Full Field in Sam’s Town Delta Jackpot
The Grade 3 Sam’s Town Delta Jackpot, an 8.5-furlong dirt test for 2yo’s, is Louisiana’s top feature race at Louisiana this weekend. The race has drawn an excellent field of 14 2yo hopefuls to battle for the lion’s share of a million-dollar purse. Among the crowd are a couple of Breeder’s Bowl also-rans and three survivors of one of the most exciting races of 2012, the Grade 3 Nashua Special. If you missed that race when it ran, take the time to look at the replay. SEVEN horses across the track at the wire, much like a quarterhorse race. What a thriller!
Of course, this is the kind of race where a strong run may help a colt grab a spot in the gate for the 2013 Bluegrass Derby. There’s lots on the line here besides the crazy money…
Great-looking field; let’s have a look…
CITY OF ATLANTIS stepped up for houseriot in a big way last time out, wiring a minor-stakes field on a good track. The Stormy Atlantic colt looked pretty good before that, but this could have been an off-track fluke… Or not. The extra distance might prove a problem, too; however, this guy could be any kind of good and might be able to overcome those juicy 14/1 odds.
OF YELLOWKNIFE romped at low odds when stretched to 2 turns last time, and the son of the highly desirable sire Uncle Mo has his sights set on the bigtime in this spot and gets 9/1 odds. Trained by the excellent (25%) astinator2, he will need to improve slightly in the speed-ratings area.
SWAGU was 9th but less than 6 lengths back while tasting his only defeat in the Breeder’s Bowl Juvy last time out. The Discreetly Mine colt looks to start another win streak for reman12000, and has a pair of graded-stakes wins to show thus far. His last three dirt starts have all earned low-90’s speeds; has this 9/1 shot leveled off, or does he have more in the tank?
QUAIL GROUP has only won twice in seven career starts, but has shown much ability since stretching out to 2-turn racing. The Flower Alley colt just missed in the Grade 1 North Fork Stakes, and was a fairly close-up 4th in the Breeder’s Bowl Juvy for lana1. Twelfth-ranked colt has the stuff to hang with the best; can he beat them? The CPU places him at 9/1.
BOLTIE is a quick son of Sidney’s Candy who came up a little short in the Grade 3 Cornstalk Stakes last time out and might find this little bit more distance to be too much. Maybe trainer brasco38 has something up his sleeve, maybe not… Would be a bit of a surprise and gets 10/1 from the CPU.
ARCHWAY OF VICTORY makes his stakes debut in a tough spot for ozstable2 and gets 12/1 odds for this trip after a handy wire-to-wire win last time out in an allowance race. The Arch colt looks to grab his fourth straight victory, but will need to lift his speed figures up some in order to do so.
PRESPECTOR is a Bernardini colt from a graded-stakes winning Storm Cat sim-mare. The titleist trainee has been 1st or 2nd in all four of his starts, and was the winner of the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes battle. This guy has what it takes; can he pull off another thrilling win? At 7/1, he is a co-favorite in this wide-open field.
PERDIGON is a speedy Johannesburg colt trained by patluc2. He has a couple of small-stakes wins, but has come up short in both of his graded tries. He has had some trouble hanging on in the stretch when up against graded-stakes competition, but his 2-turn runs have also resulted in his best speed figures to date. Mixed signals prompt the CPU to place him at 12/1.
HOT AND WILD is a son of Unusual Heat who took a pretty good beating in the BB Juvy Turf last time out, but was actually gaining a bit at the end. Solid trainer kroth4 doesn’t back down, and sends his budding star back out against tough ones again. This time he returns to the dirt, where he’s 1-for-2. The CPU apparently would like to see this guy on the turf again, and sets him at 11/1.
SPARKS OF LIGHT was 5th in that amazing Grade 3 Nashua Special and looks to make amends at 8/1. He took the early lead in sprints before that race, but was held off the pace in that 2-turn battle; will foxon3 try reverting to speed tactics, or try the off-the-pace thing again here?
BLANKCHECKERS has been banging around in top 2yo races going all the way back to his February maiden win, and had little to show for his efforts until recently. Now, though, this Dublin colt has run three consecutive strong races in minor stakes and is back for another try at the big boys. The lostkey10 trainee is 1-for-1 in route racing and that one run is his only 90+ speed figure; he has a puncher’s chance and gets 17/1 odds.
I DREAM OF DINI just barely missed in a come-from-behind effort in the dazzling Grade 3 Nashua Special, making up nearly ten lengths in the stretch. The bucephalus trainee, an Elusive Quality colt, has never missed the tote board and appears to get better the further he runs. For this, he gets tempting 9/1 odds.
BRO also charged from far back in that Grade 3 Nashua Special, grabbing 3rd, dude! This homie, er, Drosselmeyer colt resides in the powerful frankster barn and is co-favored at 7/1. Looks to beat winners for the first time, but has been keeping company with bodacious rad dudes, er, top runners.
CYCLONE FRANK is a Tapit colt with a maiden win and a pair of 2nd’s to his credit. He’ll need to outrun his best by a good bit in order to cash in with these guys. The dargo trainee gets 15/1 odds.
This one’s darn near impossible to handicap… But I’ll try.
There is just enough early speed in this field to keep the pace honest, so I’ll be picking closers to find the wire first.
I DREAM OF DINI was closing fastest in the Nashua, so I’ll go with that one to take the top prize here.
BRO was closing nearly as fast in that race, so I’ll take him for the 2nd spot.
QUAIL GROUP has been close up with top runners, and could very well win this, but I’ll pick him for 3rd.
Good luck to all!