A Very Good ‘Chance For Delta’ In Bargain Bowl ‘Tiger Sprint’

A horse is a horse.  Of course.  Of course.  And this week the horse on New Jersey’s course, the featured horse, without remorse, is the wonderful bargain-bred.

The Bargain Bowl is a newly-created series of races developed by trainer knightmare, who said earlier this week, “Since I was a newbie I have always liked the bargain bred runners. I got the idea from a post on the message board from another player and I just ran with it. I wanted to create a series that would bring a little attention to the good bargain-bred runners, give players a little motivation to consider those bargain sires.”  From that germ of an idea, the Bargain Bowl was born: ten races, featuring horses who were bred using a combination of sires in a scratch breeding, as long as the total cost was under 100 credits or BP.  This weekend, over the immaculate Jersey course, the first Bargain Bowl card will be run.

One of the races on the card is named after one of the most helpful Sim players around, someone who not only takes a lot time out to help newer players get a feel for the game, but who also is a proponent of bargain breeding.  The $125,000 Delta Tiger Sprint is slated as the thirteenth race on the card, run at six furlongs, for fillies and mares who are three-years-old and up.  Of Delta, knightmare says, “Delta is a big-time bargain breeder and she made a generous donation to the series, so I had to name a race after her to show my thanks. Plus one of her best bargain runners was a three-year-old filly sprinter.”  That filly is Chance For Delta, and she’s the 9/5 headliner in a field of ten fillies, all of which will have to catch a “tiger” by the tail for their best chance to win this distaff sprint.

Chance For Delta [American Chance x Master Bill] represents the barn of imatiger2, and she’s one-half of an uncoupled entry from Delta’s racing empire.  This filly gets the circuit’s leading rider on board, and would hold her own even in open company.  She has six wins in fifteen starts, and won the Bargain Oaks (for sophomore bargain-bred fillies) back in July.  She’s won two stakes (both at 2), and her recent form has her running strong, with a pair of seconds in her last three starts in allowance company sprints.  She owns the best last-out figure, with a 100, and that also happens to be the top fig in the field.  She’ll definitely be charging late, and she does tend to tower over this field on ability.  The main drawback here figures to be distance; though she’s two-for-three at six panels, recent form hints that longer sprints might be more her bag.  Nevertheless, on form, she looks awfully good, and will need to be somehow collared late to be stopped.

Covert Action [Like A Soldier x Soviet Lad] represents colonelber, and will certainly reward her backers with a victory; at 79-1, she’s not only the longest shot in the field, she figures to be the fourth-longest shot on the entire Bargain Bowl card.  There’s not a lot of form to study, as she’s only been out three times.  She did, however, wire a small MSW field in her debut, and that early speed could serve her nicely here.  The numbers, though, even after just three starts, aren’t going to strike fear into the hearts of many at any level, as her best was a 76 in her debut.  She should have a bit more potential going a bit longer, and may develop a little later, but it’s pretty hard to recommend a 79-1 shot in a stakes, even in a restricted one.

Criminally Delta comes from the barn of delta5tigr, and is the other half of her uncoupled entry.  She’s arguably the weaker half of the entry, too, with a sole maiden win in fourteen lifetime starts.  She just got that maiden win three starts back, and her allowance tries have yet to set the world on fire, with numbers slipping back into the mid-80s from a high in the low-90s.  Her maiden win was at a mile, and most of her better efforts have come the longer she has sprinted, so middle distances might have their allure for her.  She should be in mid-pack and rating a bit, but her closing move has more finesse than power.  She could be a factor if the pace seems a bit squishy, but stretching out seems more like a logical step for her down the line.

Zens Free To Dance [Dance Floor x Free At Last] is a viable long shot from the barn of nickryan.  Claimed in early August for $35,000, she’s 0-for-4 since, but has a few strong results in allowance company, topping off with a 99 fig two back in a NW3x in which she closed from the deep to finish only beaten a length-and-a-half.  That’s the second-best fig in the field, and makes her a solid second choice in the wagering.  She’s unbeaten at both five-and-a-half and six-and-a-half furlongs, but is 0-for-3 at six panels, and likely may need the extra sixteenth for her late kick.  She’s a capable filly, but this doesn’t appear at first glance to be her optimal sprinting distance.

Sinning Jones [Seneca Jones x Spend A Buck] was stakes-placed at 2, struggled at 3, but found a home for herself at 4, all under the tutelage of trainer sinner.   She’s won twice in eleven starts this year, both of those coming in middle-distance routes.  Those routes suit her late-running style a little more, if the numbers are any indication.  Her figs are a bit sharper at miles rather than six furlongs, though she did miss only a head going six-and-a-half furlongs five back.  There are better late runs to be had in the field, to be sure, but there’s at least one tout that gives her a decent hunch play in here.  Nevertheless, an extra furlong wouldn’t hurt.

Pleasure Parade(IRE) [Dress Parade x Princely Pleasure] comes forth from the fortyshade barn, and she’s been hopscotching between claiming, starter and allowance levels, with varying degrees of success.  Her best efforts, earlier this year, earned her figs as high as a 99, all in sprints, and in most of those efforts, she’s been at or near the front end.  More recently, she’s been pushed a little further back than she apparently likes, which has resulted in fewer good runs and more middling efforts.  Rating just isn’t that fun for her; she may not need to be on the lead, but it sure would be nice if she was there.  In this bunch, she’s got a decent shot sitting just off the lead, but one could tell she’d have to be pretty close to something rather tepid to put her best foot forward.  Her chances are decent for a money finish, if she’s up close early.

Roy Race [Roy x Boulder Dam], for albarace1, is but three races removed from a maiden win.  She’s been close on more than a few occasions, pun intended; she’s been fading on the lead much of her career, which has cost her in the stretch some narrow beats.  She rediscovered a love for the lead three back, wiring a MSW field going five furlongs, and since then her fortunes have taken an upturn, with a second last out sitting very close to the lead going six panels.  She should be part of the pace set-up here, sitting on or close to the early lead, and she has room for improvement in this spot; her last-out 90 fig sits her well in this field, and she might not have to do too much up front to pick up a check.  Think about her for an exotics play.

Sea Orchid [Orchid’s Devil x Kentucky Gold] has a lot of Raise A Native in her pedigree for trainer txbred.  She’s by a Mr. Prospector-line sire, out of a mare sired by a full brother to Mr. P.  Got that?  Good.  This is her fifteenth start on the year, and she’s made an identity for herself in mid-level claimers.  She was picked up on September 10 for $25k for her current connections, but the claim and subsequent class rise haven’t helped her out, with two finishes out of the money in allowance company.  In that $25k claimer, she stalked a swift pace, then held on with grit for a victory by a head.  And she was rewarded with a speed fig of 98 there.  Fitting better in claimers might be the unequal leverage to take her down a notch here; another strike against her could be the fact that she’s three-for-three at seven furlongs, but winless at six.  She’ll be pretty close to the front end here, but seems to have more appeal at longer sprints, and will need to show more spunk at a higher level to contend.

Chain Ruiner [Alannan x Ziggy’s Boy] for mollydoer, has only three starts, but those starts provide some hope for future development.  She won her maiden at second asking with authority, and acquitted herself nicely last out in a starter sprint (earning an 87).  Those numbers aren’t good enough for open stakes company, but here they do put her in the mix.  Her pedigree suggests longer sprints might be beneficial to her, and her running style hints that she might be able to rate as needed while still staying pretty relevant to the pace scenario; at three starts, future potential is a wide open affair for her.

Shadowy Muff [Shadow In The Dark x Al Mufti] is a bikeboy trainee, and she’s 1-for-6 lifetime.  She should be on the lead, but she only recently did break her maiden going seven panels, and her first try versus winners found her struggling mightily for a $100k tag.  She’ll have plenty of company on the front, and with her career-best being just an 83, that bumps her solidly down the list of entries here.  Her lone grass start gives her a bit of hope on that surface, but in a dirt sprint with a couple of heavy hitters among the bargain ranks, she’ll need a more aggressive bid to hold her own.

My selections:

1. Chance For Delta
2. Pleasure Parade(IRE)
3. Sinning Jones
4. Zens Free To Dance
5. Roy Race

Good luck to all the bargain bred brethren, and happy racing!