Pinchingdale Vs. Rozelle Zapper In Golden Sprint
Fourteen starters have been lured to the desert by a $2,000,000 purse in the Grade One Sand Castle Golden Sprint. The six furlong dirt race is highlighted by the presence of the last two winners of the Breeders’ Bowl Sprint – 2010 winner Pinchingdale and 2011 winner Rozelle Zapper. But these are not the only runners proven on the big stage. Half of the field is listed at 10/1 or less. Let’s take a look at the runners.
#1 K’s Samitier has won a whopping nineteen of forty one races but has never scored at the graded level. The seven year old son of Giant’s Causeway came closest in the 2010 Grade Three Middle of Nowhere Sprint when he finished second. He does have good recent form, having won three of his last four starts but only one of those races came in a stakes. He has been running low 100-sps so he’ll have to step it up to be competitive here.
#2 Danger Close has also won three of his last four starts, but unlike K’s Samitier all three of those wins came in stakes and include the Grade Two DPCD Sprint Championship. That was the fifth graded victory for the four year old son of Dansili who dominated fellow sophomore sprinters early in the year. Danger Close tied his lifetime best sp of 114 with his DPCD victory and he’ll need to run back to that race or run better to win here.
#3 Certain Victory may not quite live up to his name but his fourteen victories in thirty six starts and over a million dollars in the bank is pretty impressive. The six year old son of A.P. Warrior is a grade three winner on dirt and turf. Most recently he took the Grade Three Uncle Vernon on the dirt with a 115sp in December after having run primarily on turf during the year. His two subsequent starts have come on the dirt and while he hasn’t quite run back to that big number he’s run a 111 when beaten in a photo in the Grade Three Wicker Sofa and a 106 when easily winning an allowance. His last race came at this track and this distance so he should be well acclimated to his surroundings.
#4 Love Cuts scored the biggest victory of his career when he took the Grade One Double F Memorial in November. The four year old son of Not For Love has only raced once since then, finishing fourth in the Grade Two Pablo Verces Handicap in January. Love Cuts earned a lifetime best 113sp winning a listed stakes in October. He hasn’t run back to that number since and will have to improve against these types. How Love Cuts handles his time off will have great bearing on how well he runs.
#5 Bro Heem has won eight of thirteen starts and placed in an additional three. He’s got four listed stakes victories to his credit but all came last year against three year olds. The now-four year old son of Strike the Gold was unplaced in his only graded stakes attempt last fall. He was given nearly four months break over the winter and returned to the races on March 3rd in the Raul’s Prospector Dirt Dash. He ran a solid second that day with a 101sp. His lifetime best is a 106 so he will need to see improvement in his second start off the layoff.
#6 Gilbreth is a seven year old son of Point Given who has really come into his own in the last year and a half. He earned his first stakes victory in the Grade Three Fall Midweight Handicap in November of 2010. He wouldn’t see the winner’s circle again until his most recent start, taking a listed stakes, but he was second by a neck in the Grade Two Sooner-Husker Stakes and second again in the Grade One Iceberg during that time. Also during that skein he has run 100+ sps in all but one start, with a lifetime best coming two starts back when he was third by a head in the Grade Three Backseat Driver Stakes with a 114.
#7 Pinchingdale earned his stripes by winning the 2010 Breeders’ Bowl Sprint. He was fourth in this race last year and while he was second in two graded races over the summer he didn’t reach the winner’s circle again until November. The five year old son of Graeme Hall won an allowance with a 111sp and followed that with a win in the Grade Three Backseat Driver Stakes with a career best 114sp. He was fourth in the Grade Three Shindig Sprint run at six furlongs over the Dubai Dirt in January and just missed winning an allowance in his most recent start.
#8 Bluff a Bluffer won the first stakes race of his career in his first start of this year. The four year old son of Pine Bluff had a solid year last season but looks poised to have a great 2011. Coming off a two month layoff, Bluff a Bluffer won the six and one half furlong Year of the Sal Dirt Sprint in January. He was second by ¼ lengths in a six furlong stakes race in February and most recently tied his career best sp of 109 when winning a five and one half furlong stakes. He’ll have to improve to win here but he is on the upswing and it is not impossible.
#9 The Golden City owns the highest last-out sp of 118 earned while winning the six furlong Grade Three Count Fingers Sprint. It was his second graded score in a row, having taken the Grade Two Pablo Verces Handicap in his previous start. The four year old son of Touch Gold was also a grade three winner last season. The Golden City has exceeded the 100 mark in his last ten starts and if he runs back to his last race he will be difficult to beat.
#10 Battle of Dixie was claimed for $20,000 last April. He was stakes-placed at the time but for new trainer shunk he won the Peguin Cat Dirt Sprint and later the Grade Three Negative Stakes. The six year old son of Dixieland Band ran his first poor race for his new trainer in his last start but it came on a sloppy track which he has shown repeatedly not to care for. Prior to that he was not worse than fourth since being claimed and had run seven consecutive 100+sps.
#11 Low Shipping Cost has been a consistent stakes performer in recent months. His only graded victory came in the Grade Two Everything’s Legal in July and was second or third in graded races in his next four starts. That included a head lost in the Grade One Old Name and a ¼ length loss in the Grade One Double F Memorial. The four year old son of Street Cry was also third in the Breeders’ Bowl Sprint. After the Double F he was given two and a half months off and returned to win an allowance. He was seventh last out in a listed stakes over off going.
#12 Rozelle Zapper is the reigning Eclipse Champion Sprinter after a big season culminating with a win in the Breeders’ Bowl Sprint. It was his third graded victory of the year after wins in the Grade One Iceberg and the Grade Two Vanderbuilt. All three races came at six furlongs. Rozelle Zapper was second behind Danger Close in the Grade Two DPCD Sprint Championship and then was given time off before returning on March 3rd. He was seventh in a listed stakes at five and one half furlongs. He has improved in his second start off a layoff in the past but this is a big step up against some very sharp competition.
#13 Clarion Call is a five year old son of Special Week. He is a four time stakes winner but has never won at the graded level. His best finish in graded races cam last October when he was fourth in the Grade One Old Name. He was eleventh in the Grade Two DPCD Sprint Championship last year behind Danger Close and was given time off before returning on March 3rd. He finished third in a listed stakes but was only beaten ½ lengths while running a 108sp.
#14 Bogos was a two time Grade Two winner last season, taking the seven furlong Billy and Jimmy Stakes in April and the six furlong Due North Stakes in June. He has not won in seven starts since, but the five year old son of Forestry was second by a head in his most recent start, an allowance. He was making his second start off a layoff following a six place finish in the Breeders’ Bowl Sprint (beaten less than three lengths) and he ran a 109sp, a solid improvement off the 100 he ran in his first race back.
Good luck to all!