Seven and a half gets seven in Coney Bandit CB Memorial

This week, Virginia queues up a long sprint for older horses in our marquee race, the Coney Bandit CB Memorial. The race runs seven and a half furlongs over a track rated as firm. All horses four years and older are invited to participate, with a purse of $55000 awaiting the best of them at the finish line. The card drew six males and a female, ranging in age from four to eight, and in experience from less than twenty starts to more than fifty. Oddsmakers are looking for a tight race here, with four of the seven runners going off at 5/1 or better odds, and two of the remaining three less than 10/1 odds. It could be possible to see some nice exotics come out of this one.

PP 1) Sino Red Storm Sired by Crowning Storm, Trained by speed. Sino Red Storm is a five year old veteran of twenty seven starts. He is seeking his first stakes victory. He steps back up to stakes company here, after starting his last couple in the allowance ranks. In his last ten starts, he has compiled a record of 1-1-1-2-1 with one 100+ run. He comes off an A1t outing right here in Virginia, where he finished a dismal twelvth in a race that was too long for his taste. Twenty five of his career starts have been on turf. His dirt speeds were passable for early three year olds, but he has had a lot of success on the grass, showing good speed. He has been at his best between seven and eight furlongs. He has had trouble when he gets out past that eight furlong range, and this is a happy medium between that and shorter sprints. He is a midpack to deep closer, and his close has been quite consistent anywhere under nine furlongs. He has regularly been outrunning his odds, and he has shown he is capable of the speed to compete in this field. If he can find that speed here, he could be a threat down the stretch here.

PP 2) Close Book Sired by Take Me Out, Trained by pjlracing. Close Book is a six year old horse, and he makes his twenty ninth career outing here. He has one stakes win to his credit. His last ten starts have netted him a 2-2-2-3-0 record, with seven 100+ starts. That fact has netted him the favorite spot in this run. He comes off a two length win over a full field in an A2t race in Oklahoma at this distance in his last race. This will be only his third career turf run, but in his other two tries, he has shown that he can run just as well on the grass. He doesn’t seem to display an overwhelming preference for either surface. As far as distance, this seems to be his sweet spot, with neither the blazing pace of a shorter sprint or the stamina requirements of a longer route. He generally runs as a stalker, and he seems to prefer being slightly off the pace. When he grabs a lead too early, he has a tendency to fade. He is about the hottest horse in this field, and he should be the one to beat here if he runs another like his recent starts.

PP 3) Night’s Desire Sired by Night Shift, Trained by troy5. Night’s Desire is a five year old horse, making only his fifteenth career start. Don’t let that fool you though. In fourteen starts he six victories, including one at stakes level. For his career he has gone 6-2-0-1-1 with three 100+ speeds. He comes off his first stakes start in his last race, a seven furlong effort in Ohio, where he narrowly bested a full field by three quarters of a length at the wire. He switched to turf after his fifth start, quickly marching up through his conditions and improving impressively. Five of six wins have come on the grass, and he rides a two race winning streak into this one. He has run distances out to nine furlongs, but he has shown a preference for sprinting, and he has three victories in four tries in this distance range. He is a stalker, liking to sit right at the head of the midpack, and he has been quite successful at it. He has shown the alarming tendency to throw a clunker here and there, though, especially when he gets out past seven furlongs. He faces some early speed here, and it could leave him farther out than he may like. If he’s moving at the half, he could be dangerous.

PP 4) Sakmar’s Slew Sired by Marquetry, Trained by andysakmar. Sakmar’s Slew is a six year old horse, and this well raced verteran makes his fifty third start here. He has three stakes wins to boast of, though his last was in the middle of the 2003 season. Over the course of his last ten, he has put together a 2-1-0-1-0 record with one 100+ run. He comes of a disappointing last place finish in a dirt stakes at eight furlongs in Georgia in his last run. Green has always meant go for this old guy, with his turf speeds far outstripping the ones he put together on dirt. He has shown talent from six out to nine furlongs, but really made his mark as a miler. He has shown more stamina than most here, and that could work to his advantage. He runs as a midpack to deep closer though his close hasn’t been the most consistent in his recent outings. Wear and tear is starting to show, but he is still capable of throwing a stellar race now and again. He hasn’t run his best lately, so he may be due for a pick one. He’s going to need that big one to be a factor here.

PP 5) Aninjurytoall Sired by Smart Strike, Trained by megaman42. Aninjurytoall is the only female to grace this field. She is a six year old mare, making her sixty fifth career run here. She has most recently been bouncing around the claim and starter allowance ranks, running to a 2-1-1-3-0 record with a best speed of 94.8 earned mid last year. She finished seventh in a seven furlong starter allowance in Kentucky in her last race. Though she only has four career dirt starts to gauge by, she has been at her best on turf. She definitely prefers a sprint, and she is near 50% win rate in this distance range. She is a fast starter working her best from an early lead. Only three of twenty five career wins have been non-MCOS, and she is taking a big jump in class here. It is hard to see her being a factor here, with here race count and recent speed figures.

PP 6) Black Labeled Sired by Lear Fan, Trained by zwylde. Black Labeled makes his twenty first career start here in his five year old season. He is still seeking his first stakes victory. He has gone 2-3-1-1-0 over the course of his last ten starts, with no 100+ runs. He comes out of a second place finish in an A*800 run at eight furlongs in Vermont last time he hit the track. He has only made one dirt start, and he much prefers the grass, falling off sharply in his dirt run. His speeds have been quite consistent anywhere from six to nine furlongs, and has had moderate success in all those ranges. He is a leader/stalker type runner, and seems to be at his best when he can grab a piece of the early lead. He has shown the stamina to be able to hold on to it if he gets there. His speeds have been somewhat lower than the best in this field, but he has shown enough to be in the mix at the wire. He should collect a check, but will need a career run to hit the winner’s circle here.

PP 7) Red Sharpie Sired by Red Ransom, Trained by fireguy. Red Sharpie is the baby of this field, at the tender age of four years. He has nineteen career starts, and five stakes wins to show for it. His record over his last ten is a nice 2-2-1-1-3, including two 100+ runs. He comes off a stakes win in Australia at this distance in his last race, owning the second half going away. He has never raced on the dirt, and with twelve top three finishes in nineteen starts there hasn’t really been a reason to tamper with success. This distance is perfect for him and he has been stellar in the seven to eight furlong range. He is a stalker, and he needs to be close on the lead to have success. He’s been running his best recently, and this race is tailor made for him. There is not an abundance of blazing speed here, and he should be right there when they hit the wire.