Fourth Spice Dirt Route
Fourth Spice Dirt Route
Stakes
A mile and one sixteenth
Fast Dirt
$60,000
All horses, 3 years old and up
The co-feature in Nevada pits six rivals that boast some impressive speed figs but combined they have won just one stakes race. Let’s look at the field:
1 179407
BIG MONEY BEN(KY) testcase3
C Kozak
5/2
5 year old son of Big Brown is winless since December 2010. Hard to believe given some of the triple digit runs this guy has had. He has run a 111 at the distance which would likely be good enough to win this level of race. However this particular race has come up tough. Ben has won just 4 of 27 but has been runner up a whopping 13 times! He fits well for this race level but there are others that look to be going better and will likely relegate Ben to a minor award.
2 32180
PLEASEBEGOODTOME(KY) sparky76
M Cooper
9/2
4 year old Mr. Greeley colt is very talented. He has won his last pair at elongated sprints coming from well off the pace and figures to be motoring late in this one as well. He cranked out a 116sp back in March against allowance foes at today’s distance. His last effort resulted in his first stakes win but I have a feeling it could be the beginning of many more. A fast pace would really help his chances but he won’t likely get that. Regardless, I still believe that he is the one to beat.
3 167380
FOPAH(IRE) derbybound
V Jef
5/2
4 year old Invincible Spirit colt appears to have a lot of talent having run a 115 and 113sp in his last pair. However he has never won a stakes race. Running those kind of figs it likely won’t be long before he wins one. However, this non graded event has drawn a pretty strong field making it a pretty difficult task to capture his first stakes race. He has the tactical speed to take this though. Contender.
4 180268
MAJOR STORM(JPN) pitchfork
W Robinson
5/1
5 year old Daiwa Major horse is another non stakes winner looking to take his first stake. He is traveling in great form right now after he just came from way back to finish a fast closing second at the distance earning a career best 108sp. Those kind of runs can win these non graded events, but this event has turned out a few competitors that simply seem to be better horses. Prefer a couple other late runners in this event.
5 5312
KATARA(KY) zampatelo2
E N Tice
7/2
4 year old Empire Maker colt ran a good 6th in the Grade 2 San Dimas last out recording a 108sp. Prior to that he took the Niner Ice Dirt at today’s distance with a fine 114sp. Hard to believe that he too is a non stakes winner. He is versatile as he can gun for the lead or take back just off the lead and make his run. I am expecting this guy to come out running on the front end to try and steal it in what is shaping up as a paceless race. This will be his third run off the layoff and should be primed for a big effort.
6 46878
AMENHOTEP(TX) muninn
A Allen
9/2
4 year old Pine Bluff colt is another non stakes winner. He tried stakes company in his last pair finishing 6th and 5th respectively. However his was only beaten 1 3/4 lengths vs. Katara in Niner Ice race before last recording a 113sp. So he fits. However he too does his best running late and there just appears to be others with the same style that do it better. While a win wouldn’t really surprise, I prefer others.
This is a very contentious race. Five of the six entrants have run races fast enough to take this. I am guessing it will take a 110+ sp to take this race which five of the entrants have accomplished at some point in their careers. What makes this race tough to handicap is the lack of a true speedball. Katara is likely the one that will set the pace in this race. If he can get a clear early lead he could prove very difficult to catch. Big Money Ben and Fopah are likely to be the ones tracking Katara and get first run. Pleasebegoodtome, Major Storm and Ahmenhotep will all be running late. Hard to believe this field has combined for only ONE stakes win and that was Pleasebegoodtome’s last run. The Picks:
1. Pleasebegoodtome
2. Katara
3. Fopah