French Grand Prix draws Top Rated Field of 14
The lle de France Region is blessed this weekend with “perfect” racing conditions, 75 degree temperatures, sunny skies and a Grade-1 race on the “firm” Longchamp Turf course, that promises to leave race fans talking about it for weeks to come. The Grade-1 French Grand Prix set to run at 12 “grueling” furlongs on the demanding Longchamp grass will feature a stellar field of 14 of the turf long top rated 3-year olds in the Sim. One would think that with a field comprised of the # 1 Turf Long Rated 3-yr. old Supapogs8’s # 1 RIZLA GREEN, # 4 Rated Brightvairs DYNAMIQUE and Udhens # 5 Rated Colt OVERINDUGENCE, that surely one of those 3 Stars would be favored ! However the Longchamp Track Handicapper has awarded that honor to Propertyof’s # 16 Rated Colt ADVENTURES, based on his “explosive” stretch move victory in the Grade-1 Jockey Club over this very same 10.5 furlong French turf course.
# 1 ADVENTURES ( 4/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: propertyof Jockey: S. Graf
S48 RATING 333.2 Style: Off Pace Closer
The only blemish on Adventure’s 9 race career was his 2nd race back in the 8 furlong Grade-1 2000 Guineas, may have turned out to be a “blessing in disguise” where it was obvious that Adventures was just starting to make his move in deep stretch. That tipped off trainer/owner Propertyof that Adventure’s best efforts would probably come at the Classic distance’s of 9 furlongs and longer. With a Grade-1 and Grade-2 victory and speed ratings of 109 and 110 already achieved in his first 9 career races, his ability ceiling is as high as any 3-year old in the Sim.
COMMENT: Hard to imagine his huge stretch running style won’t fit this race perfectly, definitely a Top Threat, with a “big” chance to win.
# 2 OVERINDULGENCE ( 7/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: udhens Jockey: J. Ledwith
S48 RATING 490.6 Style: Early Speed
Talk about a “leap of faith” that really paid off, trainer/owner Udhen’s has to be congratulated for taking a risk that paid off HUGE. Overindulgence looked like he was on his way to a nice career on the dirt, while he had shown ability on the turf with a 2nd and 4th place finish in graded competition as a 2-year old, and his last 6 races, including a restricted Stakes victory was achieved on the dirt. Udhen decided to take a “bold” chance and enter Overindulgence in the Grade-1 12 furlong Adelaide Derby on the turf, despite the fact his colt had never raced over 8 furlongs and his fasted turf speed rating was an 87 earned with a 4th place finish in Grade-3 Winter Favorite. 12 furlongs, and a 105 Speed Rating later, Overindulgence had a Grade-1 turf victory and udhen was pocketing the winners share of the $500,000 purse.
COMMENT: Proved he’s for real and can handle the distance, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be hard challenged every inch of the 7920 feet in this contest.
# 3 TALUIMA ( 22/1 ) 3-yr Filly
Owner: gudenus Jockey: M. Nurmi
S48 RATING 112.2 Style: Early Speed
Talk about ambitious, trainer/owner Gudenus is really trying to climb a “steep” hill with his precocious French Bred filly Taluima. It’s her first time against the Colt’s, her first try at a Grade-1 Stake, and her first try at 12 furlongs. Throw in the fact that she’ll definitely be challenged early by Overindulgence on her inside flank and several others from the outside and you can see what a tall order she has to overcome in Saturday’s Grand Prix.
COMMENT: She need’s the Miracle Nun Sister Marie Simon-Pierre’s prayers to help her here, and even the kind “sister” would be hard pressed to bet a couple Euro’s on a placing.
# 4 FROZEN SPIRIT ( 17/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: iant Jockey: M Mia
S48 RATING 104.1 Style: Early Speed / Pace Presser
Sat in a stalking position 3 lengths from the lead entering the stretch in the Grade-1 Jockey Club dominated by Adventures and never fired, fading to finish 9th beaten 20 lengths, while he may have bounced from his blazing front running 10 furlong Commander Jericho victory, it’s hard to imagine trainer/owner ian’s Frozen Spirit turning the tables on the likes of Adventure’s with an extra 1 ½ furlongs to overcome.
COMMENT: Tough spot, speedster will be running with the front pack early, but the stretch run will .more than likely take it’s toll on him.
# 5 HARADAPRADO ( 15/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: ladofmanor Jockey: C. Cleland
S48 RATING 447.6 Style: Off Pace Closer
Trainer/owner Ladofmanor isn’t sitting on his laurel’s, after a winning effort in the Grade-1 Jean Brat with Middle Name Danger, he’s right back to try for a double, with his late running stable mate Haradaprado, who, while his credentials aren’t quite as impressive as MND’s he has earned over $400,000 and does have a 12 furlong Stake victory to his credit. Also he has that late stretch running style that can grab a top finish if a quick pace sets up early … must respect!
COMMENT: Interesting Colt has winning connections, needs the pace to be ultra “hot” and best effort for his late charging style to garner a placing.
# 6 GLOBE TREKKER ( 16/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: appower Jockey: P Nine
S48 RATING 136.9 Style: Mid-Pack Closer
Trainer/owner Appower is hoping to catch the same “lightning” in a bottle with his colt Globe Trekker, that Udhens did with Overindulgence. To his credit, Globe Trekker did rally to win a 12 furlong turf effort, but close examination reveals that it was in a Allowance NW-4L against a thin field of 3 whose total earnings were just below $175,000, while in today’s field 7 of his competitor’s have each earned between $200,00 and 3,000,000, quite a daunting step up in class.
COMMENT: He’s consistently earned purse money in all 11 of his starts, but he’ll need his very best to keep that streak going, might actually prefer the dirt..
# 7 RIZLA GREEN ( 6/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: supapogs8 Jockey: H McLean
S48 RATING 1378.6 Style: Off Pace / Mid Pack Closer
Who’s earned 3,449,600, who’s the # 1 Rated long turf 3-yr. old colt in the Sim, who’s won 7 of his 10 starts, no less than 3 Grade-1’s and never been worse than 2nd, and is listed an amazing 6-1 on Saturday’s Morning Line. Trainer/owner Supapogs8’s colt Rizla Green, that’s who. Talk about not getting respect, his 3 losses were only by a combined 2 ¼ lengths or he’d be a perfect 10 for 10. It’s obvious that the Track Handicapper has placed more value on the 109 and 110 earned by Adventures, but that 105 effort in the 12 furlong Grade-1 Sydney Derby, where Rizle Green “inhaled” the field in the stretch, stacks up well against those in my humble opinion.
COMMENT: Really like his chances here, this is shaping up to be a monumental stretch dual, my money is on this guy.
# 8 IMPACTIC ( 15/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: lgbost9y Jockey: L. Parka
S48 RATING 137.3 Style: Early Speed / Pace Presser
This son of Tapit, Impactic has a nice versatile running style, he can grab the lead and/or even sit mid pack and bid his time with a stretch run. It’ll be interesting to see which style trainer/owner Lgbost9y elects to instruct Jockey Parka to use. Whichever style, he looks a bit overmatched class wise here. Impactic has 4 graded stake efforts and his best to date is a fading 4th place finish in his last race the Grade-3 11 furlong Oppenheimer Reunion.
COMMENT: Versatile runner will need to add 7 to 8 speed points on to his best effort to earn even a minor award with these.
# 9 DYNAMIQUE ( 7/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: brightvair Jockey: J Ventura
S48 RATING 723.1 Style: Off Pace / Mid Pack Closer
Hard to imagine that the # 4 rated 3-yr. old Long Turf Colt is a generous 7-1, but that suits trainer/owner Brightvair (whose been known to bet a Euro or 2) just fine. Has impeccable Turf Breeding and brightvair has him coming into this event in peak condition, good upset opportunity.
COMMENT: Generous odds for Grade-1 tested runner-up, decent chance to grab his 2nd Graded Victory. Must include in all tickets.
# 10 OMNIPRESENCE ( 21/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: wilk Jockey: P Liceman
S48 RATING 128.3 Style: Mid Pack Stalker
A glance at trainer/owner Wilk’s 3-yr old colt Omnipresence’s record and the first thought that crosses your mind is what’s he doing here, it took him 12 tries to crack the winner’s circle. So it would be easy to dismiss him at first glance, but a closer inspection of his last 2 races reveals an improving colt who at 21-1 just might be worth including in your exotic bet selections, a very nice 9 point speed rating improvement winning against a full field of top rate maidens and a very nice follow up win against Allowance company at today’s distance is a sure sign of an improving runner, add in the fact that he’s got a versatile style and should be laying 4th or 5th just off the early pace, gives you cause to consider at the generous odds of 21-1.
COMMENT: Interesting colt appears over matched but just might surprise with a big effort.
# 11 LORENZO ( 7/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: wistful2 Jockey: W Mercy
S48 RATING 453.1 Style: Mid Pack Closer
Trainer/owner Wistful2’s 3-yr old colt Lorenzo, has the look and feel of the “Wild Card” runner in this field, and I think he’s the most difficult horse to predict her. The track handicapper, has him listed 7-1 on the Morning Line, the same as Rizla Green and Dynamique, who both seem to have better credentials, but I’ve learned to have a healthy respect for horses that get live action on the tote. He stamped himself as one of the top 2 yr olds winning 4 of his first 5 including the Grade-2 Royal Dodge, followed by a respectable, 6th place finish in the Breeders Bowl Juvenile, his 3 year old season however has been very up and down with 3 respectable 2nd place efforts, 2 of them in Grade-2 Stakes and a 3rd and a 4th place finish in his 2 Grade-1 tries, good purse earner but hasn’t won since Sept. 2011.
COMMENT: Been a bridesmaid as a 3-year old, has the talent, but needs to put it altogether, should be competitive and hard to leave him off your bet tickets.
# 12 CLOAK AND DAGGERS ( 10/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: fairhaven3 Jockey: B Lugosi
S48 RATING 257.7 Style: Off Pace Closer
Have to credit trainer/owner Fairhaven3 for a perfect name that describes his colt Cloak And Daggers perfectly. His one pace stretch running style where he likes to turn it on from hopelessly out of it usually leaves his trainer and fans alike holding their breath. These types of runners almost always come up with big efforts when you least expect it, but can break your heart in spots where you really love them and think they can’t miss. He always rallies and is usually found earning at least his owners a piece of the purse.
COMMENT: This race is really setting up for a “Cavalry Charge” finish, don’t be surprised to see him grinding down the early leaders and grabbing the back-end of a trifecta or even an exacta finish.
# 13 HENRYTHETRICKSTER ( 13/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: lordpye5 Jockey: E Guerrero
S48 RATING 102.1 Style: Early Speed / Pace Presser
Trainer/owner Lordpye5 has done a nice job of taking a good looking dirt runner and giving him a grass try, looks like he’s found a nice versatile runner that just might be better on the turf, even though he was pretty good on dirt. I like these kind of versatile horses, Henrythetrickster ran a big race in the $70,000 Cad Crop Stake just 2 weeks ago, stalking the early leader and walking by him on the turn to post a 108 Speed Rating in the 9 furlong turf event. If he can handle the extra 3 furlongs, a repeat of that effort puts him in the mix.
COMMENT: Tackling an extra 3 furlongs and this “classy” crowd is a tall order, but he’s certainly interesting at 13-1 and could be prominent at some point in this race.
# 14 MEDI TREBRE ( 14/1 ) 3-yr Colt
Owner: rrlogan Jockey: J. Lennon
S48 RATING 103.9 Style: Early Speed / Pace Presser
Trainer/owner RRLogan has an interesting late blooming colt here, didn’t show much as a 2-year old until last November, when after 5 out of the money finishes, Medi Trebre suddenly wired a MSW field and since then he’s won 5 races (including his last 2 Stakes tries and has been in the money 7 of his last 8 races … Improving and fit.
COMMENT: Whether you believe he can win this or not, he’ll be part of the early mix and just might hang on for a slice.
SELECTIONS:
HANDICAPPER: # 7 RIZLA GREEN
CLASSCAPPER: # 9 DYNAMIQUE
HERMIT: # 2 OVERINDULGENCE
LONGSHOT CHARLIE: # 5 HARADAPRADO