Sea Jennah Sea heads 13 in Dell Web Mile

The secondary feature race at California this Saturday (behind the big CA Classic) will be the Grade 2 Dell Web Mile, an 8-furlong turf test worth $400,000 “Sim Bucks”.

The 13-horse field boasts five graded-stakes winners, headed by the #4-ranked SEA JENNAH SEA. Add in some talented newcomers to the graded-stakes scene and a couple more grade-placed runners, and you’ve got a recipe for an exciting lead-in to the million-dollar feature race.

SPECIAL BALLADE is one of several who figure into the early-pace scenario. A 5yo son of Blame trained by chloedawg, he’ll need a return to the fine form he was demonstrating last summer when he took the trophy in the Grade 1 Canada Mile. He’s come back off bad races before, but his current two-race pattern of dropping speed figs is his first. He’s considered a solid contender at 8/1.

SEA JENNAH SEA is a 5yo son of Sea The Stars who has stacked up four graded-stakes trophies is just 18 lifetime races. The jennahs trainee, the 7/2 favorite, also has a pair of 119 speed ratings to his credit, both at this distance. Consistent and fast, this guy should figure strongly in this event despite his slight downward turn in form in his last pair. He’s bounced back before and can certainly do it again; also, he has shown he doesn’t need the lead to win, an important factor in this race with tons of early speed.

IMA SO SAD is a Galileo colt that as yet hasn’t shown he can bang heads successfully with this level, but pointblank was encouraged enough by his colt’s effort last time in the Grade 3 Silver Surfer Stakes to try him here. The 4yo colt is lightly-raced, so maybe on his very best effort he can get at least a small prize or even light up the tote board at 15/1.

DANEDREAM has occasionally popped that 110+ speed fig, the kind that it’ll likely require to get a win in this spot. However, it’s been a year since the Danehill Dancer colt picked off a graded-stakes win, that being a Grade 3. The indemnity trainee did run a barely-missed 2nd in a Grade 2 since then, though; maybe if everything falls just right… The cpu ‘capper apparently doesn’t think it’s impossible either, dropping a 10/1 price on him.

EXCAPE, going off here at 6/1, will also contend for the early lead and this is his favorite distance; the Dansili colt’s two tries going any further have resulted in disastrous late fades. Trainer blankpoin9 hopes his multiple graded-stakes winner fires a top effort here. If he fires another ridiculous 120 speed, he’ll be tough to catch no matter what the early-pace scenario looks like.

MAD NEED has won three of his last four, all with terrific late-stretch charges of the style that could have an advantage in this speedy field, but the Dynaformer colt makes his graded-stakes debut here. Trained by mysterycat to a razor’s edge, he’ll need to prove that edge’s sharpness in this bunch, but the ‘capper likes him enough to go low, at 7/1.

SWEET TALKIN FELLA has been a solid runner since he was sidelined for a couple of months this past winter; the New Approach colt has been right there in three straight Grade 3’s. He did regress slightly in his last, but trainer redhill19 is confident that slippage was just a “bounce” and that his colt will represent well here at 12/1.

COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE has done nicely in allowances, but has yet to win a stakes for gander. Going off here at 14/1, the Boston Harbor runner comes off a midpack finish in a small stakes race; he’ll need much better to contend here.

HIGH GIMP has only one stakes try in his history, a bombout at long odds in the Grade 1 Movieland Turf Cup. That race was 10 furlongs and he bounced back nicely with an easy allowance win when shortened up in his last, but trainer gosome is asking a lot of this son of Tanino Gimlet who hasn’t yet found his way into triple-digit speed ratings. This is reflected in his 97/1 odds.

GLYCOREX II is a lightly-raced 6yo son of Holy Roman Emeror who makes his stakes debut here after a dazzling allowance win last month in which he fired off a 111 speed figure. Trainer kronprinse is clearly taking a moon shot here at 16/1 but if his runner should duplicate that 111 here, he’ll at the very least make the early-pace battle quite interesting.

RAVEN’S REVENGE has won 8 of 11 since the beginning of 2013 and just-missed in his one graded-stakes try for 7heaven. The Raven’s Pass colt disappointed at low odds in his last and looks for a rebound to top form. Goes off at 9/1.

ALL SILVER is looking for his first graded-stakes win at 11/1, but he’s only had two tries for trainer pick6king and the one two races back in the Grade 2 Premium Stakes where he got the place spot was pretty solid. However, the Redoute’s Choice colt will need an even bigger effort to get much done in this crowd…

ELLERTON COMMAND has one big win to hang his hat on, an upset win in the Grade 2 Yasuda Stakes just two races ago. Can the Giant’s Causeway colt find another run like that for super16? He couldn’t get it going last time, but his running style appears to fit well here and he gets 7/1 respect from the oddsmakers.

Inspired by roxyken’s great article regarding having seances to meet with great racehorses of the past, I went to Madam Mordella’s tent to see what she thought might happen in this race. She told me that she only deals with the past, not the future… So I pulled the Ouija board out of mothballs… Here’s what it told me.

“It looks like there’s a ton of early speed in this one… SEA JENNAH SEA should be able to lay just off ’em and mow ’em down in the stretch. MAD NEED will come from out of the clouds to get 2nd, and EXCAPE will come closest to surviving the hot pace and grab 3rd.”

That took my Ouija board a longggggg time to say, one letter at a time…

Good luck at the races!