Four Hope to Star in Wisconsin

Welcome to snowbound Wisconsin on this frigid Saturday afternoon.  It took us a while to dig out and defrost the tracks, but hopefully it’s worth it to all who’ve ventured forth.  Our feature race on the card today is the Cleveland Star Special, a mile and three sixteenths stakes race for 3 year olds run on a Yielding Turf course.  The odds for this race are pretty close, but we have only four entrants today so let’s see who decided to brave the cold…

First off, in PP1, we have #23475 Dreams Are Free, a chestnut colt trained by nsw.  He is a son of Red Ransom based on Maitlander(IRE) (Theatrical(IRE) x Rainbow Quest) and is 6/1-2-1 lifetime.  This colt has spent his entire career so far on the green stuff, finishing out of the bps only once.  He has definitely shown an affinity for routing, but he has never gone this distance before, but he seems to be improving with distance.  He has never won a stakes, or even an allowance, but he has a real shot if distance isn’t a problem.  He is the favorite today at 6/5 and is being ridden by jock F. Esiason.

Next up, starting in PP2, is #27360 Notformeanymore(IRE).  This resting trained light grey colt is a son of Manndar(IRE) out of a Zen bred mare.  He is 6/2-1-1 lifetime.  This guy is making a big jump in class, having run in a 20k claimer last time out.  He also seems to be having distance problems, having mainly sprinted and only routed once, where he finished 5^th, more than 8 lengths back.  He is most likely going to have a little trouble handling the other 3 boys in this field.  He is the longshot here today at odds of 9/2 and is being ridden by L. Olsen. 

Then, breaking from PP3, we have #111580 Bonetails, a ksparrow1 trained brown colt by Storm Cat out of Tailabone (Trick Question x Lycius) and is 3/0-2-0 lifetime.  Personally, I have never seen a maiden in a stakes race, but there’s a first time for everthing.  He has been running well, but has not yet crossed the wire in front.  However, he has been improving as his distances increased, but he is going to have to put up a big effort to get to the wire in front today.  He is off at odds of 7/2 and has jock M. Snider in the saddle.

And, finally, from PP4, is #76080 Wonderboy Ebay (IRE).  He is a pigeon10 trained brown colt by Giant’s Causeway (IRE) out of Plated (Silver Deputy x Rahy) and is 9/2-0-3 lifetime.  This guy has the most experience in terms of races run, but did not really start to kick it into high gear until the middle of last year, when he changed hands in the auction.  After that, he has never been out of the bps, but in his only stakes run he finished 5^th.  He has been a decent allowance runner, but will need to step up his game a little if he wants to steal this race from the favorite.  He is off at 7/5 and has jockey J. Fontenot in the irons.