It’s Unthinkable – Mud In New Hampshire
It’s Unthinkable – Mud In
Post one will hold Grease Bare (8/1) a solid chestnut, 6 YO mare by Lammtarra. Conditioned by Rohirrim, she is an off track specialist and seven of her eight wins are over a less than perfect track. She has won almost $500,000 but her best stakes finish showing was eight back when she finished third in an owner restricted stakes. She comes into this race off a closing third in a seven furlong allowance, and off track or not, this is a big class jump.
Deja Blue (99/1) is a well bred 4 YO filly by Forty Niner. She is relatively lightly raced with only 11 starts and has only a maiden win to her credit. Owned and trained by Cheyenne15 the big brown filly has one try over a sloppy track and she was distanced, although, word is that it was the mile and a quarter that did her in, not the racing surface. She has finished second in her last two races but this is another making a big class jump and would probably gain a lot of confidence by facing others in, of say, a NW2L or 1X instead of facing two of the top five ranked fillies in the world.
Breaking from post three will be Go O Go (6/1) a blood bay 6 YO mare by Octagonal. She is ranked # 5 in her division with 17 wins from 46 starts and over a million dollars in earnings. She has two wins from two starts on an off track and comes in off an easy win last time out in the Padre Shock at 6 1/2 furlongs. Ably trained by Theshark, this mare seems to be at the top of her game and loves the distance and the going.
Yoyo36 will send out Nun Colder (25/1) a lovely 4 YO bay filly by Behrens. Her last two races were dismal but three back she finished third in the Grade III, Shirley Smith at seven furlongs. She likes the distance and has a second place finish on an off track but, I think her trainer could have found an easier spot.
Trainer Greyghost will send out the big bay filly Forty Shots (11/1), the 9th ranked sprinting filly who just happens to have four wins from four starts over an off track. By Red Bullet, the 4 YO filly has earned over $500,000 but may be struggling with the Equinics Curse. She finished second in the Grade I, Cash Asmussen stakes at The Equinics and from then on she hasn’t run all that well. She comes in off a closing fifth last time out in the Mammoth Smash.
With the change of two little letters Compensation (8/1) could be called Condensation which would make her the odds on favorite over this sloppy track on Saturday instead of 8/1. A copper chestnut 4 YO daughter of Seeking The Gold, Compensation has won nine of 21 starts and over a million dollars in purse money although most of that was won on the turf. What is interesting here is that she made four starts as a 2 YO on the main track before switching surfaces which did lead, among others, to a Grade I victory. She has won four of her last eight and one of those was over the main track making her 4/5 in the money on dirt. Best of all, she has never lost a race on an off track and her trainer Lenny12 just keeps getting better.
Quetzalcoatal (23/1) must be named after some mountain somewhere south of the
Glitterman will be represented by his 5 YO daughter Brilliancy (7/1), a lovely dark grey trained by Godchild. One of her nine wins was over an off track and she has only one off the board finish in her last eight starts and that includes a second and a third in the Critical Acclaim and the Monte’s Fires. Along with about half the field she likes to come from the back third of the field and make one big run at the end. Consistency is something everyone likes to see and this mare has it.
Sanchez will send out the # 11 ranked sprinter with his entry of Vanguard (7/2) a dark bay daughter by Forty Niner. She is a winner of just under half of her 27 starts and is also a millionaire from purses won. She is a graded winner and is coming off a nice rest since finishing fourth in the Grade II, Distaff Breeder’s Bowl, Her only bad finishes in her last eight were both in Grade I events and she looks to be really tough at this level if, and that’s a big IF, she can handle the slop.
Post 10 will hold Puentelarra (9/2), another 5 YO mare but one that is the number three ranked sprinter in the world. The blood bay daughter of Sadler’s Wells is owned and trained by Har and she has won 10/28 races and over a million dollars in her career. In her last two races she has finished one better than arch rival Vanguard but was well beaten by Vanguard in the seven furlong Blueberry. Sounds like a rematch and the deciding factor will probably be the mud.
Dan Prostic (24/1) is a 5YO chestnut mare by Crafty Prospector. She is conditioned by Sagreat and is probably entered here because of the sloppy track. She has won five of six starts on tracks that prompt most other trainers to look elsewhere. Her recent stakes record is pretty dismal, though, as she didn’t beat a horse last time out in the Grade III Short Female Sprint. In her only other stakes attempts she beat one horse in one and split the field in the other. The off track should certainly move her up but will it be enough?
Brahmide (16/1) will break from post 12 and the light chestnut 5 YO mare by Brahms is owned and trained by Gdf. She has won nine of 42 starts but only one of her last eight and that was an allowance race. She does have a win on an off track and comes in to this race off a second in the Shananie’s Dance and a third in the Lost Pixie. This is a big step up and she will need her best.
On the outside is Meet The Legend (8/1) a 6 YO daughter of General Meeting. Trained by Twister this bright bay mare has won 10/42 races and is a millionaire twice over. She finished second in her last three races at longer but has only won one in the past year. This mare reeks of past class and that is always dangerous. She has won eight graded stakes including three grade ones, but her last win was in the ungraded Piku Bonanza. She may be making a comeback this year as she has not been worse than second in 2006 and is 2/2 in the money on a muddy track.
It looks like the sloppy going will have a lot to say about the results of this race. Good Luck to all.