Oh, Those ‘Tricky’ Texans

This weekend in Texas, the Sim offers a turf sprint for juveniles, the $55,000 Tricky Selection Special, for two-year-olds running five-and-a-half furlongs.  The namesake for this race specialized in grass sprinting, and did well for himself in allowance company at those shorter distances.  Previous races named in Tricky Selection’s honor were won by Celtic Biter and Sober The Second in 2004.  This year, the juveniles have their say.  It’s a compact field of five making the dash over firm going in the Lone Star state.

Topsider Kailey [Kailey Senor x Topsider] is a unique homebred, one of just three horses sired in the whole of the Sim by Kailey Senor, and he became his sire’s first stakes winner, with a wire-to-wire score last out in a Jamaica stakes race.  He has improved his results with the discovery of a running preference: this colt likes to make the lead, and has improved his figs by going to the front in middle-distance sprints (six-and-a-half furlongs).  The representative of the stable of maidendash has won two straight, and should be alive in this spot, but he won’t get lonely on the front end here, and it’s a good furlong shorter than where he’s usually been at his best.

Ojai Green(GB) [Almutawakel(GB)-Green Thunder, by Thunder Gulch] has had a lengthy two-year-old seasons; he debuted on February 26 and has been on the move ever since, with ten starts to date on the season.  Start #11 should be as challenging as the first ten, as he only has a maiden win on the season.  Trainer ojai4keith returns him to the grass for the third time; previous tries have been mixed blessings, with a second two back in a grass stakes and an eleventh in allowance company marking his other efforts.  He was on the lead in the former, and sank like a stone in the latter, but neither really inspires a lot of confidence in his future on the grass.  He should also be on or near the pace in this, but he appears to be better suited for longer on the dirt.  Yet, a couple of things to keep in mind: the dirt-to-turf angle can be an effective training tool sometimes, and there’s not a lot of horses he needs to beat here, just four opponents.

Kirby Country [Cat Country x Fast Play] is making his tenth start for the barn of kirby66, and this two-time stakes winner has found a home on the grass.  He’s a stalker who has an affinity for the five-and-a-half panel distance, winning his first two tries at the distance to start his career.  His numbers are fair, into the 70s regularly, and his recent efforts found him getting a bit too close to the flame of the pace.  A better rating job improves his chances against these, but some higher figs in the past performances would make a handicapper feel better.

Mr. Kirby [High Yield x Forty Niner] is lightly raced for trainer golong, with three starts thus far and just a lone maiden win, all starts coming in Puerto Rico.  His one turf race came at this distance last time out, and earned him a 69 for the trouble, which falls under most of these starters’ best figs.  He should be in stalking mode here in his stakes debut, too, but better days still should lie ahead upon a return to what appears to be his preferred surface, and maybe some added ground will rally to his cause.

Conspiracy [Palace Music x Dayjur] is no silly, willy-nilly ol’ entry for pooh, but at two starts he’s the most lightly raced of these, his maiden win coming last time out with a 78 on dirt.  This is both his stakes and grass debuts, and it’s a relatively easy spot to give it a go and see what happens.  He has a pedigree for sprinting and turf racing, wired them last out, and there’s no reason on paper to suspect he might not be able to handle these conditions.  Still, he’s compressing these starts over a four-week span, with every other week off, which isn’t often done with juveniles even this late in the year.  And, as many know, sometimes just because the pedigree screams “TURF” doesn’t make it translate necessarily to turf success.  With his speed, he should be leader of this quintet for a spell.

My selections:

1. Kirby Country
2. Topsider Kailey
3. Conspiracy
4. Mr. Kirby
5. Ojai Green(GB)

Good luck, and happy racing.