The Bay Horse Stake… Grade III

Welcome to this weeks Graded coverage for the Black Type Bugler here in Washington. I have jetted in from my base in Australia to cover this race this weekend and it was great to get around and have a look at the hose flesh that has been entered in this race today.

This weeks feature race here is Washington is The Bay Horse Stake, this is at Grade III level and will be held over the 7 furlongs on the Good Dirt course and is open to all horses 3 years old. The total stakes for this race are $150,000.

There is a good field of 12 runners engaged here so let’s get right to it and assess each of their chances here today.

#1 Asheron’s Call trained by Capsized. Nice sized colt here by Maria’s Mon who has won 4 of his 9 starts. The 7 furlongs would appear to be a favoured distance by his trainer for this colt as he has had his last 3 starts over this trip. A very nice win last time out in a time restricted allowance after 2 solid run in stakes company. He is making a return to Graded company here after a Grade III start as a 2yo back in week 2580 over the mile. Was well held that day but drops back in distance and has matured nicely. He will be competitive here but will need to take an extra step up to win.

#2 Gunplay trained by Dshock. A super looking colt here by Smarty Jones and he has a super record so far with 3 wins from 3 starts. He won last time out with a super 98 speed figure for a 3yo over this distance but does ship in from New York for this race although in his favour is that he has had 4 weeks to get over that long journey. He will look to stalk the speed and give his breeding he will probably be favoured by even more distance. He looks to continue to improve and with only minimal additional improvement he will be right in the finish here.

#3 Hold Your Thunder trained by Graywolf10. A solidly built colt here who is by Thunder puddles and has won 2 of his 8 starts. Looked great 2 starts back when winning a time restricted allowance with a 97 speed figure over the 6.5 furlongs and then stepped up to stakes company and was relatively well held but did run a solid 5^th in that race. He looks to like the lead and will need to get right up on the speed here, but the one thing against this guy here is that he has tried the off dirt for one start and his speed figures dropped off and he faded in the stretch. Probably a place chance at best here.

#4 Slew Gulch trained by Ace3. A big bold colt here by Gulch who has won 6 of his 14 starts. Give n he has had 14 starts he is a very robust type of colt who has been handling racing very well. Has solid speed figures in the low 90’s which indicate he will be around the mark here but the query is that he did step up to Grade III class 2 starts back and was well held over this distance and then returned to stakes company next start and was a solid 3^rd. He looks to be some solid value for the trifecta place.

#5 Glide Slope trained by Super30. Well here is the eye-catching colt, a Charismatic colt who has won 6 of his 9 starts to date including 3 stakes wins and a Grade III win 2 starts back. This guy has made continued improvement his past 5 starts with a super 100 speed figure last time out when winning. He will stalk the speed and go to the lead if required and he will kick solidly at the top of the stretch and he will be the one that they all have to get past in the stretch. A definite contender for the first prize!

#6 Omerta Code trained by Gradetwo. Simply wow! What breeding here, by the Mighty Sadler’s Wells from a Gone West mare. This colt has won 3 of his 7 races and makes his second start on the dirt here after switching to the dirt last time out for a solid open allowance win. This colt has faced the best as he was a started in the Breeders Bowl Juvenile, but faded in the stretch there for a 10^th place. On breeding looks to be a derby type horse but Sadler’s Wells horses here quite often like the dirt. I think this colt will need more distance but he will certainly be competitive here.

#7 Gran Fern trained by Bigtate02. Well we get to the first filly in this race, a nice compact type of filly by Hansel who has won 2 of her 14 starts. She is eligible for much easier races than this and she has not ‘greeted the judge’ in her past 8 races. She looks to be suited by this type of distance but with speed figures in the high 60’s she will need some significant improvement to be competitive here.

#8 Slewjinsky trained by Exclusive. Another gorgeous looking colt here by Seeking The Gold and a winner of 3 of his 9 races. This guy could be some serious value at his price of 15/1 as he is a stakes winner back in 2706 over the 7.5 furlongs but does not appear to really have taken that ‘next step’. He is a mid field runner who will look to move into the race at the top of the stretch with a strong move, but he may also be looking for more ground as evidenced by his solid win back in 2566. In his favour here is that he has a perfect record on the off track with one win from one start. I think a solid contender here!

#9 Giant Run trained by Surfer. As the name suggests this guy is by Giant’s Causeway and has won 3 of his 9 races to date. His past 3 races have been in Graded company with the best of those results being a super second in the Risen Star Stakes back in 2769. He raced in a similar race to this 2 starts back where he ran a nice 5^th coming in 5 lengths off the winner in a 94 speed figure. He looks to be suited by this distance and class and he will stalk the speed and another who will look to pull out and challenge at the tope of the stretch. Look a serious contender as he has the Graded race experience.

#10 Cozz I’m Flying trained by Earthling. Some very nice Australian breeding here as this colt is by the former Golden Slipper winner, Flying Spur. He has won 3 of his 13 races but interesting does not have any graded race experience. He looks like he will be suited by a longer distance as he looks to like the lead role. Drops back from regular races around the mile type of distance. Does have some solid speed figures in the low 90’s and with those of some improvement he will be around the mark her for a long way.

#11 Versus trained by Myjuliet. A super looking colt here by El Prado and he has won 3 of his 8 races but is yet to miss a place with 5 minor placings. He makes his third appearance as a 3yo in this race and is taking a huge step in class jumping from an allowance race to the Grade III class here. He does have the running style which I think will be suited in this race as he will come from just off the speed and make a strong challenge in the stretch. I think the question here is will the jump in class be too much and will he handle the off track. Well, the off track should be ok as he has minor placings on the turf, the class rise is the big question! He will certainly be competitive and he could be the ‘smokey’ of the field!

#12 Fin Awesome trained by Upsandowns. Well the final runner and a stunning looking colt here. He is by Awesome again and has won 3 of his 8 races. This guy may have found his ‘niche’ at this distance as he has had 6 run over this trip for 3 wins and 2 seconds and importantly here he just missed last start on the off track when he challenged extremely strongly in the stretch with a 97 speed figure. I think this race will be run to suit him and he will come from 3-4 lengths off the speed and he will be the one the leaders in the last few yards have to look out for. I think he is a super chance here and I will tip him to take the prize.

Well and great race looms here, I am going to tip #12 Fin Awesome to win from #5 Glide Slope with #11 Versus to take the step up for third.

Good luck to all runners.

Simon