No open gates left for the Stupidly Not Beau Handicap

There is no short field this week for the feature race in Virginia, the Stupidly Not Beau Handicap. The race is for all horses four years old and older, and runs over seven and a half furlongs of turf rated as firm. A $45000 purse waits to be split between the best of the group at the finish in this one. Unusual for an older field, especially a full one, the favorite is going off at a long 9/2 odds, with the longshot at 22/1, showing that all entries have been well placed. Half the field goes off at 10/1 or better. No females joined this field, which ranges in age from four to seven years. We should have another exciting one here for Virginia race fans.

PP 1) Once Wylde Sired by Touch Gold, Trained by zewango. Once Wylde is a four year old colt making his twenty second career start. This will be his third consecutive stakes run, and he is seeking his first career victory at this level. His last ten starts have seen him run to a 4-0-1-0-1 record, with two 100+ runs. His last run was a tenth place finish in a six furlong stakes in Vermont, where a lot of late speed made his finish look worse than it was. He is a veteran dirt runner who seemed to hit a wall after breaking his maiden, until switching to turf six starts back. He responded with four straight allowance victories, and most of the best speed marks of his career. He has performed well in sprints, but he has also shown he has plenty of stamina to get out well past sprint distance, and that should work to his advantage against any of the pure sprinters in this field. He starts a a mid pack closer pace, but his sweet spot seems to be two to three lengths off the pace at the half. May need a slightly faster start here to stay in that distance in this one.

PP 2) Return Of The Cat Sired by Seeking The Gold, Trained by masterab. Return Of The Cat makes his sixteenth start here, in the early part of his four year old season. He has four stakes wins to his credit, including one at graded level. His last ten starts have netted him a 3-0-1-1-0 record with four 100+ speeds. He comes off a dirt stakes at this distance in Ohio in his last start, finishing a closing sixth place. The bulk of his career has been spent on the dirt, and he performed quite well during the first part of his career, over his last seven though, his first two career turf starts have been his only money finishes. His career best runs have been in this distance range including all six career victories, so it would appear that he is comfortable at this distance. He is a deep closer, and while his close has been quite consistent, he has had trouble bring it home, repeatedly falling short. While his perfomance beyond eight has not been great, the combination of the level of competition and two of those starts being off track may not be indicative of his performance at longer distance. He has the speed to compete here, but will need to sharpen his close to threaten late.

PP 3) Grampa Jack Sired by Belong To Me, Trained by woette1. Grampa Jack is a four year old colt taking the gate for the twenty sixth time in his career. His new trainer picked him up as a claimer, and he has since performed well at allowance and stakes level. He’s looking for his first stakes win. Over the course of his last ten starts, he has put together a 1-1-1-1-1 record, with one 100+ run, that speed coming in his last start. That last run was a seven furlongs stakes in New Jersey, where he finished a close second on a yielding track. Turf is his surface of choice, and he shows markedly better speed on the softer surface. While he has experienced some success longer, he seems to prefer a slightly shorter run than he has here. He has been toying with his start speeds, and he seems to prefer running as a closer. His close has been good, but he has been falling short, and the extra distance here doesn’t seem to work to his advantage. If he duplicates his last on the firmer surface, he could be a threat. The extra distance and fast surface will work against him though.

PP 4) Unbridled Horizons(FR) Sired by Urban Ocean(FR), Trained by cjwalker. Unbridled Horizons(FR) is a five year old horse, running for the twenty seventh time in his career. He comes in to this race off back to back stakes victories, the first two of his career. In his last ten starts he boasts a 3-2-1-0-2 record with six 100+ runs. His last start was a stakes victory at this distance in Massachusetts, where he looked like he was shot out of a cannon in the second half. After starting his career on dirt, he switched to turf in his eighth start and never looked back, piling up victories and earnings. Six of eight career victories have come in this distance range, so he has a good comfort level in this distance. He has also shown the speed to be successful shorter and the stamina to go longer, so this makes a nice happy median. He is a deep closer, and his close has been superb, and the long sprint does nothing but help him here. Though he has a lot of other closers to contend with here, he is the hottest entry in the field, and should be threatening late.

PP 5) Tamarindo Tres Sired by A.P. Indy, Trained by agakhan. Tamarindo Tres is the old man of the field at seven years, and this will be his fifty third career run. He is still seeking his first victory at stakes level. Over his last ten starts, he has gone 1-1-1-2-0 record with no 100 + runs. His last run was a a six and a half furlong A2y run in Jamaica, where he finished a hard closing fourth place. He hasn’t been off the grass since late in the 2003 season, and the majority of his career success has been on turf. He has shown some speed at this distance, but hasn’t quite been able to put paid to it in the second half. All of his career victories have come in shorter races, and he also seems to like an off track. He runs as a midpack closer, but seems to have his best luck when he is just off the pace. If he gets too far behind in the first half, he has a tendency to pack it in for the day. He is starting to feel the effects of wear and tear, and he will have to fire off a big one to be a danger in this one.

PP 6) Root Beer Slammer(IRE) Sired by Singspiel(IRE), Trained by hero. Root Beer Slammer(IRE) is a six year old horse, who runs here in his twenty fifth career start. This will be his first stakes run since his three year old season, and he has one stakes victory in his career. His last ten starts have earned him a 4-0-1-1-0 record, with one 100+ speed run. He comes here off back to back allowance victories, and three wins in his last four. His last start was an open allowance at this distance, where he bested a nearly full field by a length at the wire. To his trainer’s credit he has tried dirt, but it only served to prove that the turf is where he belongs. Most of his career success is at a shorter distance, but he is undefeated in three tries in this distance range. He is a midpack closer, and his close has been quite consistent on turf. He tried closing from deeper, but found himself with just way too much distance to make up in a sprint. If he is within four or five lengths at the half, he has always proven to be a handful down the stretch. His last two have been his best starts since late in 2004, and if he can kick it up another notch, he could be dangerous here.

PP 7) No Blarney(IRE) Sired by Desert King(IRE), Trained by nyyankee. No Blarney(IRE), just as the horse to his left is a six year old horse making his twenty fifth career start. He makes his second career stakes start here, still seeking his first stakes victory. He has gone 4-1-0-1-0 over the course of his last ten starts, with one 100+ speed to his credit. He comes off a fading sixth in a six furlong turf stakes in Georgia in his last start. He has shown passable speed on dirt, but the majority of his career success has come at sprinting on the grass. He’s a pure sprinter, liking the six to seven furlong range, and this might be a bit long for him in this caliber of a field, though he does have one previous run at this distance. This distance has also netted him his career best speed. He is a fast starter, and he has done fairly well holding on to his leads, or at least making the closers work for it. He’s going to have some competition for the early spot here, and will need to be at his best to bring this one home.

PP 8) Cemetery Gates(IRE) Sired by High Chaparral(IRE), Trained by peeps6. Cemetery Gates(IRE) makes his seventeenth career start here early in his four year old season. He is a stakes veteran, and has one win at this level. His last ten starts have seen him go 2-1-2-2-0 with a single 100+ speed run. His last start was a six furlong turf stakes in Georgia, where he finished third in a tight battle at the wire. The bulk of his races have been on the grass, with his one dirt start showing decent speed, but not much of a finish in a short sprint. Most of his best running has been at shorter distance, though his career best speed was run at seven furlongs. This one may be a bit long for him.He runs as a stalker, but has been having trouble holding the early pace. His only recent victory was a wire to wire effort. He comes off his two career best starts and he seems to be improving. He should press the early pace here, but unless he can find a way to hold on, the stretch will most likely find him fading.

PP 9) Orgullo Cuidadano Sired by Proud Citizen, Trained by species48. Orgullo Cuidadano makes his twentieth career start here. He is a four year old colt and he comes off his second career stakes victory. He has run to a 4-1-1-1-0 record over his last ten starts, with one 100+ speed. His last race was an eight and a half furlong stakes on a tough Kentucky track, where he easily put away a field of nine by two and a half lengths. He must have given his trainer quite a scare after his first four runs on dirt, where he looked average at best, but his fortunes took a real turn when he switched to turf, and he has never gone back. He has performed his best in the eight to ten range and this will be his first sprint since early last season. He seems partial to a bit more distance than he will have here. He is a midpack closer, and his outside limit seems to be about five to seven lengths out at the half. He has plenty of stamina to keep things close, but he face a lot of good sprint closers here. Might be best for him to go to the front and try to hold on to as much of a cushion as he can get.

PP 10) Jazzy Pilgrim Sired by Pulpit, Trained by irt. Jazzy Pilgrim is a four year old colt making his sixteenth career start in this race. He has one career stakes start and it resulted in a win. His last ten starts have left him holding a 3-3-1-1-1 record with two 100+ speed runs. His last start was an eight furlong stakes in Jamaica, where he took the victory by a nose in a thriller at the wire. He has done the majority of his running on dirt, and performed quite well, finishing in the money in ten of his first eleven. He simply exploded when switching to turf, though, and hasn’t finished worst than third in his last four starts, and netting some very good speeds. His meat and potatoes run is the seven to eight furlong range, nad he his running right up the center of his preferred distance here. He likes running just off the pace, but he is not above grabbing an early lead if it’s offered. His last two victories have been wire to wire. With the speed he has been showing it wouldn’t be surprising to see him grab a piece of the early lead here. If he does this with his usual starting pace, he could be very hard to catch down the stretch.

PP 11) Hill And Halo Sired by Danehill, Trained by scream. Hill And Halo is a five year old horse making his seventeenth career start in this race. This will be his third career stakes start, and he is still seeking his first victory at stakes level. His last ten starts have resulted in a 2-0-2-1-0 record with one 100+ run. His last start was was an A2s outing at six furlongs right here in Virginia, where he finished a disappointing eighth after fading in the second half. He has run about the same amount of dirt races as he has turf, and his average speeds are very close in each. The seven furlong range seems to be about his best distance netting him two of his three career wins and all three of his 100+ speed efforts. He has done the bulk of his running as a leader/stalker type, but he has had problems maintaining his grip in the second half. In a couple efforts closing from deep he has shown a good close. He might want to try stretching it out with that close and see where it gets him. Here though he is going to need more than he has shown to be a threat in the second half.

PP 12) Cavy Ruler Sired by Danzig, Trained by nitrocavy. Cavy Ruler is a four year old colt, starting in seventeenth race here. This will be his first stakes start since early last year, and he has one prior stakes win on his resume. Over his last ten starts he has garnered a 3-1-1-1-0 record with two 100+ speed runs. His last outing was a seven furlong open allowance in Tennessee, where he finished second, falling to a deep closer in the stretch. Three tries on dirt have left very little doubt as to his strong turf preference, and his successes have all come on the grass. Distance wise, he is right where he likes it. He has shown he has the stamina to get out to eight furlongs or better without many ill effects. He is a stalker, who like to run just off the pace early, and then catch them flagging in the stretch. He has had some problems closing it up late in the stretch but he is rarely far out of it in this distance range. Look for him to be in the mix late, but he will need his best moves to bring the win home here.

PP 13) Blood Plum Sired by Portrush, trained by skanky. Blood Plum is a well run verteran five year old, making his thirty first career start here. He is no stranger to stakes competition with twenty four of his career starts coming in stakes or graded stakes competition. He has three previous stakes wins. His last ten starts have seen him go 2-1-1-1-1 with two 100+ speed runs. He is coming in here off a six furlong turf stakes in Vermont, where he finished sixth in a tight race. He has tried dirt, but this horse is a turf sprinter through and through, generating over $300K in earnings in that venue. The bulk of his wins have come at shorter distance, but he has shown he can hold his own in this distance range. He is a stalker, but he hasn’t much ability to hang in there this year. He has the speed and ability, and he could be a threat if he runs his best. Look for him to be in the mix early, but he will need his best run in a while to bring it home here.

PP 14) Made Simple(IRE) Sired by Giant’s Causeway(IRE), Trained by plstable. Made Simple(IRE) is another veteran run, making his thirty seventh career run here in his six year old season. He has two career stakes win, with his last coming mid last year. His last ten starts have ended in a 1-1-0-1-0 record with no 100+ runs. He is coming off an A1s run at seven furlongs in Alabama, where he finished a fast closing second. Turf has been his home, and he hasn’t strayed far. That’s not hard to believe with the turf talent he’s shown. This is his preferred distance range, with four of five career victories and some of his best speeds coming at this distance. He is a leader/stalker type, and up until his last run he has been struggling in that role. A slightly slower break earned him his best finish and best speed in several starts. He hasn’t shown his best speed lately, but coming in off a good start, he should at least put up a fight. If he backs off a little at the start, he could have a strong stretch move, but he will need more speed than he has been showing to threaten late.