Best of the Best Go In the BB Juvenile

          The day we have all been impatiently awaiting has finally come. A full field of fourteen juvenile colts has assembled to run for a possible divisional title, and a purse of $1 million. The race of course is the Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile Colts. The race is scheduled to be run over a fast dirt course going a mile and a sixteenth. We have one undefeated horse in the field, and thirteen other great horses. This race is always one of my favorites, because two-year olds are so unpredictable, one day they may be slow and the next day a rocket, so all these horses have a legitimate shot at a Breeder’s Bowl win today. So let us get to the field, the horses are in the paddock, and the owners are bundles of talkative nervousness.

            The first horse that reached the paddock was Crafty Cyclone, the number fourteenth ranked two year old. Cyclone is a bold looking chestnut, who seems to be taking his surroundings in stride, unlike his owner/trainer ydracing. A son of Crafty Prospector, he has three wins and two shows in six starts. Ydracing was able to calm down a few moments to talk about his first ever Breeder’s Bowl entry. “The dream started for me when my favorite sire, Crafty Prospector was able to breed to his ideal dam bloodlines. From there on he didn’t disappoint, wiring his maiden race, then second time out he showed he didn’t need the lead and stormed home for his second consecutive victory.” In his first stakes effort he bounced, but that happens to a lot of the two year olds this time of year, so he rested seven weeks, and then ran in a stakes once again and he won with his highest speed figure to date. “At this point we knew we had to stretch him out, he responded well, by closing to third.” Ydracing knew if his colt was going to make the Breeder’s Bowl he needed to get a graded race under his belt, so three weeks ago he entered him in the Sparkling Wine, where he dropped well off the pace to close to third and lose only by a length and a quarter. When asked about the horses condition with only three weeks off he stated he is ready to run, but I will not disclose if he’s sharp or not. After looking this horse over myself, I see him as being a strong candidate for the three year old races, he’s a good horse at two, but I think the longer races at three will be even better for him. At 15/1 there is some money that may be able to be made on him.

            So Slew Me, the nineteenth ranked colt has been tucked away in the tacking stall in hopes of keeping him calmer than owner babyfarms. So Slew Me is a tall, dark bay colt by Belong To Me, with three wins and a show in six starts. Babyfarms was too busy hyperventilating to give me any comments on the entrant. So Slew Me is a head strong colt that wants to be towards the front whenever possible. He’s gone a mile three times and won twice, in his graded win he jumped several speed figures to post a 94, but when asked to do it again he ran fifth with an 88. A very good horse, that has trouble rating, if the jockey can calm him down some, he’ll have a better shot at 12/1.

            Stone Boy, the fifteenth ranked colt, has been acting just like his name. Nothing is getting to this small light bay son of Birdstone. Stone Boy has the most starts of the field with eight, winning four of them and placing and showing one time each. He’s the kind of horse who bullies his way to the front and runs his heart out, hoping he has enough left to make it to the wire. His owner/trainer xanthu3 was more than happy to speak with me about his colt. “When I was going through my mares that needed to be bred I found his momma, not one of my better horses, nor do I remember her, but decided with lines like Crafty Prospector and Kris she deserved to go see a stallion. I didn’t want to spend too much on her mating since she wasn’t a great racer, so I chose Birdstone, based on his name and current stud fee.” Hmm, maybe I should breed with those ideals more often myself. He’s done it all right getting to this point breaking his maiden with a 76, then he took a step back not winning three, but got back on track and won three consecutive races, including a stakes, running away from the field each time. “At that point, all I could think about was the Breeder’s Bowl, so I took him to a graded stakes where he looked good, but lacked his final surge, and finished second.” At that point I didn’t know if he’d make it, but let him train seven weeks to this point to see if he’d pull in.” When asked about his horse’s chances, he replied he’s ready to run, but I am a little concerned about the distance.” I agreed with the trainer, and wished him luck. At least we all know Birdstone won the Belmont Stakes, so he may be able to get the distance. At 16/1 the oddsmaker didn’t like him much, but you really can’t rule him out. I’d like to see him rate, but I’m not sure if he’s capable of that.

            Thor (AUS) the twelfth ranked colt is a stunning fire like chestnut son of Storm Boot, a son of Storm Cat that rarely gets the credit he’s deserved. With a good performance today, Thor can put Storm Boot on the map of sires. Thor’s owner dannyboy was speechless when asked about how he felt his horse’s chances were and about the long road to the breeder’s bowl. Thor has three wins and three places, in seven starts, finishing off the board only once. After starting his career off with two wins he ventured into the graded stakes arena where he won once and placed three other starts. Thor is coming off of a three week rest, in which he lost to Magic Merlin, one of today’s entrants. Thor seems to be enjoying his moment in the sun though as he strikes a pose for the many photographers. At 8/1 he showed he can run with the best, including in top speeds. The only problem I see with him is he sometimes makes his move too soon and tires, which is what happened last time out.

          Black Clown, the fifth ranked colt looks like his name, he’s a gangly dark bay, almost black son of Afleet. There is no doubt about it, he’s hoping to take after Afleet Alex, except he wants to win the Breeder’s Bowl. With two wins and four places in six starts he looks tough. He can run in many styles, on the lead, closely stalking, or coming from the middle of the pack. Although his performances, are best when he is coning from slightly off the pace. Last time out he looked stunning closing to win a grade two, while winning he solidified his reasons for going to the Breeder’s Bowl. Trainer semi3 was occupied with his horse making sure that nothing happened to his star colt, so no comments were available at press time. At 10/1 he lacks a lot of wins, but he has shown that he can close, making the distance look ideal to him, and has never run a truly bad race in his short career. I don’t see a bounce in this one’s future.

            Half A World Away, the sixth ranked colt is another son of Belong To Me. Why didn’t my Belong To Me want to run like these colts? The bright eyed cinnamon chestnut is feeling his oats today; the groom has had to take quite a hold on this colt today to keep him from getting loose. Foxvbullet, Half A World Away’s owner and trainer was more than happy to give me an interview. When asked about his colt’s behavior he stated that “Half is the type of horse that needs six weeks or more rest to perform at his best, and he’s had seven weeks, so it’s slightly excited about getting back to the track. He’s not a badly behaved horse, he’s usually a delight to be around, but he’s sensing the excitement of the day.” “I never thought a son of Belong To Me would take me to NY on the biggest day of racing.” Before the trainer left to saddle his entrant he stated that he has trained well in the past seven weeks, and is in fact sharp for the race, so there will be no excuses for him as long as he gets away from the gate well. We should expect him to go to the lead, or closely stalk the pace setter or pace setters. At 9/1 it is my opinion that as long as he doesn’t get into a heated speed duel he should be able to make the extra sixteenth of a mile.

            Super lightly raced Koorawatha is the next horse that I set my eyes upon. The stunning chocolate bay son of Fusaichi Pegasus is ranked number one in the division. He’s only been to the track three times to race, but has a record of two wins and a place. His most recent win was a grade one in the GSR Diamond. He’s been stabled here in NY since his last start giving him a training edge on some of the other entrants. The massive amounts of rain though may have taken a toll on his training, as his trainer, triscay has admitted that his entrant is only Ready To Go. His trainer also stated that they’ve decided to stick with Lenny Gunn because of how nice of a feel he had for the colt in the Diamond. “The plan is to let him go to the lead, and make the rest of the field catch us, he came out of the Diamond in great shape, and I feel he learned a lot from that race as well.” Before parting ways he stated “we are confident, but in horse racing you never know.” There is a lot of speed in this race, so unless he can clear the field he may be tested from the jump out of the gate and find himself in a tiring duel. At 8/1 being lightly raced may or may not be to his advantage, he’s never been pressured before, and will surely be in this race.

            Gradetwo stable is sending out Rhibus to get revenge on Koorawatha who beat him in the GSR Diamond last time out. The third ranked colt is a muscular bay son of Kingmambo and is the winner of four races in five starts, with finishing second in his last start. Rhibus, is an interesting name, so I asked the trainer how he named his star athlete. “Rhibus is the word for the Hindu equestrian god.” “The only reason we lost to Koorawatha is he got out under an uncontested lead and we just couldn’t catch him in time. There is now way he’ll get out so easily today, which will be to our benefit. The only disappointment we have going into the race is we lost Lawton, but Gossett is a bright jockey who should work well with our horse. He is sharp and should run the race of his life.” This horse has the perfect running style, which is coming from off the pace. He won’t have to deal with the testing fractions; all he has to do is be fast enough to pick up the pieces when the front runners tire. At 7/1 you shouldn’t overlook this classy colt.

            Virtuoso is the second of three superstable horses to make the field today. The sixteenth ranked colt is the son of Cryptoclearance has been well behaved during the commotion in the paddock today. The bold dark grey colt has two wins, a place and a show in five starts. When the representative for super7 spoke with me he said “he runs just like his sire did, by giving one great run from the back, getting up just in time. In the Camel grade two, last time out, he and stable mate Heaven’s Door were victims of a horse loose on the lead, but we are very confident in that not happening in today’s race. Virtuoso should only get better as the distances get longer.” In my opinion of the horse, he tries hard but he just doesn’t get his legs under him soon enough to get that closing kick to work to his benefit. At 15/1 I like closers, and if he runs like he did last time he could be quite competitive.

            As we reach the final entrants of the races, the jocks appear and walk towards the anxious two year olds, Terrodega, the eighteenth ranked colt is on his toes, and his ears are violently going back and forth. The chili red chestnut son of Dixieland Band is three for six lifetime with one place. Owner/trainer darylucla3 hunted me down to get his moment of glory to speak about his horse. I really like the horse’s name, but wasn’t sure how he thought it up, ends up he named him for Talladega, which he believes suits his horse well. “This horse loves to drop back and watch the race unfold before him, then around the final turn when most of the field is still infront of him he flies like a race car when the clutch is dropped and the pedal hits the metal.” “I’m very excited to see how he does with the added distance, since his only losses have come when he’s run out of racing ground. Upon further inspection I see that this grade one winner improves each time out in some way, whether it be by winning or better speed figures. A 9/1 he’s one of the oddsmaker’s top choices, maybe he’ll be yours as well.

            The last of the super stable horses has drawn post position eleven, Heaven’s Door. Heaven’s Door is the thirteenth ranked colt, and is a maturing bay son of Mineshaft. As the jockey is hoisted into the saddle he gives a snort and bobs his head nd walks off calmly. He has three wins and two places in five starts. The representative for super26 stated that Heaven’s Door has been a major surprise to the owners, who took a liking to the young sire. “We feel has matured rapidly and should improve off of his last race out in Nebraska.” “He’s also performed well in graded company so we don’t feel he’s at too much of a disadvantage and expect a big effort from him this weekend. He is a winner at this distance which puts him at an advantage to many of the other horses, but he does lack the coveted graded victory. He loves to close though so that should benefit is running style and expected hot pace. At 7/1 you never rule out a two year old in any race, unless they maiden claimers in a graded race, which surely he is not.

            Next up is the number two ranked Lovely Sheep, oddly enough he is a long shot in this race. Sheep is a small light bay son of Lammtarra, a sire that isn’t heard of excessively. In the paddock he was confined to his stall to keep him calm, since he is a front runner, he can’t afford to run his race in the paddock In six starts he has three wins, two places and a show. Since breaking his maiden in his second try he’s done nothing but improve his speed figures every race out. The owner tonno200 was rushing to his box seats, but stopped to say “after his Sparkling Wine grade one victory last time out he is running at ready to go, our plan is to let him go at the gate and try to hold off the closers. He likes the track, and has won going this distance here as well.” Even though he is a front runner I am surprised to see him at 24/1, being a graded winner at this distance, and beating other horses in this race that day.

            Cryptoclearance is also represented by two runners today, with his last runner being Crypto Flow, the seventeenth ranked colt. Crypto Flow is a dark chocolate colored muscular colt with three wins and a place in five starts. He was looking good until his last start when he hit a wall. Trainer kyclocker said that “he came up only ready to go for his last start, but wanting to make it to the race we pushed on and he just wasn’t himself that day.” “Givens has taken the mount and I will let him do what he seems best, there is no doubt in my mind he’ll know exactly where to place my horse. One of my horses met him in his maiden win, so I know personally this horse can be tough if he is on. He is usually a closer which should make the distance suitable, since he wasn’t quite ready to run a great race last time out we really need to throw out his route debut, and just see what he does today. At 12/1 if he truly is ready to run he could be looking for revenge.

            Finally we have reached the last horse in the field, quite possibly the best horse in the field as well. Magical Merlin, the undefeated son of freshman sire Smarty Jones is warming up on the track like a champion. The fourth ranked colt is a muscular, but average sized bay colt with four wins in four starts. He has the best speed figures of the field and improves off of every start. He’s another closer, who loves to go a mile so why not a mile and a sixteenth. His owner and trainer lordbyron says he feels he has rushed the colt to get him to the race. “He was a late starter, and I found myself doing things I ordinarily wouldn’t do. He ran last time out just as ready to go so he could make it to the gate today. He came back needs rest, which set us behind some because training a tired horse will get you nowhere. So today he is ready to go and I just hope for a performance like last time. This is my first juvenile Breeder’s Bowl entrant, so I’m quite excited, and hope he can pull it off.” If he’s anything like his sire, he should be able to win this race easily. At 6/1 the loss of training may have set him back some, but he shows the most ability in the field and should be the one to be feared. Breaking from the outside had its advantages and disadvantages; he won’t get boxed in, but may get forces wide around the turn.

            This is some field that is warming up on the track, every horse looks like they can improve, and run the race of their life. A win today will not only help earn the divisional title, but also make the horse the early favorite for next year’s derby. My choices for the race are Magical Merlin, Half A World A Way, and Terrodega. Best of luck to all the entrants and may your horses run their best and return to the stable safely.