Tex Ransom Bonanza

Welcome to Germany, where this week’s feature is the Tex Ransom Bonanza. Eight promising youngsters will attempt to stretch their speed to a mile on the turf, for a purse of $90,000. Here is the field in post position order:

Kody Baby has finished on the board in all four of his career starts. He is bred to get the extra distance that he will face today, but he has been losing ground at the end in each of his races. However, he does drop back into an easier spot after facing graded company last time.

Oxymoronic broke his maiden last time out in his fifth try, improving on his previous best speed figure by 11 points. If he can duplicate that performance he will be in the mix here, but others with stakes experience probably have a better shot.

Dubai is a maiden who finished a respectable third in his only start. He could have a future but this is a tough spot to try and score a first win. There is also some question about whether he will stretch out, since he is out of a Carson City mare.

Townsville Terror is still another coming out of a maiden race, but he won first time out at this mile distance. I would give him an outside shot because of that, but he will probably need to improve on his first race by at least 10-15 points to win this one.

Fusion of Motion has shown improvement in each of his races, which have gradually been increasing in distance. He looks like a horse who will appreciate the extra ground, and he has a big shot to win this.

PJ Just Me showed improvement when stretched out to a mile in his third start, which was over this course. He earned a respectable speed figure in that race and if he continues to improve, he has a chance to spring the upset.

Pedro Unleashed broke his maiden last time after two nondescript efforts in two owner-restricted events. He will need to continue to improve to compete in stakes, although his pedigree suggests he could be a good one – he is out of a stakes-placed dam and a half-brother to a stakes winner.

Warcraft, the lukewarm 3/1 favorite, finished second last time in Ireland’s Guinness Stakes. That race was at 7 furlongs, and he was making up ground at the end, so the mile distance shouldn’t be a problem for him. In a field with several horses who are trying winners for the first time, he is probably at an advantage.