Pea Shooters Handicap

Pea Shooters Handicap
Grade II
Six furlongs
Fast Dirt
$250,000
All horses, 3 years old

PP HORSE Owner Jockey Odds
1 PSYTHOS bantem B Sullivan 14/1
2 WONDERBOY EAMON(IRE) stalfrank D Zordich 8/1
3 PRIVILEGED saver V Berwick 6/1
4 NARAYAN eternity N Rutledge 8/1
5 BIG POPPA PUMP stonecold S Green 7/1
6 TJ JESSE lebori J Rush 20/1
7 ASTRONOMICAL UNIT rockrace C Metcalf 5/1
8 HEEHAW II fedordan F Johnson 14/1
9 FLY’S MOTIVATOR(IRE) charliefly W Ciancutti 5/1
10 G CODE jdawg04 C Naole 20/1
11 WAKI WAKI(NZ) victorious A Arbuckle 15/1
12 ROCK FOR THE AGES(IRE) marto B Bailey 11/1
13 DEPRAVITY funster F Leghorn 8/1

Psythos is a beautifully bred horse out of Mountain Cat X Military. He’s won the last 5 races in a row including two stakes races with its last win being at the Brass Bat Special. Its speed ratings place this horse right in the thick of things at the finish. The two drawbacks is that it has only won 114K for its O/T in just 6 races and that it might be more of a route horse than sprinter.

Wonderboy Eamon is from a Desert King X Pentelicius breeding. He is a winner of seven of eight starts in sprints earning $1.2M. This Grade I winner of the Ron Turcotte Stakes is an off the pace horse needing the frontrunner to tire out at the end. As we will see there will be many is this race that fit this category except this horse has the credentials with its Grade I status. As a 2YO it won the Killer Monkey Grade I stakes also.

Privileged (Gone West X Danzig) has outstanding Grade II breeding. This winner of four of seven sprint races, with speed ratings that exceed my minimum standards for victory, could be well placed in this Grade II sprint. It’s lately been seen running in route races not doing very well and it faired poorly in the Ron Turcotte Stakes.

Narayan (Forestry X Gulch) is a two time winner of Grade III races this year. Outstanding speed numbers for this horse except they seem to be going in the wrong direction at this point. The shorter distance should give this colt the ability to race out front and compete, but it will have company especially at the finish. This race is written for this horse, we will have to find out on Saturday though.

Big Poppa Pump (Point Given X Storm Cat) is going to attempt go wire to wire this Saturday. I wanted to say that last race should be thrown out because of the distance but its stakes victory this year is at the same distance. Its coming back on just two weeks rest yet its speed rating is one of the best in the field. If this horse is sharp and runs its race it might be hard to catch.

TJ Jesse (Arch X Spinning World). I’ll be honest I don’t know what to make of this horse. This will be its first time on the Dirt. It has won 8 of its 15 races and Turf horses love to charge to finish and this finish will be a full out charge.

Astronomical Unit (High Yield X Chromite) is one of the co-favorites this Saturday. It is a winner of four of thirteen races and placed in three other races. It’s stakes victory was as a 2YO, but has gone 0 for five as a 3YO. Its speed ratings make it a dangerous horse yet those numbers are heading in the wrong direction at this time.

HeeHaw II (Toccet X Apalachee) has won or placed in five of its ten races. It will be up front at the start chasing Big Poppa Pump which could set up the off the pace horses in this race. This young colt is still eligible for ANW1X, but has a 102 speed rating three races back which makes me wonder, will it do it again.

Fly’s Motivator (Mont Jeu X Gone West) is the other co-favorite in the race. He is a winner of only two races in eleven attempts, but has placed in five of those races. Great speed ratings and coming from the outside should be an advantage. This horse would like for a longer race, but its off the pace style is perfect for this matchup. Two weeks ago faced a couple of these horses in the Dallas BB Stakes and finishing 2nd with a 99 speed rating.

G Code (Gilded Time X Souvenir Copy) is another speedster that should challenge for the lead. It is still eligible for ANW1X making it one of the true long shots in the race. Its speed rating of 98 four races back could allow it to finish closer to the front.

Waki Waki (Zabeel X Miswaki) is a beautifully bred horse that started its career on the turf and has moved to the dirt sprints lately. It looks outclassed in this sprint, but I’ve put this horse on my watch list waiting for its O/T to move it to the routes and I will jump all over it at what I expect to be high odds.

Rock For the Ages (Rock of Gibraltar X Noholme II) is the winner of a 2YO stakes race. This horse loves this distance but breaking the outside and rushing to front could be a problem. It doesn’t have the necessary speed numbers but with so many speedsters and come from way back horses in this race it could sneak into the money.

Depravity (Red Bullet X Deputy Minister) has two things going for it. It has Deputy Minister as its DS and you’ve gotta love its name. This is a Grade II and Grade III winner, but both races were at a mile and a 1 1/16. It does have a Grade II win as a 2YO at 6 furlongs. It didn’t show anything in the Bluegrass Derby three weeks ago, so O/T might be going back to it’s roots steal the victory. If the front runners burn out, watch out for this colt because it will be flying up the backstretch.

This is the type of race I love to watch. The frontrunners trying to wire the field while those sitting off the pace are just waiting for their move, the jockeys will definitely play a major role in this race. This field has many sires and damsires of former Grade II winners, yet the sons of great sires are attempting to make a name for themselves. The best bred for this Grade II race seems to be Big Poppa Pump and Privileged. I predict the finish will be one to watch and should be very close.

Predictions: 3 – 5 – 2
Long Shot: 1