Mirror, Mirror…..Who’s The Fastest Of Them All?

(Thanks to Yoss Tools Top Speed Figures for 2012 and Zapspride Top 25 Speed Figures for the Week of 5107 for the information gathered for this article.)

Sometimes, you don’t always have to look to graded stakes races if you’re looking for the fastest horses in Derbyfever in a given week, or even in the year 2012, for that matter.

For two year olds, the top three fastest speed figures in 2012 belong to Conclusive (91.71) and Gonna Be Trouble (91.28), who finished 1-2 in the 6-furlong Grade 3 Manor Of Bashford Stakes in Week 5100, and to Swagu, who won the 6-furlong Grade 3 Faber College Juvenile that same week, with a 91.29 speed figure.

Tarny’s Cat and Danedream, who won an allowance race and a listed stakes, respectively, in Week 5107, cracked the Top 5 in Speed Figures for Two Year Olds, when both ran blistering 90.33 and 89.65 speed figures in their wins this past weekend.

For Three Year Olds, the top speed figure of 2012 now belongs to Deep Navigator, who scored his second grade 1 win in a row, when he popped a 114.97 speed figure in his Grade 1 Clerk Of Scales victory.  Right behind Deep Navigator is an Aussie-bred colt by the name of Quiet Skies, and all he did was throw an eye-popping 114.44 speed figure in a listed stakes win in Belgium this weekend.  Middle Name Danger, Pop A Bottle and Push On A String held on to the number 3-5 spots in the three year old division.

For Older Horses, the top speed figures of Week 5107 belonged to Unsilent Killer and Chef Robuchon, who finished 1-2 in the Grade 2 Sunny Mile in Berkshire with a 117.23 and 115.10 speed figures, and Crafty Indy, who won Grade 2 L’il Leprechaun Mile in Greece with a 116.65 speed figure.  And right behind those three boys is a four year old Street Cry mare by the name of U R Not Nice, who scored her first graded win ever when she popped a huge 114.55 speed figure in the $1 million Grade 2 First State Distaff in Delaware.

But, interestingly, if you want to find the top two speed figures for Older Horses in 2012, you have to go back to Week 5086 to an 8-furlong open allowance race on a very sloppy dirt track in, of all places, Mississippi, to find Rats To Rich and Walk Right Back, who popped amazing 125.44 and 123.74 speed figures in finishing 1-2 there.  Godfather Offer, Kill Hannah and Luck Belongs held firm with the number 3-5 spots in the older horses division. 

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OLDER HORSES:

Rats To Rich Pulls 125 SF In Open Allowance Win Over Walk Right Back, Who Pops 123 SF

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MISSISSIPPI — If you wanted to find the two fastest speed figures for older horses in Derbyfever in 2012, you had to look no farther than a $17,600 open allowance race in Mississippi in Week 5086.

Rats To Rich, a Kentucky-bred scratch son of Pulpit owned by Dundey Acres, pulled a 125 speed figure out of his hat in winning the 8-furlong allowance on a very sloppy main track in Mississippi.

What was equally impressive was that the second place finisher, the Aussie-bred Walk Right Back owned by Bentacon Stables, pulled a stunning 123 speed figure in finishing second behind Rats To Riches.  Walk Right Back holds the number two spot for the year in the older horses division.

Those two made it a match race in the end, finishing some 9 lengths ahead of the rest of the field.

The five year old Rats To Rich, running in only his second listed stakes race in his 26th career start, ran the mile in a blistering 1:32 2/5.  Bigger things are probably in store for this colt owned by Dundey Acres.  You can bet on that.  You can probably look for him and Walk Right Back, a five year old son of the Aussie sire Zedative, to be running in much bigger races in the near future.

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2 YEAR OLDS:

Tarny’s Cat (NY) Cruises To Easy Allowance Win With 90 SF In Week 5107

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KENTUCKY — The two year old who threw the fastest speed figure in the game in Week 5107 is a New York-bred son of Bluegrass Cat, Tarny’s Cat, who popped a 90 speed figure in a 7-furlong $56,000 allowance win on the dirt in Kentucky.

Tarny’s Cat broke alertly and dueled briefly with Lancero, before pulling away for a 1 + length win over Plattsburgh, who threw an 87 speed figure in the big-money allowance race.

Tarny’s Cat is owned by Zap’s Inherits Stables, and he paid $6.40, $3.80, and $2.30, as the 2.20/1 post-time favorite. The New York-bred colt ran the 7 furlongs in a time of 1:22 flat.

It was Tarny’s Cat second win in three starts, after he broke his maiden in a gate-to-wire win on May 26 on the same Kentucky track he ran on this weekend.

Danedream Noses Out Win Over Smokyy In Denmark Listed Stakes

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DENMARK — There was a pretty hot listed stakes race in Denmark this weekend, involving a couple of very speedy two year olds in Danedream and Smokyy.

Danedream, an Irish-bred son of Danehill Dancer owned by Tazdevil Stables, won the $70,000 Hushwing Lion Turf Juvenile Stakes by a nose over Smokyy, the Japanese-bred son of Alkaased owned by I Have A Dream Racing Stables.

Those two dueled with the equally speedy New Zealand-bred Pentire colt I’m Xcellent, owned by Hawkz Eagle Farm Queensland Stables, for about the first 4.5 furlongs before pulling away for the dramatic finish in the Danish 6.5 furlong listed stakes event.

It was Danedream’s third win in four starts, and it looks like he and Smokyy, as well as I’m Xcellent, might have some big things in store for them in the future.

Danedream ran the 6.5 furlongs in 1:17 flat, and he paid $17.10, $8.30 and $6.40 to his backers this weekend in Denmark. Danedream and Smokky each popped an 89 speed figure in the listed stakes in Denmark this weekend.

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3 YEAR OLDS:

Deep Navigator Makes It Two Gr. 1’s In A Row In Canada

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ONTARIO — Deep Navigator, a three year old son of Henrythenavigator, is beginning to like racing in Canada a whole lot.

The colt owned by Bmr005 Stables won his second Grade 1 race in a row in Ontario, when he scored a very impressive 2 + length win over Lucky Prayer, owned by Kevoman Stables, in the prestigious 9.5 furlong Grade 1 Clerk Of Scales in Ontario this weekend.

Deep Navigator, who is out of the Deep Impact mare Disparate Impacts, popped a 114.97 speed figure in winning the Grade 1 Clerk Of Scales over a pretty impressive field that included a couple of million dollar earners in See The Wand (IRE), who was coming off a win in the third leg of the Triple Crown (the Grade 1 New Yorker), and Ghostly Ninja (KY), who was coming off a sweep in the GRSimsters Triple Crown Series in his last three starts.

Deep Navigator, came from off the pace to win the Grade 1 Labatt’s Ontario Oaks in his last start where he popped a 106 speed figure. He was running in only his third career graded start this past weekend when he won the Clerk Of Scales.

The son of Henrythenavigator ran the 9.5 furlong dirt graded stakes in a time of 1:53 2/5, a new stakes record for the Grade 1 Clerk of Scales. The previous record was held by Hot And Spicy, who ran this same race in a time of 1:53 3/5 back in 2009.

Quiet Skies (AUS) Scores 114 SF In 9F Win In Herodotus Turf Route

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BELGIUM — The Australian-bred Quiet Skies opened up nearly a six-length lead on the field here in the 9-furlong Herodotus Turf Route Stakes and won geared down by 1 + length over Resurrection X this weekend.

Quiet Skies, a three year old son of Elvstroem, popped a 114.44 speed figure and ran the nine furlongs in a smoking hot 1:47 flat.

The scratch-bred colt, who also has Quiet American and Conquistador Cielo back there in his scratch pedigree, is owned by trotter of Empire State Racing, and it was the three year old’s first listed stakes try in his career. The win was Quiet Skies’ fifth triumph in seven career starts, and that speed figure certainly indicates that big things are looming in this colt’s future.

Resurrection X, a Kentucky-bred son of Medaglia D’Oro who finished second pulled a 112 speed figure, as he and Quiet Skies made it a two-horse race in Belgium, finishing some 8 lengths or so in front of the rest of the field this weekend.