tempo in Saturday’s race. You might want to keep close tabs on this Irish-bred three year old. He’s going to be in front early, and if the rest of the field spots this colt too much of a lead, he might be very hard to catch.