Delaware Brings In Da Noise, Brings In Da Funk

It’s a quiet weekend here at Delaware Park, as most of the action is taking place just a few hours away in New York. The DelPenn residency is well represented on the big day, and hopes to be just as well represented in the winner’s circle come Saturday. Back here though, there’s a solid card for the local fans, highlighted by the $75,000 Funk Morris Stakes which features nine speedy juveniles, including a pair of youngsters that broke their maidens in their first start, and could be any kind.

For you South Park fans, a colt that looked absolutely smashing in his debut was Underwear Gnome, trained by testcase4. The son of Rahy broke his maiden going 7 ½ furlongs with an impressive 89 SF. While he’s showed a tremendous turn of foot on the lawn, his dam, A.P. Kangaroo, a grade 3 winner on both dirt and turf, had perhaps her finest moment seven years ago this weekend, when she was second in the Breeders’ Bowl Distaff. Winner of 9 of 27 starts, and more than $1 million in earnings, Kangaroo’s first two foals are both winners, and this guy may be the best yet. He cuts back a furlong in distance, but that doesn’t seem to suggest a problem. Gets a class test here and he may be susceptible to a bounce, coming back on only three weeks’ rest, but it’s hard to knock anything about this guy. Underwear Gnome isn’t the only colt in the race with a sparkling debut, which presents an intriguing conundrum for the betting public. Thane, hailing from my own topicountc barn, pulled out an 85 SF when going gate to wire over 7 furlongs in North Carolina. The son of Gone West is out of a stakes-placed Sadler’s Wells mare, and is half-brother to a pretty nice Kingmambo filly who was injured in her stakes debut, and a bad Lear Fan maiden. The cutback in distance should suit, and Thane is running back on five weeks’ rest.

Still, while these two are the flash, they’ve got some catching up to do in terms of proven ability. Kandrakar, ranked 14th in the division, is already a graded stakes winner. The twopine trainee has won three of six starts, and the mellow son of Spinning World gets the great Herbert Ross, who somewhat surprisingly is not riding in New York this weekend, aboard. The colt is a confirmed closer, and the jury is still out whether he’s a sprinter with a late burst of speed, or a true closer that’s talented enough to get the job done at shorter distances. Still, after a disappointing ninth in the Flying Saucer last time out, it is understandable why his connections are eager to return him to the sprinting ranks. Kandrakar posted an 81 SF in his graded stakes victory, but hasn’t progressed much since, which could make for an interesting battle if the newcomers bring their “A” game. Still 5/1 for the class of the field is a pretty good deal, especially when the pace scenario figures to be hot and heavy up front. Two other stakes winners are in the field: gulf’s Glen Urquhart and blacksoxuk’s Flower of Scotland. Glen has won two straight, parlaying a maiden score in Illinois (77 SF) into a victory over that same track in the 7 ½ panel Clique Hope Special (76 SF). The cutback in distance shouldn’t be a problem, but the son of Canadian Frontier probably won’t see the easy 5+ length leads he’s experienced in his last two races, either, as he attempts to go for the hattrick. Flower of Scotland showed an affinity for an off-track, which he won’t see today, in the Sir Bold Memorial last time out, when he also won in gate to wire fashion (79 SF). The One Cool Cat juvenile is not just a wet track wonder, as he’d previously scored in the Dynawig Memorial at 5 ½ furlongs (73 SF). Ranked 42nd in the sprint division, he’s got an excellent shot of pulling out a stakes hattrick here.

Eze Hollandia has picked an interesting spot in which to make his turf debut. The Gold Fever colt hails from hollandia5’s barn, and made a nice impression in his first start, when he won wire to wire over this track in a 6 furlong dirt maiden (78 SF). Unfortunately for Eze, his speed figures haven’t progressed significantly from that starting point, so while he’s put up some nice efforts, in these tougher fields, it hasn’t gotten him all that much. Clearly, they’re hoping that a switch of surface may do the trick, and Ironside should give his usual solid effort. More of a concern than that surface may ultimately be getting this guy to learn to rate, particularly in this field, which is filled with frontrunners.

Daylight come and me wanna go home! The cleverly named Banana Boat Song is another maiden hoping to take the leap to stakes competition. After a dull dirt debut, oostende4 switched his son of Pure Prize to the lawn, and was rewarded with a win (75 SF). Will need to take another step forward against this bunch, but that step is very possible. Wimpy’s a good jock, and fans of the colt, or just the name, get a nice 10/1 morning line.

Glitter N Glitz has made a good start to his career for rikster, with a 5-2-0-2 record. Last time out, he was third behind Flower of Scotland, closing late in the stretch. The additional furlong should help the midpack runner, and this pace scenario may set him up well for a mild upset, as the frontrunners burn each other out, while this guy gets the jump on Kandrakar. If he can improve on that New Hampshire allowance score two starts back, he should be in the thick of the hunt coming down the stretch. Run for Honey, the second Gold Fever colt in the race, has also been chasing Flower of Scotland, finishing fourth behind that rival, and Glitter N Glitz, in the Dynawig, and third in the Sir Bold. Yet another speedster, this guy’s going to get pressured hard on the front end, and the low percentage jock doesn’t help in terms of rating this guy early. The downward trend in speed figures is troubling too.