Staying Over Favored In Kansas

Staying Over Favored In Kansas

Kansas – The weather report has listed severe storms through Friday but then the weather is expected to clear and the turf course should be listed as good for The Matty’s Ride Stakes, the featured event here on Saturday.  The seven and a half furlong race will be for 3 year-olds and only four colts will be chasing the $40,000 purse.  The good news is that they will all earn stakes points and that is never a bad thing.  Matty’s Ride is an 8 YO horse by Bold Gusto.  He won five of 64 starts including two stakes as a 2 YO.

This field is pretty well matched in terms of ability and all but one of them is devoid of early speed.  Someone has to go to the front and it will be interesting to see which one it will be.  Here is the field from the inside out.

Breaking from the inside is Shadrach (7/2) a bay 3 YO colt by belong To Me.  He doesn’t look to great with only a maiden win to his credit – but, he has been in the money in four of his eight starts.  His top speed figure was an 83 in a Puerto Rican allowance two back, in his only race over a mile and he didn’t much care for a soggy surface although, to be fair, that was on the dirt and he may like it better over the grass.  This will be his first stakes attempt and the shorter distance might help but he seems to hit reverse in deep stretch no matter what the distance.   Maybe trainer Theprofit7 should up the lasix…..

The favorite morning line favorite is Staying Over (4/5) by Zindabad who many of us have never heard of but this colt can run a bit.  The pretty bay is ranked # 89 in the turf sprint division and trainer Levers has secured the services of one of the top jocks in the Kansas colony.  There is a lot to like about this colt, he is a winner over a ‘good’ track two back and he has won four of his 12 starts including the Feathered Sal.  He was a closing third last time out in the Stormy Event and is the only colt in the race with some speed.  The question is – will the trainer send him?

Post three will hold Burning Event (7/2) a lovely dark grey colt by Burning Roma.  Owned and trained by Devineequi he is another that has only a maiden win under his belt from 11 starts.  He is, however, 7/11 in the money and that one win came over a muddy dirt track eight races back.  He has raced in four stakes moving to the turf and his best finish was in the Al Abu Id where he finished second.  Unfortunately, he is another that doesn’t appear to want to go this far.

On the outside will be Six Guns Blazing (5/2) who I think has a big chance to pick up a major check in this race.  The 3 YO bay son of Pine Bluff has three wins from eight starts and he was a going away winner on an off track two back.  He has improving speed figures and will appreciate the extra distance.  Trained by Murray2 he has just been getting better as he worked through his allowance conditions and could easily prove the best of this soft field.