Blazing New Trails: Unprecedented Favored in the Earle Sande
Perhaps the most mysterious and revered type of racehorse is “the miler.” Its said that “milers make the best sires,” and the rare few that excel over eight panels are few and far between. They’ve got the speed of a sprinter and the ability to stretch that speed for a full eight furlongs, a flat mile. They’re forced to work outside the normal framework of established graded races, picking and choosing their spots while running too far in 9 and 10 furlong races or running out of ground in 6 and 7 furlongs races, all the while biding their time for “the big ones,” several prestigious G1 stakes over a mile that crop up at weird places in the racing season. The first major test for many of these milers in 2006 comes here, in the G1 Earle Sande Stakes, where 20 horses will head to the starter, led by 8-1 favorite Unprecedented, perhaps the top dirt miler in the world right now. Let’s take a look at the field:
The Earle SandeGrade I
One mile
Fast Dirt
$1,000,000
All horses, 4 years old and up — RESTRICTED TO PARTICULAR OWNERS
| PP | Horse ID | Horse | Owner | Jockey | Odds | Comments |
| 1 | SALT FLAT FEVER | 15/1 | This colt goes to post representing the CR Racers, and sports 3 wins from 17 lifetime starts. At his best, he is a stellar miler, as evidenced by the 113 speed figure he ran while running an unlucky second two starts back. The promise he showed in that effort, however, seems to be mitigated by a dismal performance in his next start. He hasn’t started in 13 weeks, and he’ll need to come off this layoff firing if he’s to have a realistic shot here.
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| 2 | FACT OF THE MATTER(IRE) | 11/1 | This representative of the Vermont residency has the home track advantage, and the beautifully bred four year old son of Giant’s Causeway looks primed to take advantage of it. He comes in off of a devastating 2 ¼ length victory in the G2 Orangeton Handicap in New York over 8 furlongs, and has a 26% jock on board today. Toss out the Delaware Mile and he hasn’t run a bad race in five starts. In with a huge chance here.
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| 3 | IMPLOSION | 19/1 | This colt makes is first start of 2006 here, representing the DelPenn group. While he had previously stuck to allowance competition, he managed to last to the wire and win the DPCD Middle Distance Special last time out. If he’s sharp off of this short layoff, he’ll be dangerous, if not, he’s in a tough situation with such a large field. | |||
| 4 | CYBORG SID | 14/1 | This carefully managed son of Cape Town tests the big boys here, representing Ohio Thoroughbred Racing. His best speed figures put him right in the mix for a piece of the pie here, but he’ll need to find the winning touch again, his last race didn’t seem to have the same brilliance as his previous few.
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| 5 | UNPRECEDENTED | 8/1 | He’s ranked 5th in the division, has over $2,000,000 in earnings, is coming in off of a G1 win, and is the best middle-distance dirt horse in the game right now, bar none. Down Under Racing has the obvious favorite to represent them here, and every reason to believe that he’ll do them proud. If you’re nitpicking, you could point out that B. Child, while a capable rider, isn’t an elite jock, and may have problems dealing with a 20 horse field.
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| 6 | JALAPENA FIRE | 20/1 | Fun And Friends Stable sends out this son of Strike The Gold, but with no recent stakes experience he’s looking at a very tough task. His best effort would give him an outside shot to crack the top 5.
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| 7 | SCOOBS CONNECTION | 11/1 | At one time a “Classics” colt, since a disaster last summer in the G1 Traveler’s Stakes, this one has gone the miler route, with fantastic success. 112 and 111 speed figures in his last few races put him in a fantastic spot here, and he’s very dangerous: his recent speed figures suggest that he has a real chance to knock off Unprecedented. The Minnesota group has their fingers crossed.
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| 8 | FIGHT FOR FREEDOM | 32/1 | Benelux residency, meanwhile, has their fingers, toes, and eyes crossed: they’ll need it for this one to make an impact here. He’s a very nice horse, but his recent stakes experience seems to point elsewhere in this massive field.
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| 9 | TAKING RISKS | 12/1 | This is another new four year old who made the transition from the classics to running 8 panels very smoothly. He’s spent some time chasing Unprecedented, and his last race, the Orangeton Handicap in New York, was a disaster, but if he can return to his best form he could be deadly in this field. The Kentucky Horsemen have certainly found a gem with this one.
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| 10 | FLOWER MACHINES | 13/1 | EAAA Racing has to also be feeling good about their choice, as this one comes in off of a “better than it looks” 3rd in the G3 Narrowly Missed Stakes. True to the race name, he “narrowly missed,” with just ¼ length separating the top three. The 111 speed figure puts him right with the upper echelon of this group, and he’ll be a solid contender here.
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| 11 | CLEVER MACH | 12/1 | From the Great NorthWest Racing Circuit comes this son of Machiavelli, who has only one speed, which tends to be fast. He was, like Taking Risks, in the group of horses left in the wake of Fact Of The Matter in the Orangeton Handicap, but if he hustles out of the gate here, he’s got a 30% jock on board who can certainly ration his speed well enough to put him in a great spot when the field turns for home.
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| 12 | SCOOBI BOOTS | 28/1 | Epsom Downs sends out this longshot representative, and while he has an outside shot to step up and run huge, it’s a big class jump from owner restricted allowances to G1 stakes competition. Facing a tough assignment here.
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| 13 | ROBERT THE BRUCE | 27/1 | Ireland sends out this representative, and he is yet another casualty created by Fact Of The Matter in the Orangeton. This one was 14th of 14, and will need a huge turnaround if he’s to be competitive here.
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| 14 | FLYING RUCKUS(AUS) | 40/1 | Two straight wins for this representative of Queensland, but it’s a long way up from allowance races to G1 stakes, as I’ve mentioned earlier. A good horse that may benefit from a slower rise through the ranks.
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| 15 | GATHERING MOMENTUM | 8/1 | The GSR representative has been living up to his name since he made his debut; he’s won 8 of his 12 starts, and has only been out of the money once. This one is certain to run with Clever Mach out of the gate, and if he can run anywhere near the 115 speed figure he threw last time out, he may never look back. That said, be wary of a bounce off of such a huge effort.
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| 16 | BIG BONES BILLY | 19/1 | The Great Plains representative today, this son of Dayjur has struggled as of late in stakes company, and faces a tough task. He is capable of running a big one, but he’s not likely to crack the top 5 today.
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| 17 | THE GHOST | 35/1 | Another case of “not much stakes success;” he’s a very nice horse when appropriately placed, but a 9th place finish last time out makes it tough to support him in light of the heavyweights in this group. The Alpine Turf Club is basically in here hoping for some sort of a miracle, but in horse racing, you never know.
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| 18 | FITTING SOLUTION | 11/1 | One of the few horses not completely embarrassed in the Orangeton, this colt was 2nd, and that 109 speed figure for this son of Seeking The Gold has to have the GR Simsters feeling pretty good. He’s got a 30% jock on board, and if he moves forward off of his last race, a good chance to spring an upset.
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| 19 | TETE GALACTIC(IRE) | 9/1 | If you toss out the bad effort last time out, this speedball has solid credentials, and is capable of breaking the 110 speed figure barrier on occasion. He’ll need to pull out all the stops today, and the entire rooting contingent of Viking Racing is in his corner.
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| 20 | RIGHTEOUS HATFIELD | 35/1 | This Storm Cat colt represents Nexis, and he’s the final instance in this field of “lack of stakes success counts against.” A very talented allowance colt, he’s making a huge jump and will find some of the best milers in the game today. He’s probably just outclassed. |