Thirteen Go After Grade 2 $800k Victoria Cup
This Sunday, Victoria, Australia once again hosts a top-flight race for older turf specialists, the Grade 2, $800,000 Victoria Cup. A well-established group of turf stars has assembled to try each other over 10 furlongs of Australia’s finest real estate.
It’s a very interesting bunch, ranging all the way from allowance runners taking a moon shot to established vets of Grade 1 turf wins to faded former champs looking for that one last big prize. Seven of the thirteen runners own graded-stakes star badges; that high a percentage denotes quality, in my book. Let’s bust out the ol’ virtual fishwrap and have a look at this fine bunch…
CRUSHER OF LOVE (8/1) has won impressively in minor stakes races the last two times out and makes his graded-stakes debut here. Traner fairhaven has brought this Galileo colt along nicely; now is the time to take that big shot at glory. Tough place to try it, but certainly not impossible.
RUNAGROUND TED (19/1) has six career wins, but only one in stakes racing; and that was on a sloppy dirt course. The 4yo son of Matsurida Gogh has shown plenty of finishing ability for inabred when in allowance fields, but it looks like the waters here might be a bit too deep.
BALLET CLASS (9/1) danced to an upset victory over fellow entrant MIKEL in the Grade 3 National Stakes last time out and could get a prime spot just off the expected hot pace here. The 4yo Tapit colt trained by stcshag appears to be getting super-sharp just at the right time.
PLEASANT KOGER (14/1) tries the ol’ dirt-to-turf angle, but is most likely to be a pace victim here unless trainer dmckinna has played a different strategy card with his 4yo Pulpit colt. Still, this is a quality runner; in many stakes races he’d be well-regarded by oddsmakers, attesting to the mightiness of this group.
BOUNTY LIST (9/1) had a 3-race win streak broken last time in the HOF Members Equinics race, but the 4yo Daiwa Major colt representing the colors of the bernardini stable was coming off a 2-month layoff and might be sharper today. A repeat of that dazzling performance in the Grade 2 Los Angeles Derby just might be the ticket.
FRANK TOOT (12/1) should be another member of the hot charge toward the front early; The 4yo Tapit colt trained by anestasia hasn’t been succesful beyond 8.25 furlongs vs. winners on turf, but that 111 speed number in his last looks awful nice anyway… Lots to prove here.
FLIBBERTYGIBBET (8/1) just missed in the HOF Members Equinics race last month for waradmiral (okay, full disclosure, that’s me) and earned a snappy 116 speed figure in the process. The 4yo Sea The Stars colt has finished on the podium in every graded-stakes try except one, that being a 13-furlong lung-buster, the Grade 1 Vicky Derby.
A DISCERNING MIND (10/1) makes his 2014 debut here, and just a little post-birthday improvement could make the 4yo Dansili colt dangerous. The willyam37 trainee is consistent, only missing the tote once in his 11 career tries.
MIKEL (6/1) makes the Victoria Cup his 9th consecutive graded-stakes start. In the eight preceding races, he has finished in-the-money in six of ’em with one win, the San Marcos Footwear Handicap. The 4yo Sea The Stars colt trained by limpid is ranked #15 in this division and would be no surprise here.
ELITE DIMAGGIO (10/1) is one of the reasons that a hot pace is expected in this race; the 4yo Rock Of Gibraltar colt is nearly always on the pace, even sometimes in sprints. The eliteracing trainee has never raced beyond 9 furlongs, so he will need a career-best effort to hold on for any part here.
LYTHENYENO (7/1) is a 5yo son of Montjeu, a veteran of quite a number of graded stakes races. Last time out, the ladofmanor trainee finished a fairly distant 3rd against a loaded field in the Grade 1 Mr. Met Cup; that effort could have set him up for a big run here.
ROXY EPOXY (7/1) almost certainly will fire from the gate, as he did in winning the 9-furlong Grade 3 Strange Brew Handicap with an incredible 122 speed rating last time out. The skunkbred2-trained 4yo Tanino Gimlet colt will be very tough to catch unless that amazing last race sucked a little steam out of him.
DANE DE LAGO (11/1) takes another shot at graded-stakes stock after four tries that garnered just one 3rd-place finish. The 5yo Encosta De Lago runner trained by grandarmee may benefit from the scorching front-end battle if he has a top effort.
Okay, let’s spin the Magic Wheel-O-Winnerz that I found at an antique shop… Err, a garage sale… Er, okay… beneath the grandstand balcony at Golden Gate Fields, right next to the body of its previous owner.
Hmm, never did find out why the dude committed suicide on Closing Day, nor why all the pawn shops in the area closed for a day in his honor… Aaaaaaaaannnnnyyyyywwwaaaaayyyyyyyy… Here are the Magic Wheel’s surefire, um, “winnerz”…
Well, if you think I’m gonna pick any horse other than my FLIBBERTYGIBBET, you’d be wrong. Funny, though… The Wheel agreed with me and picked the same horse. Only took six spins, too!
With a name like ROXY EPOXY, you’ve gotta think he’s gonna stick around and get a big part of this big purse…
I’ll take the betting fave MIKEY to like 3rd.
Good luck at the races!
Sorry, I’ve very partial to Roxy Epoxy 😉
It will be a good test for Roxy Epoxy. I peg him to be good at 9 or 10F. LTO he had no pressure up front (it might not have mattered given how quick the race was…couldn’t hold him back evidently) but this race will give him a look at some other horses early. He’s still lightly raced (under 10 lifetime races) so it will be interesting to see how he handles the step up in competition. A regression of some sort has got to be expected off that last race but am hoping he can still run above 115 and take this.
Ken stopped by the barn this week to show his support and Epoxy perked right up when he saw him. I think he knows this is an important race and will give good account of himself.
Party at Ken’s house after the win!