Equinics preview: McGibblets headlines SRF/BTB Writers

By ITCH

It’s none too difficult these days to tell a tough race in the Sim.

Those angry, red color bars on the right give it away.

Of the 32 Equinics races, one that might be the toughest is the $1 million Grade I SRF/BTB Writers, for all horses 4yo and up going a mile on the main track.

We’ve got four horses in here who are millionaires already, and dark red bars on the right all the way down to the 13th qualifier. No fewer than SIX of the top 11 in the division are here. The 16 horses entered in the SRF/BTB Writers have run a combined total of 233 races, and won 109, for a winning percentage of 46.7. Ten of the runners have won at least half of their races. We have the first- and second-place runners from both the Breeders Bowl Mile and the Grade I Sterile Mile in here.

Even without the superb depth of SRF/BTB Writers, it would have to be considered a tough spot with the presence of MCGIBBLETS. This 5yo bay son of Dynaformer is one of those special Sim horses deserving of the “freak” title. It doesn’t get a whole lot more freaky than that 121 speed figure McGibblets put up last out when winning a rez-restricted listed stake going Saturday’s distance of a mile. In the histories of college football and Sim racing, the USC Trojans and GR Simsters both have established traditions of dominance. In the most recent Equinics, we saw GRS fade to a surprising fourth. You think Lenny, Given and the gang are not inspired to do a little better than that? They’re counting a big chance with Padrebri’s tasty McGibblets. A big fan of both USC and his longtime residency, Padrebri will sing “Fight On for Old SC,” as his potential Hall of Famer flies the colors of both the Trojans and the GR Simsters. It sure looks like he loves a mile with that 121 last out. Last year, McGibblets appeared to hit his distance ceiling when fading to fifth over the 10 furlongs of the Breeders Bowl Classic. It’s hard to blame Padrebri for shooting for the biggest prize with this horse, which is as classy as any racing today. He’s so good, he has an actual Fan Club on Facebook, with 42 likes. Padrebri and his pals at GRS have a stranglehold on the Top Three of the dirt route division for older horses. Given’s KARUKAZA (winner of the Middle Jewel) is No. 1, Lenny’s EVIL SUNRISE is No. 2, and McGibblets is No. 3. All three are in action Saturday, so the rich stand a good chance to get richer atop that division. McGibblets was beaten by his rez-mates in the BB Classic, but those tables might be turned if the other two tried him at 8f instead of 10. It appears Padrebri has made up his mind that McGibblets needs a little less ground, and pointed for this mile Equinics race with that sizzling prep this distance. McGibblets is a finalist in the 2013 Eclipse voting for older horse on dirt, and may well win it. He’ll begin his campaign for the 2014 awards on Saturday in Vermont. He’ll also take another important step toward the Sim Hall of Fame if he wins. McGibblets has been named the race favorite at 5-1 and will break from post No. 12. (Special BTB shout-out to Mr. Ben Gowans for nailing this price in his morning line for Equinics. Your system is a good one sir, with an accurate line for this race.)

Our top two qualifiers renew a rivalry that is almost as old as the Equinics. Checking in at No. 2 is that very tough, old-timey trainer Jakematt representing none other than DelPenn with SUPER SAVER BARB. The powerful GRS was created with the idea of beating DelPenn, and since their rise to power, the battle has been on for rez supremacy in the Sim. Like two proven champions, DelPenn and GRS trade blows back and forth, each coming back with more blue-bloods to outrace the other. If Super Saver Barb could somehow upset the great McGibblets on Saturday, it would undermine the gold-medal chances of GRS because this is a race they’re surely counting on with a potential Hall-of-Famer in McGibblets. Jakematt will try to spring the upset with Super Saver Barb, who has the distinction of being the best horse by his sire in Sim history. He’s one of two Grade I winners by Super Saver, the other being SAVEDBYGRACENMERCY, a mare who belongs, ironically, to a leading member of rival GRS, that being Willyam. In researching Super Saver a little bit here, we notice that if any players want a gray horse, they should strongly consider this sire. Every single one of his top seven offspring are gray. Super Saver Barb is a dark gray with plenty of class. He’s a Grade I winner, and backs that up with a second-place run in another Grade I and a victory in a Grade 2. However, all those stakes points were earned in races longer than Saturday’s flat mile. In fact, this will be the first race at eight furlongs for Super Saver Barb. It’s a heck of a spot to try something new, but these things can happen in Equinics when a trainer is trying to help his team win. Now, it can be said that McGibblets also has done his earning at nine furlongs, but that wildly fast prep at a flat mile last out suggests it may be his preferred distance. Super Saver Barb will have to reverse a little stretch of bad form here, as he’s disappointed in his last two since taking a two-month break. However, the horse has returned to win from his worst race before. Super Saver Barb has drawn on the outside in post No. 15 and is a big price at 16-1.

Another classy horse looking for a turnaround in form is Otto Haack’s EL QUERREQUERRE, the second-place runner in last year’s Bluegrass Derby and winner of the 2013 Florida Derby. He’ll represent Hispano Parlante. Having covered last year’s buildup to the Bluegrass Derby for the BTB, this 4yo chestnut son of Giant’s Causeway is quite familiar. He was an absolute tiger in the spring of last year, charging through a non-favorable pace to win the Florida Derby, then bravely fighting on in the lane of the Bluegrass Derby to be second to GIMLET NEAT. He beat Evil Sunrise that day to finish ahead of a horse who would go on to the top of the division. For El Querrequerre, however, the strain of those big races would soon be showing. It just goes to show you how tough the Sim’s grading system must be to drop this classy horse into a different hue than the firey red reserved for the best. “What have you done lately?” is what the formula asks, and lately, El Querrequerre has been recharging the batteries. Haack was disappointed to see his fine colt back up so badly in the Grade 1 Travelers, and sent his Derby runner-up to the farm. He’s raced only once since the Travelers, prepping in New York at the distance by winning easily in a very soft allowance field of four. This horse has a ton of class, but even Haack may not know if he’s ready to step back into this level of competition. This will be his second race back after a long layoff, and we’ll find out if some time away at the farm was the tonic El Querrequerre needed. His style of pressing the pace against the best the Sim had to offer on the Triple Crown trail last year tells us he’s got the speed to contend in this Grade I going a mile. He ran a huge race with a 112 speed figure at 8.5 furlongs in winning the Risen Star last year, so the mile might suit. As noted during last year’s TC coverage, El Querrequerre is named for a bird, a magpie with mostly green plumage. So again, we say “watch out, this little bird can fly!” Apparently, the Vermont oddsmaker is not convinced. El Querrequerre will break from pos No. 13 at a very juicy price of 24-1.

The field for the SRF/BTB Writers is strong in more ways than one. The horses are very good, and so are the trainers. In Adrian, representing All-Stars Racing with OF WHITEHORSE, we have another historically top trainer in the Sim. Adrian, aka Astinator, trains 25 percent winners on the nose, and it’s not difficult to assess what a raw number like that means. The Astinator has been piling up Sim wins for years, but even for a veteran like him, winning an Equinics race would be special. Can he do it with Of Whitehorse, a 4yo chestnut son of Danehill Dancer? If anybody is going to upset McGibblets, it just might be Of Whitehorse. How could you not give the winner of the Breeders Bowl Mile a chance? That’s right, Of Whitehorse is your BB champion at this distance, and he did it with a sizzling 119 speed figure. On that championship day in Southern California last fall, Of Whitehorse was 13-1, rated only ninth best. He broke alertly from the No. 2 post, pressing the pace in third while saving ground nicely around the first turn. J. Selden was giving the horse the perfect “garden spot” ride, biding his time down the backstretch along in third behind two dueling pacesetters. He attacked as they entered the turn for home, and broke away from them. The closers had too much to do and Of Whitehorse sped home with a huge prize at 13-1. That had to be a lot of fun for Adrian to watch that race. As stated, he’s won a lot but I can’t imagine what it would feel like to see your horse hit the wire first in a Breeders Bowl race. Adrian is hoping for another Grade I score at a mile, and as the BB champion this distance, he’s king of the hill for now. It will be up to McGibblets and the rest in this tough field to knock him off the top. One guess might be that it’s unlikely he’ll encounter such a dream trip in Equinics like he got in Breeders Bowl. That was as sweet a trip as a horse can have. Much to his credit, Of Whitehorse took supreme advantage. You can look at how a great trainer like Adrian gets a horse ready for a big race like this. You might think he’d want a race at the same distance, but no, Adrian prepped with a ridiculously easy score in a Hot race. (Those poor decrepit souls on Hot Race Island must have shook in their mangy stalls when a real horse came around.) But if you look, Adrian prepped Of Whitehorse for his BB win in a nine-furlong race. All-Stars Racing has a real chance of spoiling the party for team title contenders in this race. Maybe Of Whitehorse can get that dream trip again after all. He’ll break down on the inside again, in post No. 3, at 15-1.

Trainer-angle play for the SRF/BTB Writers? That’s easy. Look no farther than our No. 5 qualifier, KING ALONSO, representing our host rez, Pastures of Green. This 4yo brown son of Street Cry is trained by the Babe Ruth of Sim racing, Dixiedotco. There have been a number of great players in the history of our great game, but the No. 1 parking spot belongs to only one and that’s Dixie. A handicapper could simplify things greatly by just going with Dixie every time he sees him. But, we need a few more sentences about this horse than that. Unlike those who qualify above him, King Alonso will be nowhere near the early pace. He prefers to drop back and make one run, which he did two back when second in the Breeders Bowl Mile. If you like Of Whitehorse because of his victory in the BB Mile, you may want to give strong consideration to King Alonso, who chased him home through the lane to be second, beaten one and three-quarters lengths. We now know that this horse is capable of hitting the exacta in a Grade 1 this distance. In the Breeders Bowl, King Alonso was away slowly from the No. 4 post, but was able to save ground in the two path around the first turn. Reserved early in 12th behind a wall of horses, King Alonso started to advance down the backstretch, and split horses in the turn for home to gain position. The horse rallied strongly in the stretch and was gaining on the winner, but just had too much to do to threaten for top money. Still, second-best on BB day is quite an honor, even for a Hall-of-Fame trainer like Dixie. Now, King Alonso and Of Whitehorse meet again in the Equinics. Can the King turn the tables? He might. As stated, Of Whitehorse probably is not going to be as lucky as to catch another perfect trip like he did in the BB. This big Equinics field and a proliferation of early-pace runners should set it up perfectly for King Alonso. If you see this one come running late in the lane, don’t say I did not warn you. King Alonso will break from the rail in the No. 1 post at 8-1.

Here’s another sharp outfit with the No. 6 qualifier. Skunkbarn will represent the powerful Blazing Saddles with SUSPECTED, a 6yo light gray son of Medaglia D’Oro. This older horse is an interesting proposition because his form cycle is different, and perhaps preferable, to the others. While more than one of the top contenders is looking for a turnaround, Suspected is very sharp right now. He was second two back in the Grade I Sterile Mile this distance, then won a Grade 2 last out going 8.5 with an identical 114 speed figure. This horse is very good right now. At age 6, he has only 20 races under his belt. He’s won 10 of those. It would be no shock whatsover to see this good old horse in the exacta. He’s been second in two Grade I races at a flat mile. He’s an obvious contender in very good form, for a powerful barn, and for a powerful rez. This would be a grand coup indeed for Blazing Saddles, to take points in a race which its strongest competitors for the team title are running big horses, especially GRS with McGibblets. If McGibblets is able to defeat a very strong field like this, we’ll have another trustworthy piece of evidence of how good he really is. Suspected is no slouch whatsoever. As the formerly famous Two Ton Tony Galento said after being knocked out in the fourth round by Joe Louis, “he weren’t fightin’ no bum.” Suspected is ranked No. 11 in the division, and only qualifies No. 6 for this race, so that shows you how tough the SRF/BTB Writers has turned up. Look for Suspected to press the pace. He’s getting major respect from the Vermont morning line oddsmaker, assigned the role as co-second favorite at 6-1. He’s only one point higher than the favorite, McGibblets. Suspected drew a good post, No. 6.

Wow, but this race is looking tougher with each horse. The extremely dangerous Cool K, representing EAAA, has a huge horse in here with TOP BUZZ, a 4yo son of Raven’s Pass who knows his way to the winner’s circle. If you like Suspected off his second-place run in the Grade I Sterile Mile, then you must love Top Buzz, because he won the race. This is a ton of horse on a big-time roll right now, and he’ll take a lot of beating in the SRF/BTB Writers. Cool K has watched this horse win three in a row now, and a very impressive 10 of 13 total. This horse is the best kind, a win machine. He began his career by winning seven of eight, and after losing two in a row, has reeled off three more wins, including that Sterile Mile. Top Buzz means business, and will be going right to the front in the Equinics. This is a supremely talented, fast horse and you better believe he severely compromises the chances of any horse who wants to mess with him on the front. A lot of the top contenders here like to press the pace and grind it out, so we’re looking at a heck of a fight near the front end of this race. They’re going to be running hard the whole way. What a horse race this is going to be! We’ve got a supremely talented bunch primed to post a huge speed number. What’s it going to take to win the SRF/BTB Writers? McGibblets posted a 121 last out. Top Buzz has twin top 117s. Of Whitehorse put up 119. With all these horses racing together, we could see something even higher than 121. It’s a brutally tough race and whoever wins will have a great honor. Cool K will give it a go for EAAA with a terrific horse in Top Buzz. He’s the third-best horse sired by Raven’s Pass in Sim history. Top Buzz is another favorite of the Vermont oddsmaker. He also is 6-1, rated co-second favorite behind McGibblets.

All jokes aside, here is your entry for Team Comedy Central. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, this is my team! So, let’s go Psyduck and congratulations on your very good horse in TEXAS ESK, a 4yo brown son of Eskendereya. Of course, Comedy Central is no GRS and does not rank as a serious contender in the Equinics team competition. (Serious? Why would a residency named Comedy Central be serious?) But, it says here that Psyduck does indeed have a serious horse in Texas Esk. He just missed the board for the first time in his life last out in his 10th career start. That was the Grade I Sterile Mile, which looks like a key handicapping tool in evaluating the SRF/BTB Writers because so many of our contenders raced in it. While Texas Esk was fourth and beaten by two others he’ll meet again Saturday, he ran a very good race, and here’s why. This horse never got shuffled that far back in a race before. In winning five of his first nine starts, Texas Esk had raced mostly on or near the pace, and had just exited a front-running score in a nine furlong Grade 2. In the Sterile Mile, Texas Esk found himself in unfamiliar territory, behind by more than six lengths. But, in a testament to this horse’s ability, he came running and almost got there, beaten only three-quarters of a length while fourth. Considering the abundance of front-end speed in here, that race shape may really work in Texas Esk’s favor. His best chance in here would be to drop back of the leading group and try to pass in the lane. No matter what happens in this race on Saturday, I’m still very excited for Psyduck with this horse. He rates at least an outside shot at a medal and if he gets one, wow. Good luck duckie this is a real nice horse. He gets an inside post, No. 2, and respect from the oddsmaker at 11-1. There are some big-time horses in this race going off at longer odds.

Newmarket will represent the Universal Racing Club with CHEVELY ROAD, a 4yo bay son of Galileo who took a giant step up the class ladder last out when second, beaten only one length in the Grade 2 Jamie Pasqual going 8.5 furlongs. That was Chevely Road’s graded debut, and a fine debut it was. Prior to that big race, Chevely Road was burning up the track in allowance company, reeling off three straight wins, highlighted by a big 114 speed figure this distance three back. Chevely was wheeled back on only two weeks’ rest to place in that Grade 2, and we’ll see if that counts against him on Saturday. “That race was an awful entry mistake,” Newmarket admitted in chat. “I didn’t get that he would race with only two weeks of rest. But he ran nicely.” This is another strong horse which is going to want to be on or near the pace. Trainers of the few late runners in this race have to be thinking the pace might suit. It’s going to be hot and heavy on the front end, and Chevely Road figures to be a part of it. He’s shown he has the speed to run with this kind with that nice 114. He showed he was graded ability in his last race. Now, Newmarket will try to really strike while the iron is hot and give the Equinics a go. “I like him a lot in the Equinics,” Newmarket said. “I have several horses in this year’s Equinics, but just 3 or 4 are on their class. The majority are facing a massive class challenge.” But, Newmarket knows from first-hand experience what kind of horse he’s up against in the SRF/BTB Writers. “One of my horses lost to McGibblets a few weeks ago, 121 SP wow, that’s fast.” Chevely Road has drawn on the outside. He’ll break from post No. 14 at 24-1.

Well, if it isn’t for our old buddy Nextbonus Bill with our next contender. Like Haack’s horse, El Querrequerre, JUST GOOD ENOUGH is familiar to this writer through coverage of last year’s Road to the Bluegrass Derby. Just Good Enough was 18th on Derby day, but to his credit, he did make the race. Since then, Nextbonus Bill has guided his Derby runner back into a more confident state. He’s won three of his last four in lesser competition. The only loss was in the Sterile Mile, which is problematic. Just Good Enough could manage only a seventh-place finish in the Sterile Mile and was defeated by many of the rivals he’ll meet again Saturday. To make matters worse, Just Good Enough has not shown that he’s going to like the mile distance. In addition to seventh in the Sterile Mile, he also shows a dismal ninth last summer in a Grade 1 going a mile in Vermont. In total, this horse’s last four Grade 1 tries all have been failures. He has not run well against this top level of competition since back in the spring of 2013. That 114 speed figure three back looks nice, and if can go a little faster than that, he could get close. This race has come up awful tough though, and Nextbonus Bill has a difficult challenge indeed to get the Queensland Racecourse colors on the podium stand in the SRF/BTB Writers.Years ago, it used to be that I seemed to jinx my friend Bill whenever I would preview a horse of his in the BTB. If Just Good Enough gets beat here, it will not be because of any jinx. It will be because this field is dynamite. So, maybe we could cause some kind of reverse hex and put Bill’s horse up in a big spot here. Whatever happens, I’ll always be rooting for Bill because he has been so kind to me and my fellow Sim competitors over the years. Even if it’s just the Internet, it’s nice to have the friendship of a gentleman like Bill. Just Good Enough has drawn in the middle of the track, breaking from post No. 8 at 14-1.

Atthewire Racing Stables will carry the colors of the East-West Connnection (EWC) with COLORS OF DUBAWI, a 4yo brown son of the European sire Dubawi. Might this be the hot horse of the SRF/BTB Writers? Colors of Dubawi is hot all right, winning two in a row leading up to Equinics. Both races were at Saturday’s mile distance. Last out, Colors of Dubawi was very impressive while capturing the Grade 3 Pal’s Hope in fast fashion. He earned a big 116 for a new career-high speed fig. One thing is for sure, this horse loves the mile distance! He’s nearly undefeated in six career races at eight panels. The lone loss came in his career debut when he set the pace before being caught at the line by a horse who has gone on to be nothing like Colors of Dubawi. His very first race was at a mile so you could say Atthewire knew from the very beginning what his horse was going to like. Since then, COD has gone on to win five in a row at a mile, with improving speed figures. This is a very speedy horse who has held the lead at the second call in 10 of his 14 career starts. That’s normally a terrific running style, but maybe not in this race. The front end is loaded in here. There is a ton of speed, and COD certainly adds to that. There is no way of telling how good this horse might be. He’s only a 4yo, and has every right to improve this year. That 116 speed figure last out shows he’s ready to race in a new kind of gear. But, he’s going to have to be all that and a big of chips to go to the front of this incredible field and stay there. If this horse so much as hits the board in this race, it could be the next rung in the ladder toward a huge year for this horse.Colors of Dubawi will break from the far outside in post No. 16 and has been rated at 17-1.

Here is another chat-room pal of mine in Trotter with CAT’S ROAR, 4yo light gray son of Unbridled’s Song. The team at Empire State Racing is taking serious aim at the Equinics team gold medal on Saturday, and this is their leader in Pete, aka Trotter, who got the Equinics diaries off and rolling this year with a hilarious account of the ESR gang’s wild ride to Vermont. Between Trotter and Irish, you are looking at the pillars of communication between players in the Sim. For almost as long as this game has been played, these two New York gentlemen have been making us all laugh, and then learn about Sim horses through their Derby Watch. I always looked forward to seeing the comments on the right side of their chart of the Derby contenders. So, Trotter has given a lot to this great game and he would really like for ESR to win the Equinics, so I hope he gets what he wants because he deserves it. Can he help the cause in the extremely difficult SRF/BTB Writers race? You wouldn’t be able to tell from the last race for Cat’s Roar. Holy cow! A 57 speed figure? We’ve seen some bizarre approaches to big races before, but this one takes Oddball out of his tank. It’s hard to see on the race viewer, but in between calls, jockey B. Scott actually took Cat’s Roar to the outside rail, tied his horse off, went to the beer stand, texted two of his girlfriends, took a leak, bet on the next race and then closed from 50 lengths back to win going away. It may be the first time in the history of the turf that a horse with a five-race winning streak ran more than seven seconds slower than his last race, and kept his winning streak intact. “I know I raised a lot of eyebrows with that hot, but I did not want too much time between starts,” Trotter said. “I think the horse is up to the task though.” Two back, Cat’s Roar ran an impressive 118 in winning a listed stake this distance out in California. He also shows a 115 and 119 in his recent past to show that he is a legitimate contender in this race, and not a pretender like that laughable speed figure last out might suggest. “I really love this horse,” Pete said. “If you watch his mile races he wins with such ease.” While Cat’s Roar makes his graded stakes debut in about as tough a spot imaginable, the horse loves the distance and runs the right kind of race shape to have a chance to medal in here. As stated, there is just a ton of speed in this race. It sets up perfect for this horse’s late-running style. Now, the jockey won’t have time to go to the beer stand on the backstretch, but Cat’s Roar stands a chance if he can run back to those big speed figures at this class. “I just have to hope mine is going forward while others are tailing off,” Trotter said. Despite that oddball speed figure in his last, the gang at ESR professes faith in their leader. “He was just pacing himself,” said Casino. Cat’s Roar breaks from post No. 10 at 12-1.

We’ve got another class outfit running in the SRF/BTB Writers in Davarto, who will fly the colors of MIDAS with LATENT POISON. This 5yo brown son of Hard Spun is out of Davarto’s AP Indy mare, ORANGE POET. This mare already has given Davarto one Grade I winner in WHELDON, who captured the 2011 Grade I Santa Marina Handicap. Now, she goes for No. 2 in Latent Poison. Wheldon also was by Hard Spun, and also did his best running in dirt route races. It’s interesting to see how Davarto has handled this horse’s career. He spent most of his life training in his weedman stable, then hit a rough stretch of six poor races between October of 2012 and April of 2013. At that point, Davarto decided to give the horse a long, long layoff. He was gone from the track from April to October of last year, and when he came back, he was in a different barn of Davarto’s and cutting back in distance. If you look, most of Latent Poison’s poor races were at nine furlongs or more. When Davarto brought him back, he but back in distance to 8.5 furlongs. The combination of rest and cutting back in distance has worked wonders. Latent Poison has rebounded to run three straight good races. He came back with a win in a time-restricted allowance in fast time with a 110, followed that up with a strong closing run to be second in the Grade 3 Fall Stakes, then won a listed last out to match the second-best speed figure of his life with a 111. (His best is 115, earned in September 2012 in a Grade 3 win going nine furlongs.) If you look way back, Latent Poison ran his first triple-digit speed fig at a flat mile, so he may like Saturday’s distance. He has the right running style, as he prefers to take back and come running late. Latent Poison has a good post at No. 7 and is 11-1.

Sledge represents the Northwest Racing Circuit with FOOZBALL, a speedy 4yo roan son of Any Given Saturday. This horse and his owner, aka Will, deepen the already deep wells here in terms of early speed and classy contributors to the Sim. First of all, Will is a tremendous friend to anybody who ever ran a horse in this great game. He’s made major contributions in terms of teaching players how to play. Currently, he’s involved with another big Sim project, the writing of all the instructions for the new site. It’s players like Will who make the game better not just for themselves, but for everybody. However, all those kind thoughts of acting on behalf of your fellow Simmer go straight out the window when it comes to the early pace in the SRF/BTB Writers. This is going to be a dinstinctly non-neighborly speed duel. In a normal race, Foozball would have to be considered dangerous speed. He had a very light racing schedule in 2013, racing only three times after setting the pace in the Grade 1 Corkscrew Derby Lock Prep and fading to seventh back in April. One of those races handicaps directly to the race on Saturday, that being the eight-furlong listed two back when Foozball set the pace and was caught on the line to be second with a good speed figure of 113. This is a lightly raced horse which is very eligible to improve. The horse which caught him when he ran 113, Locomotive’s MESBEGOTTEN, has gone on to win two more listed stakes since then, so it’s no shame to have gotten caught by that horse. In a spot with any hint of sanity, Foozball would be appealing. But this race is not sane. It’s crazy loaded, especially with speed. Foozball at least adds very legitimate speed to a blazing front-end battle.It would be no surprise to see some big days ahead for this 4yo. Foozball breaks from post No. 11 at 25-1.

Now here’s a handicapping angle for you. TEAM JOLENE, a 4yo chestnut son of Big Brown, just won his third career race in his stakes debut in a larger-than-normal field of 17. You see? This horse lost 11 of his first 13 career races because the fields he was facing were too small! All this horse needed was some serious competition, like 16 other horses on the track. Against fields with only six or eight horses, Team Jolene was on an extended losing streak. In a packed house? Team Jolene escaped with victory, showing a new gear which could come in handy in the SRF/BTB Writers. After racing on or near the pace for much of his life, Team Jolene took back to 10th last out, and then uncorked a strong closing run that saw him get up easily, winning going away by two open lengths. As I’ve said many times in chat, there’s just something special about those wins by open lengths that say a horse is ready to show something. Kind of like Sledge’s Foozball, there is a lot to like about this horse if you just forget about the dramatically difficult spot he’s in Saturday. Kiddman, representing the Minnesota Testbarn Residency, has started almost 17,000 horses in the Sim. He knows what’s up. He knows this horse is taking a huge class jump. This is only his second career stake attempt, and graded stakes debut. He’s got only 16 stakes points, and is not even in the top 1,000 of his division, meeting six of the top 11. That’s the bad news. The good news is that at least his late-running style puts him in the favorable part of the pace. Ideally, Team Jolene will take back again and make the same kind of move he made to win that listed. If he can pass very many horses at all, Kiddman will be able to use the Equinics as a springboard race to propel this horse into good form in more reasonable spots. This particular Equinics race has just gone off the chart in terms of difficulty. No matter what happens Saturday, Team Jolene already has become the fifth stake winner for Kiddman out of his prolific Storm Cat mare LOVELY RITA. (Her best is lone graded winner, STORM DOOR, who was born in 2009.) Team Jolene has a nice post at No. 5 and is rated 24-1.

Yes, that light shade of yellow to the right of VETRIANO at the bottom of the qualifying order does stand for caution. Trapper, representing the City-Race Rhein-Main Turf Club, has volunteered this 4yo chestnut son of Invincible Spirit to go to the post for his rez in Equinics. This is a winning trainer, however, so the realities of the situation are not lost on him. Trapper is winning. 16.8 percent so he knows his horse is hopelessly outmatched here. However, that is often the spirit of the Equinics. Normally, those are the softest Grade I fields of the year when they are run because they are rez-restricted. Often, a rez may not have graded runners to fill every slot in every race. After all, there are 32 races. What happens in a lot of races is that trainers volunteer lesser runners so that their rez will at least be represented. It’s noble, kind of like the Jamaican Bobsled Team, or the runner struggling home at the end of the marathon while refusing to quit. Vetriano is by far the longest shot in the field at 72-1 and will break from the No. 9 post. Whatever his odds, he represents his rez proudly.

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!!!