DIRTY DOZEN SET TO GO IN DPCD JUVENILE

RESIDENCY BRAGGING RIGHTS UP FOR GRAB

By: Kingab

(Delaware) A dozen sophomore colts will enter the starting gate at Delaware on Saturday with more important matters on the line than the $500,000 purse. The winner’s owner will get to talk-the-talk for the next year after his colt walks-the-walk in the eight-furlong test that will be held on the main track. These are not the most accomplished youngsters in the sport, as the entire field has amassed just over half-a-million in earnings, but through residency support find themselves starting in a race worth half-a-million dollars. To further harp on how weak this field is, there are no graded stakes winners in the field, and only two horses have won a stakes at all. The field has accumulated sixty-one starts as a group, and only once have any of the ‘dirty dozen’ posted a speed figure in the nineties. However, none of that really matters to the hard core Del Penn gang. They just want to kick each other’s butts.

In post one is a son of Lemon Drop Kid, named Conspirator, and he is the morning line favorite at 4/1. He comes to us from the highly successful Super10 stable, a stable that is off to a great start with 19 wins from only 82 starts. If you need help with the math that is a winning percentage of 23% and hard to beat. The super stables are a high profile group that believes in spending credits like a sheik to achieve the success that they desire. This colt is not one of their highest expenditures, but he wasn’t exactly free either. He is not quite first rate, but he isn’t a complete bust either. He has won two of seven starts, a maiden win and a nice allowance score at today’s distance, but has failed to win in any of his four stakes tries. He did finish third in one of those stakes, hitting the board with a strong closing effort at five and one-half furlongs over this same Delaware dirt. He has never been beaten badly in his five losses, and finished fairly close in two graded stakes races, but still was off the board in both attempts. His speed figures are not far off the best colts around, but his class is still very questionable and a loss to this group will leave the super powers shaking their heads in major disappointment.

The two post will have Empire Records, an Empire Maker colt from the Bunsay Stable, who can boast of only a maiden win in five starts and will go postward at 10/1. After four rather pedestrian speed figures, the flashy chestnut sort of woke up in his last start to register a solid 86 mark while finishing a fast closing second in a sprint. While he did pass three horses in the stretch in that race, he still lost a little ground in the final furlong. It was a decent effort, but running second in a sixty-nine hundred-dollar sprint in ‘Worst Virginia’ is not a great endorsement to capture a half-million dollar race at Delaware. I haven’t had a lot of luck with my Empire Maker progeny either, and at this point this stable can say the same.

The number three horse will be Forestforthetrees, a well-made, chocolate-brown colt by Forestry, and is the property of the Ohjoanie Stable. After two very poor starts this colt suddenly woke up when stretched out to a mile. A very easy maiden win was followed by a close second in a stakes race, and then a drawing off stakes score over five opponents in Alabama. He is one of only two stakes winners in the field, and I am sure that his last performance was encouraging to his owner, especially with the solid speed figure he posted. He will have B. Ironside in the saddle, who is one of the best riders in the race, and has to be considered a threat to win this overly inflated purse. Seven-to-one is the price you get if you believe this is the one.

The four horse is Java Year, a 13/1 proposition who comes to us from the highly successful Morrissey Stable. However, this stable didn’t win a 166 races running horses where they don’t belong, but a half-a-million bucks and bragging rights will sometimes cloud any man’s judgment. A winner of only one race and less than ten-thousand dollars in five starts, the colt enters this affair off of an eleven-length beating in a small sprint stakes in Maine. He beat one horse that day in a field of ten, and it really doesn’t look to get any easier for him today. Perhaps a couple of new tattoos will give him the confidence he needs.

Next in line is Stretch Lite, a not-so-fast son of Successful Appeal who the odds maker has tabbed at 13/1. He belongs to the6thsign Stable, but if he doesn’t pick up the beat he will soon belong to someone else via the claim box. He finally did run a speed figure in the low eighties in his last start, and I suppose the four seconds and the one win in six starts is fairly encouraging, but he will have to run a career best to be a factor here. He does have stakes experience, if you call running eighth and losing by thirteen lengths experience. I think Stretch might be regretting putting his name on this one.

Number six will be Barb’s Liesure from the Leo3 Stable. This nice looking dark-brown colt boasts a fine record of three wins and a second from four starts, and is the other stakes winner in the field, having captured a sprint stakes in his last start over this same track. He is also the field’s leading money winner with just under eighty grand on his card. With his fine record, decent speed figures, and his money earned title one would think he would be a strong favorite. However, you can get 7/1 on him as he tries to stretch out for the first time to a mile. Be forewarned though, as perhaps we will find out today why his sire stands for less than eighty credits. He’s certainly been a bargain so far, but an acid test awaits today.

The seven post will have a son of Touch Gold in it named Death Rattle. This huge brown colt belongs to the Sdmf Stable, and comes into the race with just a maiden win in six starts to his credit. His speed figures are not horrible, but except for his maiden win, he has the rotten habit of either losing ground or position in the stretch of all of his races. You can get him at 8/1 today, but if you take that price you’d better hope he finds some heart in the final 200 yards this time. I wonder if the GR Simsters are glad this one got away? Yeah, probably so.

Next up we have the Super27 Stable’s Dark Princes, a lightly raced son of Empire Maker. This colt is one of my picks to bring home the lion’s share of the huge purse. After a most impressive maiden score where he closed from 12^th at the top of the stretch to win going away, he was injured in his next start. He was off for ten weeks before returning to easily capture an open allowance race, and followed that up with an impressive closing third in a stakes race over this dirt at a route of ground. You can get 8/1 on this guy today and I think that is a bit of an overlay. He will need to increase his speed figures a bit to get the job done, but he has the look of a colt with a future.

On the other hand the future for Super23 Stable’s Tessio, a son of Forty Niner, couldn’t look any bleaker. If you’re going to breed a lot of horses you are going to get a lot of bad ones along with the good, and this is one of the bad. Four starts with one win and slow speed figures do not a champion make. For some reason this will be his third stakes race in a row (I guess there is something to be said for cruel and unusual punishment!). Perhaps he bit one of his owners and they have decided to punish him before dropping him in for a tag. Ten-to-one seems a huge underlay on this dude. I am sure it wasn’t Laura who decided to drop him in here. It had to be Jeff or Tony. In the colt’s defense he does have a very nice pedigree, and some of the Forty Niner’s are slow to develop in the sim. I hope that this colt was named after the watch or somebody’s uncle, and not the great Italian breeder Federico Tesio. If he was, I am sure that Tesio would start rolling over in his grave.

Wistful Stables has the ten post with Forty Laughs, another son of Forty Niner. However, the only thing these two colts have in common is they are by the same sire. This one has some talent and is my other choice to get the money. You only get 5/1 on this guy as he has shown some flashes of brilliance. He has two wins from five starts, and is the only colt in the field to break ninety with a speed figure. He has been competitive in all of his starts, except for when he tried graded company in Kentucky. However, he was beaten less than eight lengths in that prestigious affair. In his last start he showed a new dimension as he went to the lead for the first time in his career and was just caught at the wire in a stakes race at today’s distance. There is very little speed in this race and if left alone on the front end he could prove very difficult to catch.

Post eleven has Mephisto Diablo, a 9/1 shot from the Nathndtroi Stable. So far this son of Mineshaft has been a slight disappointment, with only one win in four starts and speed figures that are very average. It’s way too soon to give up on this well-bred youngster, but this race seems like a lot to ask of him at this point in his career. His two route races, which came in his last two starts, are a little more encouraging then his early two efforts, but he would need a major move forward to be a factor here. I would have opted for a nice non-winners of one race for him, but a ton of money and bragging rights will cause a lot of trainers to lose their minds.

The outside post goes to Rocinante Stable’s Born In Toulouse, a son of Deputy Commander. He has been installed at 32/1 and is the outsider in the field. He has earned those odds. He somehow has won two races, with one at today’s distance. However his top speed figure in six starts is 74, and that won’t cut it in a lot of claiming races, much less a race worth a half-million dollars. His last two starts have seen him beaten by a total of twenty-six lengths, and they may run horses in big races like that in England, but here in the States we like to bring a little more to the dance than that. Perhaps next time Bob won’t use a mare that only won one race in forty starts.

Well, I have covered a lot of stakes races for the BTB, and I can honestly say that this is collectively the worst group I have ever covered. But, having said that, good luck to all and may DEL PENN live forever.