All Star Field in Sodden Sand Castle Turf Classic
Preview – Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic
A star-studded field of fourteen is set to go postward in Saturday’s Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic, drawn by a rich purse of $5 million and the chance to win one of the most prestigious turf route Grade 1s in the game. Eleven of the entrants already boast a Grade 1 victory to their name; the other three have won at the Grade 2 level.
With a field of this caliber, you’d expect to see quite a difference of opinion among the bettors, and this proves to be the case, with Capinsky the lukewarm morning line favorite at 6/1. A gold medalist in last year’s Equinics, the phantom2 homebred hit his stride last fall, also capturing the Ark De ComicDog-G1 and the rich Winter Cup-G1, the latter with an eye-popping 119 SF. He has only run once this year, closing for third in the Fitness Cup-G2 at 2 miles seven weeks ago. Is fresh, and the son of Cape Cross lured Fred Gossett from California to ride. This deep closer will once again be flying late.
A pair of 4 year olds are tied for the second choice at 7/1. Icbomber7 is the breeder/trainer of To Catch a Kitty, and hopes this ghostlike grey can turn the tables on Capinsky. The last time they met, Catch had to settle for second in the Winter Cup-G1, behind Capinksky. Last year, the Kitten’s Joy colt upset his elders in the Japan Classic-G1 at odds of nearly 20/1, but in two starts since, he has proven that win was no fluke, finishing second in the Winter Cup, and second again in his lone start of the year, the Mr. Met Cap-G1 with a 119 SF. Stalker has no problem with the distance and the ever capable Radzinski will put that tactical speed to good use in a full field. Overindulgence is another contender in top form. Winner of the Adelaide Derby-G1 and the Canada Turf-G1 last year, the son of Smart Strike was a game second in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf, then third behind To Catch A Kitty in the Japan Classic-G1. After that loss, the udhens trainee romped home in the Nikkan Sport-G1 over an off track, which he gets again on Saturday, and then also laughed home in an ungraded stakes prep. The chocolate hued colt sports a 3-2-0-0 record over an off track, and will be setting a lively pace early. Kelly gets the mount.
The oddly named Lemon Drop Girl, who is a colt, not a filly, is next at 8/1. The hillndale trainee dropped into the claiming ranks at one point in his career, and his connections are glad that no one bit. After building his confidence against starters, the Lemon Drop Kid stallion won the Sick No More-G3, then capped off the Cinderella story by winning the King Kong Vase-G1 in a mild upset. Was second in his only start of 2013, posting a 117SF in the process, and is ready for another top effort. Gossett, who rode the horse in his two graded wins, defected to the favorite, but Brian Tate is no slouch in the saddle, either. Does his best running on or near the lead. The other 8/1 choice is checkmate3’s Shutdown Corner, who finished just behind rival Overindulgence last time out. The son of Distorted Humor blossomed last year at four, beginning the season as an allowance winner, and ending as a G1 winner. He was fifth in the Japan Classic-G1, and second in the Nikkan Sport-G3, again behind Overindulgence, so Harzheim has his work cut out for him to turn the tables here, but this is a talented horse, and capable of doing just that. Ran a 116 in his only prior try over an off-track.
Two other competitors have odds in the single digits. Dynamique is yet another talented runner by the late Dynaformer, and his “dam”, Grand Victoire, won over $1 million and the Irish Saint Legend-G2, while his granddam, Kristeene S., also won over $2.5 million and the Breeders’ Bowl Turf Distaff-G1 10 years ago. Earlier that year, she finished eighth behind Green Bow in the Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic-G1. Her grandson hopes to improve on that performance. The lightly raced colt has made only 15 starts for brightvalr. The dark bay was second in the King Kong Vase-G1 two starts back, and won the Flying Carpet Handicap-G2 just before that race. Eligible to improve and has already hit the 116 SF mark. Certainly a colt on the rise. The other 9/1 shot is Nothingelsematters, a five year old Malibu Moon horse. The willyam37 trainee seeks redemption after a pair of poor outings – a dull thirteenth in the Mr. Met Cap-G1, and a decent 7th in the Japan Classic-G1. Prior to those two losses, Matters had a three race win streak, including the Europe Classic-G1, and the Paris Counsel-G2, and his speed figures had been 115 or better in all of those victories. Comes from off the pace, and Kewmwa can turn things around, could offer some real value in a mild surprise.
The grand old campaigner King Tachyon is back for a third tilt at the Classic. The handsome son of King Kamehameha won two years ago for musse, but then finished next to last in 2012. Obviously the chestnut’s connections are hoping for a return to 2011 glory. On a good day, this classy warrior still has it, as he demonstrated when winning the Clubhouse Stakes-G2 (112 SF) and the G.P. Von Baden-G1 (113 SF) last year, but he hasn’t had quite as many good days. He was last in his prep for this score, but he deserves a shot, and certainly he has the fan support. If the King can muster one of his better efforts, the crown will be his again. Also at 12/1 is mtkplaz3’s Gran Torino. The six year old son of Danehill Dancer won his seasonal debut in fine fashion, posting a 107 SF in a listed stakes. Last year’s winner of the Sword Swallower-G1 (109 SF) was also third in the Classic Turf S-G1 and sixth in a tough Breeders’ Bowl Turf-G1 (112 SF). HIs best speed figures aren’t quite there with some of the favorites, but if he puts in a good day, he’s left them no room to falter.
Another Heartbreak is the least experienced horse in the field, with only a dozen starts under his belt. Still, the Galileo colt has displayed quite a bit of talent for eminc2 in that short period, including a win in the Los Angeles Turf Cap-G1 (110 SF) to conclude his sophomore season. Ran a disappointing fifth in his prep race over the Dubai surface four weeks ago, but did post a decent speed figure (107 SF), so hopefully he got something out of it. Can run well from any position, and still has room to improve. Ayya rides, and this colt is capable of the upset at 14/1. Also at 14/1 is Signs of Change, owned and bred by eml1. Dynaformer is the sire of this seven year old, who won the Breeders’ Bowl Turf-G1 two years ago, and was third in last year’s running. This leggy guy is looking to make amends, as he was distanced after injuring himself in last year’s running of the Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic-G1, and it was more than two months before he returned to the racing wars. Since his third in the Breeders’ Bowl, Signs of Change has been showing signs of aging as he was off the board in his last three starts. A return to Breeders’ Bowl form would do the trick at a price. The third contender at 14/1 is Bad Blake. Royally bred, and campaigned by breeder gregchilds, the compact brown horse has lived up to expectations, bankrolling more than a million to date. Interestingly enough, this guy has some odd inbreeding to A.P. Indy – his “dam” was by that sire, while the dam-dam-sire of Blake’s granddam is also A.P. Indy (don’t think about it too much, it’ll make your head hurt). Bad Blake’s granddam, A.P. Poll, earned more than $850,000 and won the Brown Fields Handicap-G3 at 9 furlongs on the turf. Anyway, back to Blake. He was precocious enough to win the Rockette Stakes-G3 going 7 furlongs at 2 (that race was over an off course), but also won the 10 1/2 furlong Good Day-G1 last year (also over an off course). He is no mere slop specialist, as he was second in the Judgemont International-G1 (110 SF), before taking a lengthy layoff). A disappointing season finale led to another layoff, but he looks to be back in fighting form with a second in his seasonal debut (109 SF) in a listed stakes. The only concern is that was back in January, about eight or nine weeks ago, so he may need a tightener. His connections did something right with their rain dance, because the track is good, which makes him hard to ignore, especially at 14/1.
The two relative outsiders in the betting are no slouches, so overlook them at your peril. King to Groom, the last of the 4yos in the field, is the second son of King Kamehameha in the race. He enters this race as a bit of a now horse, having finished second in the Vicky Derby-G1, then winning the Manatee Cup-G3 (113 SF) and Buck Dharma Handicap-G3 (113). The aredneck homebred seems to be the only legitimate speed to challenge Overindulgence – if one of them gets loose on the lead, watch out. Is unbeaten over an off track, but those wins came against much easier. Still, lots of pros when looking at this guy’s record. Finally, at 18/1, comes Hannabaa. Another off-track specialist, the Anabaa horse sports a 5-3-1-1 record over the wet, and has bankrolled $900k of his almost $1 million in earnings from those five off track starts. He finished out the year with two graded stakes wins, both at this distance and over an off track, posting at 110 SF in the At Night Cap-G2 and a 108 SF in the Angry Dragon-G2. Usually is a closer, but has also done well from midpack. His proven offtrack capabilities make Hannabaa a legitimate contender here this weekend.
Good luck to all of the entrants and their connections!