Eclipse Turf Crown Ain’t Settled Yet… Top Two Face Off in Grade 1 Fall Tent Show in Japan

  ASTERISM holds off BUSTIN CHOPS in the Grade 1 Windy City Classic.  Can he do it again?

So, the Breeder’s Bowl festivities are over, and all the champs have been named, right? Maybe, but at least in the Older Turf Male division, a couple runners that didn’t fly to California might have a thing or two to say about it…

The connections of highly-ranked runners ASTERISM and BUSTIN CHOPS decided not to send their superstars to America to compete there, apparently finding the Grade 1 Fall Tent Show at Japan to be more suitable despite its slightly smaller purse, “only” $2.5 million. A big win by either of these monster runners might just turn the digital head of the Sim Eclipse computer ratings in their direction. They have faced each other twice in the past, each winning once while the other ran 2nd.

To make things even more interesting, each has five Grade 1 wins in his trophy case, and if I understand the Hall-Of-Fame rules correctly, six Grade 1’s gets you into the Hall. If this is right, then this race is a different kind of “Win-And-You’re-In” kind of situation! Winner is immortal! This looks to be sort of a turf equivalent of the famed Affirmed/Alydar rivalry of the late 70’s except for the fact those two faced each other an incredible ten times in the space of fourteen months. Maybe these guys will face each other a bunch more times in 2015…

ASTERISM comes off a pair of Grade 1 wins, the Osmonds Memorial preceded by the Windy City Turf Classic. The super-talented 4yo Galileo colt is also the defending champ of today’s race, and has close to $6 million in the bank. The malekfarms trainee almost always goes to the front from the gate, and is a bear to catch! He’ll have a little company up there today, but he has also shown he can settle just off the lead and finish strong should someone get too crazy with the pace. Goes from the rail, co-favored at 5/1 with the other top story, BUSTIN CHOPS.

BUSTIN CHOPS has just the opposite style of ASTERISM, preferring to drift along far back in the pack before unleashing a tremendous run at the leaders.  This dramatic style has served the 4yo Malibu Moon colt extremely well, allowing him to grab five Grade 1 trophies including last month’s lucrative Ark De ComicDog at Paris. Just before that, his run fell just short of ASTERISM in the Grade 1 Windy City Turf Classic. This blankpoin4 trainee has won graded stakes races as short as 8.5 furlongs and as long as 12 furlongs, all wins using the same late-charging style, and he’s just sort of the ten-million mark in earnings. Goes off at 5/1 from the 10-hole.

However, before we go and consider this to be a two-horse match race, the rest of this field is pretty darned good. Every runner except one has a graded-race star badge and they are stars in the own right, rarely overshadowed by any horse. Let’s take a lil peek at the rest of these guys in post-position order…

RED ROOM goes from the 2-spot and is taking a major moon shot, being a 3yo filly who has not beaten winners at any distance further than a flat mile. The Unbridled’s Song filly should be a factor on the lead early on, but she’ll need to run her eyeballs out to hang in with these for 10 furlongs. Perhaps the chloedawg trainee will be “sent” in order to insure a hot pace for stable-group mates OF ALL TIME and BUSTIN CHOPS to run at. The longest price on the board at 23/1, but could be a very important factor in how this race is run.

OF ALL TIME has piled up four Grade 2 titles, but the 4yo Dynaformer filly takes on the boys for the first time. Should the bandinni trainee duplicate the performance she gave in the Grade 1 Yellow Submarine Stakes last month, she could do some damage, and the 11/1 odds would pay backers nicely.

OLD DYNAMICS is a 4yo colt by Dynaformer with only 9 starts thus far; as a matter of fact, he never raced until January of this year. The flagdown1 trainee has been making up for lost time in a big hurry, however. He’s earned over $800k and has a graded-stakes win, the Grade 3 Lancaster Stakes. His closing rush has fallen a little short in his last two, his only Grade 1 tries; perhaps this contributes to the 13/1 odds.

FON DU may have a cheesy name, but she ain’t no cheesy mare despite her 19/1 odds… By Dubawi, the 5yo has raked in a trio of Grade 1’s, the Ugly Breeders Bowl Distaff, the Best Of Rome, and the Cedora D Stakes. Now, however, the sloppy2010 trainee takes on males for the first time and will need her very best to compete with any success.

A DISCERNING MIND hopes to turn the tables after chasing one or the other, or both of today’s favories home in his last pair. The 4yo Dansili colt, winner of the Grade 2 Victoria Cup, may need to find even more zip than he showed in that win in order to get the job done vs. these. “Yup, it’s tough to win up here,” muses trainer willyam37, while stating that you gotta keep trying when you have one this good… He is well-regarded at 9/1.

MOOD LITE is the only one in this field without a graded-stakes victory, but trainer sonofsham was encouraged by her fast-closing 3rd in the 9-furlong Main Oak Stakes last time out and takes a flyer with his daughter of Fantastic Light. She’ll need to erase the memory of her graded-stakes tries at 10 furlongs or further, though. The 12/1 odds seem a bit low.

BOUNTY LIST is winless in 2014 in seven straight graded-stakes races after finsihing 2013 with a strong win in the Grade 2 Los Angeles Derby. Trainer bernardini has gotten some fine performances from his 4yo Daiwa Major colt and hopes for just that little bit more here at 10/1. He was just four lengths back of the top two’s duel in the Windy City Turf Classic, so it’s not an impossible task.

GIMLET EXPRESS grabbed his first graded-stakes badge last month in the Grade 2 Euro Grand Prix, his 3rd consecutive win. The 4yo Tanino Gimlet colt is as hot as he’s ever been, so if he is able to make that last step to the top of the game, today would be a good day to do it and the price of 10/1 would reward bettors nicely not to mention the reward to skunkworks…

TIRAU ZOFF will certainly be glad to see firm turf after ugly losses on soft going in his last pair, which likely contribute to her 17/1 odds. Trainer qnslander1 hopes for a return to previous form, in which his late-blooming 4yo Zoffany colt charged home late to take trophies in the Grade 3 Brigadier followed by the Grade 1 Eclipsed Stakes, in which he defeated ASTERISM. Prefers to lay just a few back from the pace and go from there.

YESANDITCOUNTS is a quick daughter of Malibu Moon who has one graded victory in 2014, the Grade 3 Golden Bridge Stakes. That win and two 2013 Grade 3 win were all at longer distances, so maybe the cheadle trainee can inflict some damage here at 12/1. Then again, he appears to need a long early lead to get a victory at the top levels and he’s unlikely to get that luxury in this spot.

FORMER SONG hasn’t missed the medal stand since March of last year, and knocked loudly on the door in his first four graded-stakes starts before breaking theough to win the Grade 1 Roberto Clemente Stakes last tme out. Falling just short of Breeder’s Bowl qualification with his 4yo Dynaformer colt, drhet58 ships here from California. After all, 2.5 million bux is a nice “consolation prize”. The oddsmakers like her quite a bit, giving her a 9/1 price.

SKY FORCE has taken home three Grade 1 trophies, the most-recent being the Tattersalls Gold stakes in May. Winner of just over $4 mil, the rvd5 trainee is by far the top Sim offspring of Japan-based sire Workforce. The consistent 4yo colt has only missed the podium once since being claimed for $100k early in 2013, and he’s faced top company in almost all races since then. He prefers to race just a few lengths off the lead rather than way back or right on top of the pace, and is 3rd choice at 8/1.

Time to handicap this thing…

I’m gonna guess that BUSTIN CHOPS wears down ASTERISM with the help of the “rabbit” and one or two other early-speed types, and that ASTERISM will prove tough enough to hold on for 2nd.

I’ll go with TIRAU ZOFF to relish the firm going and grab 3rd.

Good luck all!