King Tachyon Fav In Grade 1 Milan Grand Prix

It’s in Italy, and it’s not a race you hear a whole lot about generally, but there are a couple of pretty interesting horses going for the $500,000 purse here in the Grade 1 Milan Grand Prix this weekend.

The field of nine will be going 12 furlongs on the turf course this weekend, and there’s one name that really sticks out here.

King Tachyon. He’s one of the richest horses in the game, with well over $11 million in purse money for his owner, Daniel, and The King is still rolling along at six years old, winning graded races and doing it impressively. He’s won some pretty big races in his time, and he’ll be trying to remain The King against a field of eight others here in Italy this weekend.

The six year old son of King Kamehameha will be making his career start number 33 here Saturday in the Milan Grand Prix, and he’s your 2/1 morning line favorite.

Skunkjeureyev (3/1) and Gatewaytothewest (5/1) are here, too, trying to knock King Tachyon off his perch. They’re the next best two in here, according to the odds makers, and both of those are coming out of the Grade 3 Honey Do, a race that Gateway To The West dominated last time out when he popped a 115 speed figure back in early May.

Here is the field for the running of the Grade 1 Milan Grand Prix, at 12 furlongs on the turf in Italy, for three year olds and up.

( 1 )  KING TACHYON  (JPN)    ***2/1***     Owner:  Daniel Empire Racing.

King Tachyon is ranked sixth in the world in total career earnings with $11.1 million, and he has some really big scores among his seven graded triumphs. The scratch-breeding that includes King Kamehameha, Agnes Tachyon and Northfields has been dominating this division it seems like forever, when it comes to big wins. Among the seven graded wins sprinkled throughout his illustrious career, two of The King’s biggest wins came last year, when he took down the Grade 1 Ark de ComicDog in Paris and the Grade 1 Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic. He figuratively left scorched turf in his wake in both of those races, when he notched 118 and 117 speed figures. In 2010 he had three huge Grade 1 wins, including the G.P. Von Baden, the Classic Turf Stakes and the Andrew Cote Japan Classic. He dominated all three of those races, leading gate to wire and winning by open lengths in all three. Last time out, the King won his second consecutive Grade 2 Clubhouse Stakes, with a 112 speed figure. After 32 career starts, you would think the King would be slowing down a touch, but that’s not the case. He’s been campaigned beautifully by Daniel over the years, and he’s still using his terrific early speed to dominate fields he’s running against. He ran in this race last year, finishing fifth in a field that including Skunkjeuryev, a horse he’ll see here today who finished third in this race last season. King Tachyon hasn’t shown signs of slowing down at all, and he looks like the one to beat here this weekend. With tons of early speed, King Tachyon should go right to the front, and he’ll probably stay there when they hit the finish line.

( 2 )   BALANCE ACT  (KY)       7/1       Owner: Tvjack Stables

The blood doesn’t get much more blue than this. Balance Act is a four year old son of Giant’s Causeway, and he’s out of the Kingmambo mare Lava Lil, who’s also got A.P. Indy back there in her pedigree. That blue blood hasn’t translated into a whole lot of wins for Balance Act, who’s 7/1 here. He hasn’t won since October of 2011, when he scored a victory in his first graded start of his career–the Grade 1 Classic Turf Stakes in New York, where he faced off against a field of seven that included no less than three present $1 million-plus earners and one other that’s sitting there with about $930,000 in earnings right now. Balance Act had reeled off three consecutive allowance wins right before he scored his only graded win in that start. His 110 speed figure in that race was a career high, too. Right after that, he finished second to none other than Yak in the Grade 1 Coffeefields Cup in Australia. Since then, though, it’s been tough for Balance Act, whose best finish was last time out when he copped a third in the Grade 3 Golden Bridge in Northern California. He’s got a little over a million dollars in the bank in 27 starts.

( 3 )  NEW VEGAS  (KY)       8/1         Owner: The Empire

New Vegas is a four year old son of Medaglia D’Oro, and he’s out of the Ghostzapper mare Fallout Shelter. Only one graded win for New Vegas, and that came last year in the Grade 3 Dutch St. Leger. New Vegas was on a pretty good roll there for a while at the end of 2010. Starting with his maiden breaker last April, he proceeded to win five of seven starts, topped by that win in the Grade 3 Dutch St. Leger. After that he got fifth in the Grade 1 Vicky Derby, before he took quite a bit of time off from the races. When he returned to the races in February, he finished second and first in a couple of allowance races, but his last two starts ended up with a fifth place finish in the Grade 1 South Australian Cup. That race was 16 furlongs, maybe a bit long for him. Then last time out, he dropped back into a 14-furlong allowance, where he faded to fourth. He probably needs to get back to this 12-furlong distance he’ll see here this weekend, although he’s running against some pretty stiff competition here. He’s only making his 18th career start.

( 4 )  THEYGOTMELOCKED UP  (JPN)    12/1      Owner: Willyam13 Stables

Willyam13 Stables is sending in Theygotmelockedup, a Japanese-bred four year old son of Delta Blues out of the Rainbow Quest mare Chain Of Custody. You would think stamina would not be a problem with this one, since his dam could run all day long, especially at 13 furlongs. She was a multiple winner at that distance. And her son had been doing really well, pulling a number of triple digit speed figures races at the really long events, especially when he was stretched out between 11-12 furlongs. Last time out he dipped below the 100 speed figure mark for the first time in a while in the Grade 3 CEO Classic. He’s got one listed stakes placing so far, and this is going to be his third career start in graded company. This field is pretty much over his head, really, when you first look at the race on paper. He doesn’t have quite the speed figures to match the rest of these, and he’s going to be challenged early to keep up with this bunch. If he can avoid falling too far back early on, like he did last time out in the Grade 3 CEO Classic, he might do pretty well here. That’s the catch, though. He was some 18 lengths behind at one point in that last race, and he just never really got into the bit.

( 5 )  HURRICANE TROY  (IRE)     79/1        Owner: Broohar Stables

Oh what a difference a furlong–and graded company–can make. Hurricane Troy was doing fairly well at 11 furlongs. The three year old son of Hurricane Run out of the Eavesdropper mare Fall Of Troy was cruising along at mostly 11 furlong races. He was picking up some nice place checks, for the most part, until his last two times out. He dipped his hoof in the 12-furlong distance, and graded company, and he just couldn’t keep up with those fields. But look where he was running. The Grade 1 Japanese Derby and the Grade 1 Italian Derby. Those fields were just too much for him, and while he was badly beaten in both of those starts, what you hated to see in both of those starts was a significant drop in speed figures. He’s only three years old, and this is his first start against older horses, and he is really in the deep end of the pool here against King Tachyon and this bunch. It’s hard to see him doing much of anything here, really, but you never know. Going on his last two performances, he would appear to be even more over his head than he was the last two starts. He’s had a couple tries at this 12-furlong distance against his own age group, and now against older horses, he’s really got it tough in this spot. He’s 79/1 for a reason here. Careful with this one. He’s the youngest one in this bunch and probably not quite ready for these. Nice horse, but give him a year or so.

( 6 )  SKUNKJEUREYEV  (IRE)    (3/1)       Owner: Skunkbarn Stables

Skunkbarn Stables will be trying to pull the upset here in the Grade 1 Milan Grand Prix. He’s got a couple monsters to deal with here in King Tachyon and Gatewaytothewest, among others, if he’s to do exactly that. He’s pretty regally bred. The five year old horse has turf royalty for a sire in Montjeu, and he’s also got Nureyev and Mill Reef back there in his scratch-bred pedigree. He’s been doing extremely well in the speed figure department, but he’s only got one graded win in a little over a year. That came on March 26 last year, when he won the Grade 3 Pan America Handicap. He finished third in this race last year, which he seems to do quite a bit. He seems to always be running into monsters in his races, yet he still manages to hang in there and pull out a lot of second and third place finishes. Check out his past performance charts and you’ll see what we mean. He’s been running in some pretty big races. Will this be the one where he says enough is enough? Can he knock off the big boys here and finally get that big graded win? Always one to pick up the pieces, he could just break through here, and if he does, he might be the heir apparent to King Tachyon, although we don’t see that one falling here. Last time out, Skunkjeureyev finished third in the Grade 3 Honey Do, to Gatewaytothewest–the winner there. That means he’s got to beat two BIG horses here to get that precious Grade 1 win. He’s got the ability, that much is certain, as he showed last season when he finished third in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf on the world stage. Not only was he beaten just half a length there, he pulled a 117 speed figure, so this horse is capable of doing big things. And Skunk always has him ready for a big race, and this is a pretty big one here. Look out for Skunkjeureyev in this spot.

( 7 )  GATEWAYTOTHEWEST  (KY)      5/1        Owner: Shaghar Stables

Gatewaytothewest is going to be extremely dangerous in this spot. Wanna know why? Because he’s that good. Look what he did last time out in the Grade 3 Honey Do. He beat a really nice field there, including Skunkjureyev, whom he’ll see here this weekend. He’s a son of Arch out of the Woodman mare Helisha’s Wood. He’s four years old, and he’s only got 20 starts under his belt. This guy might have a pretty bright future, if it wasn’t for one thing–he’s got some pretty erratic speed figures. He can jump up and throw a 115 speed ball at you, and then the next time out, he can pop a 100. That‘s been the big problem throughout his career–his lack of consistency in the speed figure department. If this guy could ever get on a roll and put together three or four nice speed number races in a row, he could be a very serious horse in the Long Turf Division. He’s definitely got the breeding. He’s a son of Arch, and he’s got Sadler’s Wells back there in his pedigree, too. He should have no problem with this distance, as he showed last time out in the Grade 3 Honey Do, a confidence-building win if ever there was one. But can he put two of those races back to back? That’s the big question for Gatewaytothewest here. He’s got two graded wins, he’s lightly raced, and if can ever answer the consistency question, he could be a horse to keep your eye on here and also in the future. Which Gatewaytothewest will show up. Shaghar Stables is hoping it’s the one who popped last time out in the Grade 3 Honey Do. IF he can run back to that race, he’s a serious contender here. But don’t forget, there’s still a horse by the name of King Tachyon in this race, and that’s a pretty big monster to knock off the block.

( 8 )  RAINBOW MOUNT  (IRE)     6/1      Owner: Zap’s Djs

Rainbow Mount will be looking for his first graded win ever here this weekend in Italy, and he’s 6/1 in this spot. At first glance, that looks a bit generous of the morning line odds makers, given the fact this is only his second career graded start. He’s a five year old son of Montjeu, with Rainbow Quest and Darshaan back there in his scratch-bred pedigree. He’s got 27 races under his best, and he’s won 11 of those–mostly in allowance company really. But he’s got some fairly nice speed figures coming in here. Last time out he tried graded company for the first time ever in the Grade 3 CEO Classic, where he’ll see a few of those he raced against here. He finished a very respectable fourth in that spot–a bit of a surprise. But he showed he can run in graded company. He might be ready to take a step up here, but with King Tachyon and Skunkjeureyev and Gatewaytothewest in here, that’s asking quite a bit of him to win this race. You never know, though. I’ve got a good feeling about this one. He might be ready to pop a big race here. Lack of graded company? That makes no difference here. He showed he can at least pick up a piece of the pie in his last start. He’s really just coming onto the graded scene, and until he shows us a really horrible finish, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he might come up big in this spot. Maybe not a win here, but perhaps a decent showing in this spot could propel him to bigger and better things. He doesn’t have a whole lot of graded wear and tear, and if he can just get over the hump in this spot, who knows what good things could be in store for this guy in the future. Might be one to keep your eye on here, should one of the big three horses in this race falter.

( 9 )  PARADISE ROVER  (KY)    10/1     Owner: Tulloch Stables

Paradise Rover is 10/1 in this spot, but look at his barn. Tulloch Stables. This is a pretty big operation that is used to getting it done in the big events, and Paradise Rover probably wouldn’t be in here, if his Tulloch connections didn’t think he could make some noise here in Italy this weekend. He’s got a ton of graded starts on his resume, but most of those came in his younger days, when it looked like this six year old son of Vindication was on the Triple Crown trail. He’s really only got four graded starts on the turf, and he hasn’t done very much in those. His best finish in graded turf company was way back in November, when he finished third in the Grade 3 New Zealand Drinking Device. He doesn’t have the speed numbers most of these have. In fact, it’s been a couple starts since he popped the triple digit speed figure mark. He’s 10/1 in this race this weekend, but he might be ready to pull a big one for Tulloch. Being out of the Tale Of The Cat mare Princess Paradise, you would think he’s bred more for the dirt, but as he’s gotten older, he’s adjusted well to long turf events. And with Tale Of The Cat in that pedigree, he shows quite a bit of speed in his races. This is the best bunch he’s faced in a long time, but look for him to be on or near the lead early on. The big question for Paradise Rover is can he hold on at the end, especially against the likes of these?