‘Ice Cream’ In December? Only In Kentucky

Brown Boomer was a tricky devil.  Turf wins were his stock in trade; although he was never a great stakes horse (off the board in two tries) her was an iron horse in turf sprints, ultimately winning four times in grass dashes.  This sturdy competitor has been given the pleasure of having one of the final juvenile turf sprint stakes of 2005 named after him.  And this weekend marks the inaugural running of the Brown Boomer Special, a $95,000 stakes race over six furlongs on Kentucky’s turf course for two-year-olds.  And on a card in which talented three-year-old Anticosti makes his belated grass debut in an allowance race, this compact quartet of juvenile colts could angle for a similar high-class future down the line.

Barb’s Ice Cream(IRE) [Manndar(IRE)-Barb’s Seeking, by Seeking The Gold] is favored here, and this colt appears at first blush to tower over the field, with the highest ranking in turf sprints in the field, at #24.  Trained by wolverine, he’s earned a pair of stakes wins, including the Furious R. last out in Ohio, and should be pretty close to what figures to be a mild pace for a stakes sprint.  His numbers are good, if maybe a touch modest, and he gets a top jock on board for this, and his half-sister (now retired) was stakes-placed.   He’s yet to try a dirt race for a start, which is a future option worth pursuing, but as long as he’s performing well on grass at present, there doesn’t seem a reason to tinker with success; favored for a reason.

Java Smoke [Smoke Glacken-Jupiter Arc, by Gone West] is next, and he’s untested at a higher level for trainer hotwalker.  Having hit the board five of six starts, he tries the grass for the first time here, and should be a main speed among these.  His dirt ability hasn’t left them scared or stymied, with a career-best fig of 82 coming in the slop in a NW2L.  With two of his three victories coming on off-tracks, he’d move up considerably, but appears to be up against it for a turf debut in this spot.

Ripple Arsenic(IRE) [Best Of The Bests(IRE)-Dracula Two, by Storm Cat] is a filly trying out colts for the first time, as trained by kdiv, and she’s the only other stakes winner among the four, with a win in Maryland’s First Bicuspid last out.  Her fig there of 84 matches Barb’s Ice Cream(IRE) with the best-last-out fig, and she’ll likely concede some kind of early pace to the others as she did in that effort.  It’s a small enough field that she doesn’t need to run a hole in the wind to do awesome, and her stakes experience puts her in good company with the favorite.  She might prefer a bit of give in her grass, but is still plenty able on this firm course for a solid run.

Waki Waki(NZ) [Zabeel(NZ)-Flamboyant, by Miswaki] is the sole runner of these to opt to leave the driving to others, and as trained by victorious, he’s done his best running from off the pace.  He’s another without a run on the dirt, which might eventually benefit him in competition: his current form puts him a notch or two behind some of these at their best, with a best career fig of 79 in his debut as a high-water mark.  On current form, running back to that number seems a touch lofty, although his running style does work well among these, and the turn-back in distance to his preferred length should aid him.  He was up the course in the Burn 2 Shine last out, and needs to pull a reversal for a solid opportunity here.

My selections:

1. Barb’s Ice Cream
2. Ripple Arsenic(IRE)
3. Waki Waki(NZ)
4. Java Smoke

Good luck, and happy racing.