Empire State Racing Rez Contest: Road to the Derby
This will be a quick break down of the 35 first timestarters as they start down the “Road to the Derby” presented by ESR. For moreinformation on this inaugural contest please check out Pete’s site (trotter1.webs.com/).All three divisions are 6f on the dirt for 75,000 and each is namedafter some of the first Bluegrass Derby/Oaks champions of SIM. Sprinting success at 2, doesn’t always meangraded route success during the following spring, but a classy animal should showa solid performance with a finishing kick. It’s important to note that these highlytouted babies have one important goal in mind, beat any Blazing Saddle horsethey run into!, Oh maybe one more, be victorious on the first Saturday in Mayright back here in Kentucky. And with that on to the babies:
0314- The Alone that Baby Division
The Lago Kid-jetman- (LemonDrop Kid X Encosta De Lago X Green Dancer). Third foal out of an E mare thatdid her winning in grass sprints. LDK bring some stamina that might help laterin the contest, but don’t expect much in her first outing.
Fell Offa Truck-Irish- (Lookin At Lucky X Seeking the Gold XRed Ransom) Third foal out of a G mare who was a winner on dirt. Was able tosprint and route which makes her a great nomination to this contest. Frosh sireL@L can throw any kind, but without any black-type in the family history shemight be a bit out classed.
Deeply Distorted- Frankster- (Deep Impact X Distorted HumorX Deputy Minister) This first scratch bred 2 yr. old, and it’s only fittingthat she would be a blue blood frankster special. Some win early breeding,mixed with stamina makes her a tough foe. The favorite only has surfacepreference as a major question mark, with no family history to go off. Sirethrows mainly turfers and dam side is very versatile, I’d expect DeeplyDistorted to prefer the grass, but might be classy enough to win first out ondirt.
Samurai Rock- deeprock- (First Samurai X Mr. Greely X PointGiven) Scratch bred filly by a master experimenter. Plenty of speed in her pedigreeto think she could get the lead out of the gate. She also has stamina on theback end to make her a threat in this contest.
Empire Blue Belle- Hawkz- (Mineshaft X Dehere X Seeking theGold) First foal out of an F ranked mare. Her momma won early as a 2 yr. oldsprinting and was able to stretch her ability all the way out to 12 furlongs asa three year old. I just don’t think Mineshaft will part enough class in thisfilly to overcome the depth of this field.
Ghost of A.P. – giroux280- (Ghostzapper X A.P. Indy X StormCat) Well hello CARL! Taking no time to adjust to sim, this new trainer ismaking a big splash with top blood. Sire is speedy, DS has stamina, and DDS isabout as classy as they come. GZ can be a dicey sire to use and the wholefamily line is very versatile. Breeding is a small step below Deeply Distorted,but the same surface questions arise. If she likes dirt WATCH OUT!
Alley Detour- riviere- (Flower Alley X Pikepass X CastleHoward) First foal out of an E ranked mare who did most of her running on dirt.Mom won at first asking and three times total as a 2 yr. old. Out of 12 wins 8were sprinting and 4 routing, about perfect for what I would look for in a marefor this contest. Class is a whole other question. Flower Alley is only a 70%sire and dam is a notch below the other female sides. I expect a better showingthan 99/1, but shouldn’t crack the top half of this field
Boat Ride- trotter- (Mineshaft X Danzig X Alydar) Scratchbreeding with plenty of speed to win early and great class on the backend. 5/1second choice is perfectly bred for this contest and with the experience ofTrot, I would think she is the one to keep an eye on going forward.
Wave of Fire- robscoobi- (Big Drama X Storm Cat X Nashua)- AFlorida scratch breed out of a frosh sire. Only 38% winners, but has thrown astakes winner. I love this breeding and I have this one pegged as the best darkhorse in the field. Just love the frosh sire x classy DS x Old stamina.
AA Cadet- cadet- (Awesome Again X Mr. Prospector X Big Spruce)8th foal out of a “C” ranked mare who has thrown 3 stakes winners,two on dirt. Dam herself was a winner on both surfaces but did most her runningin 10f routes. Momma broke her maiden in her second start, a stakes turfsprint. Lots of class, and Awesome Again should only help her ability to winearly.
Empire CC- balata- (Empire Maker X A.P. Indy X Alydar) Sheis a co-second choice at 5-1. Scratch bred has only some of the finest sires inthe game. Classy Empire Maker is over 80% winners, 10% stakes winners and 4%graded winners. If Rick can manage to keep this filly running in races rackingup points she is another to keep an eye on going forward.
Confetti Parade- pointblank- (Empire Maker X Distorted HumorX Deputy Minister) Another co-second choice at 5/1, this filly rounds out thefield. Beautifully bred for this contest, I can’t imagine her not peaking at 9fon the dirt. Only question will be if she has enough speed to keep in-touchwith this field from the outside post. I think so, another filly to keep aclose eye on moving forward.
Top Picks: Wave of Fire, Empire CC, and Confetti Parade
0315- Down The Jazz Division
Campione- frankster- (Medaglia D’oro X Kingmambo X DeputyMinster) Very smartly bred scratch colt. MDOs seem to come from the clouds so I’dexpect this one to drop back in the early going, but come flying late. 5/1 co-favorite has every right to be asclassy as he wants, and with a few of Franks carrots he might be a keycontender going forward.
Twitter Me- trotter- (Mineshaft X Giant’s Causeway X SmartStrike) Our first he-mare of the contest involves the best college qb of alltime. “F” rated Tommie Frazier was certainly a better quarterback than racehorse. Mainly a router Tommie didn’t break his maiden till 3 going 9.5f onturf. Bred to be a major contender at classic distances with enough speed tomake an impact at 2, I just wonder if he-mommy will pass enough class andability to win early to get this guy home in front.
Ponti’s Riddle- jetman- (Gio Ponti X Distorted Humor X A.P.Indy) Our second he-mare of the contest, this colt comes from a “G” ratedsprinter. He-mommy won hiser first start but ended up doing the best running onturf. Sired by Gio Ponti I think turf will be the preferred surface and has aclass question that needs to be answered in that “riddle”
Empire Blue Sea- hawkz- (Street Sense X Miswaki X SeattleSlew) This guy is the 8th foal out of a “G” ranked mare. The lightlyraced mare has already produced three stakes winners and two others with minorblack type placing. In addition to already proven foals she was a winner atfirst asking herself going 7fs. Street Sense adds additional class as a 10%stakes winning sire. Top candidate to win early, win often, and win for ESR.
Tiz A Game- riviere- (Tizway X Silver Deputy X Alydar) Thiscolt is a half-brother to our favorite Alabama bred of all sim time Seahorse Quest.Dam was “F” ranked but winner of 5 races all on dirt. This colt is the thirdfoal. Previous sibs to hit the track consist of a stakes winner and a gradeplace filly. She was also a first time out winner. 16/1 this horse is the longshot special of the three race series.
Crying Cat- kingab- (Street Cry X Storm Cat X Seattle Slew)7th foal of “E” ranked mare. Siblings include 3 stakes winners andanother stakes placed. Dam was a ten time winner on turf, but sadly couldn’tfind the winner’s circle on dirt. Street Cry is a very versatile sire and thisguy is another I think might just end up preferring the lawn a bit more thandirt. Bred to be a monster and certainly one to keep an eye on regardless.
Empire Builder- balata- (Empire Maker X A.P. Indy X Alydar)Same scratch breeding as Rick’s filly. I’d like to talk crap about Rick beingtoo lazy to change the breeding up, but a) why mess with perfection b) can’targue with a trainer who campaigned a HOF horse. Great breeding all around andshould be fun to see which one runs faster. Twins winning the Oaks/Derby…anything is possible this Saturday.
Weeden- pointblank- (Uncle Mo X Awesome Again X DistortedHumor) First foal out of a “D” ranked mare. Mom did most of her early runningon the grass, but closed out her 2 yr. old campaign with a victory on dirtfirst time on the surface. Graded stakes place at 3 this mare has all the makingsof a RTD queen. Uncle Mo is kind of an unknown as a freshman sire, butcertainly has every right to throw a couple top class horses. Blue bloodthrough and through a little shocking the odds makers are letting him open at12/1.
Leftatthealter- irish- (Broken Vow X Great Pyramid X PrivateAccount) Initial foal out of an “F” ranked dirt routing mare. I’m a littleconcerned that this guy will want a little time to develop and mature, butsired by Broken Vow hopefully he will get enough from that sire to win early. Iexpect a slow start to his racing career and he should need this race, but Iwouldn’t be surprised if he ends up one of the best 9-10f horses in this fieldover time
Congrats Rock- deeprock- (Congrats X Dansili X Dehere)He-mare dam was a winner on both surfaces, but 9 times on dirt. He was a sprintspecialist and being sired by Congrats I expect much the same from this colt.He-mare was unraced at 2, but won his first four dirt races and that streak wasonly snapped when he ran second while popping a 111 as a 3 yr. old. I have myquestions about the guy’s ability to get 10fs, but we can’t worry about thatyet. My top selection to speed off to an easy victory against this bunch.
Peahi Cadet- cadet- (King Kamehameha X Dynaformer X Alydar)This scratch breed colt is the first in the series to have some Dynaformerblood. Breed to love the 10f distance of the derby I really question this colt’sability to a) sprint b) run well on dirt. This has to be a stepping stone racefor cadet, and one to keep an eye on in the future as the races get longer.
King Bernie- bristolred- (Bernardini X Danzig X Mr.Prospector) Arguable the best scratch bred of the whole series. Great balanceof dirt, speed, and class should leave this colt with the ability to sprintearly and stretch that out to black type at a mile and longer. Another I reallythink has a shot at getting deep into Bluegrass Derby talk.
Top Picks: Congrats Rock, King Bernie, and Tiz A Game
0316- I Seek U Division
Empire Blue Day- hawkz- (Pulpit X Dynaformer X Forty Niner)4th foal out of the “G” ranked mare who won on both surfacessprinting. Two of three runners to hit the track are stakes winners. This colthas a full sister who won a stakes sprinting earlier this year. I have hadterrible luck with Pulpit 2 yr. olds, but this guy comes from a great family.
Red White and Boom- kingab- (Street Cry X Unbridled XSeattle Slew) Scratch breed beauty. This guy has plenty of win early ability byStreet Cry. Unbridled as a dam sire brings credibility as far as classicdistance. Lastly the great Seattle Slew finishes the backend with true class.If I had to pick one horse to win early and keep the petal to the metal threwthe only contest, I think Larry did it right with this guy.
Dyno Rhino Cadet- cadet- (Medaglia D’Oro X Forty Niner XRaja Baba) 9th foal out of a “C” ranked mare that did her bestrunning at a classic dirt distance. Mom had enough speed to win sprints butdidn’t win until her third start. MDO adds a little bit of win early ability,but I don’t think he is bred to sprint. This guy’s best shot will be around twoturns.
Awesome Emotion- masterm- (Awesome Again X Storm Cat X SeattleSlew) Scratch bred horse that is truly some of the SIMs greatest sires. Bred towin early, have plenty of speed, but my only concern would be Storm Cat’spossible influence to through turf. Awesome Again is 60/40 dirt over turf, butis also the sire of one of the greatest turf horses ever Title Defense.
Ima Gonna Cry –pointblank- (Uncle Mo X Pulpit X Rahy) Fourthfoal out of an “F” ranked mare who was a winner at sprints and routes. Mo’ winearly ability should be a great match to a mare who won twice at two and threetimes at 3. Mom never broke the 100 speed fig mark but was a very solid twoyear old. I expect this guy to run well early, but flatten out early next year.
Spectacular Image- balata- (Bernardini X Forty Niner X StormCat) 6th foal out of an “F” ranked mare, winner of 6 races allsprints. 3 siblings have at least a black type placing and in true Rick fashionthe other two have a combined 11 races for in 5 years of racing. This guy hasevery right to be something special, but for some reason I just don’t think hewill POP this Saturday.
Hennessy Tuxedo- Irish- (Majesticperfection X Hennessy X Mr.Prospector) If you have read this far into the article you deserve a littlehonesty. I’d starting to drag, its gets boring looking at all these blue bloodsone after another, but I can thank Irish for this very interesting colt. Thefoal of a “B” ranked he-mare out of sophomore sire I have never heard. Thehe-mare brings the highest ranking of all RTD entrants. Twenty time winner won4 graded events and placed in another 8, but all in sprints. The he-mare didflash a little talent in an 8f turf (g1) finishing 10th out of 20,out of only two route attempts. The sire is only a 60% winner, but threw twostakes winners from his first crop and is paired with a classy backend here. Irishmight think he is sneaky but showing up with a Tux like this is going to grabeveryone’s attention.
Carowinds- trotter- (Candy Ride X Broad Brush X Fappiano)Scratch bred colt has some great dirt influences. Broad Brush tends to throwsprinters in SIM, but has the ability to sire classic winners like Include andConcern. Candy Ride just enjoyed a major SIM upgrade and already had 3.8%stakes winner from this year’s crop, and one graded winner. Very respectable
Uncle Rock- deeprock- (Uncle Mo X Midnight Lute X PointGiven) First foal from a “G” ranked mare who only won one race. Mom nevertopped a 72 speed fig and that was at 12f. Freshman sire Uncle Mo adds furtherquestion marks, and I think it’s safe to take others in here.
Shine Time- jetman- (Symboli Kris S. X Forty Niner X StormCat) 5th foal out of a “G” ranked mare who won two sprints. No blacktype on the dam side and is sired by a turf sire. Trainer is great with 2 and 3year olds, but I think this one is up against it class wise.
Bro- frankster- (Drosselmeyer X Broad Brush X Damascus) Anunusual scratch breeding from the king of blue bloods. A combination of fieldquality, size, and a unique breeding twist by frankster, give us an opportunitynot seen often. Frankster has a FTS about almost double digits. Theseconnections are known for a powerful dam side feature Wild Again and BoldRuler, who might be lead to think that after hearing rumors Bold Ruler is beingretired in the new SIM, that Frankster has moved on to find himself a new keydam line. Frank was unavailable for comment.
Top Picks- Awesome Edition, Red White and Boom, and HennessyTuxedo