Juveniles greet the return of race coverage to Virginia

As summer wanes toward autumn, racing coverage return to Virginia to take on the Ray Jackson Special. Juvenile turf sprinters take center stage in this one, open to all two year olds, running over six furlongs of firm turf. A purse of $50000 is the prize, but perhaps more importantly, there are those all important stakes points up for grabs. Two of the top five turf sprinters are here, and this could be a Breeders Bowl prep and a preview of things to come. Overall, the race drew six entries, most of which have quite a bit of experience. Oddsmakers have a definite favorite here at 4/5, with the rest of the field falling in line between 3/1 and 11/1 odds. In two year old races, anything can happen, and often does, so it is hard to discount anyone here. So let’s have a look at the entries, and you be the judge.

PP 1) You Talkin’ To Me Sired by Oratory, Trained by bmr002. You Talkin’ To Me is a two year old filly jumping straight into the fire here, making her career debut in this stakes race. It’s a double whammy for her, entering into stakes untried, as well as facing off with a field with the boys in her first out. Her sire, Oratory, is a freshman this year, fielding 29 runners this year, five of them breaking maiden so far. He has one stakes winner. So far, his offspring seem to prefer turf, but with only 100 racers, it’s hard to base any significant stats on this fact. Most of his offsprings’ races have been sprints, so it is hard to nail down a preference there. On the dam side, we have Lion Cavern, a definite sprint influence, though his offspring seem ambivalent regarding turf. They definitely seem to prefer the more solid dirt surface. I’d say hold your bets on this one until we’ve seen her perform.

PP 2) Flying Fortress BG Sired by Miesque’s Son, Trained by missouri3. Flying Fortress BG makes his seventh career start here. He puts a number 4 divisional rank on the line. He has three stakes wins to his credit in his short career. His prior six starts have netted him a 4-1-0-0-0 record, with a best speed of 79.7 earned in his last start. He carries a three race winning streak into this one. All of his races have been sprints, and they seem to work well for him, suiting his running style. After an uninspired debut on dirt, he switched to turf in his second start, and it has paid off, netting him five top two finishes in five starts. His sire, Miesque’s Son is a very good sire of sprinters, though most tend to prefer dirt. Mountain Cat, on his dam side, adds a bit of stamina to the mix, with his best offspring enjoying a bit longer distances. There is a strong dirt preference through the dam side, as well. This horse has been starting at a pace that should put him at the head of midpack, but in all his turf starts he has been breathing down the leader’s in every race. There is some good early speed here, and it will be intresting to see if he can close it up from farther off the pace than he has to date. That will be the question for him here.

PP 3) What A Corka Sire by Kurofune, Trained by jarrod5. What A Corka makes his sixth career start here. He is still seeking that elusive first stakes victory. His first five starts have garnered him a 1-2-0-1-1 record, with a best speed of 79.9 earned in his maiden victory two starts back. Unusually enough, this will be his longest start to date, with all of his prior runs being at five and a half furlongs. This will also be his first turf start, which makes him a big wildcard here. He has one off track start, where he handled passingly well, which might indocate a turf upside. Kurofune, on his sire side, has offspring that tend to prefer one surface or the other with out much versatility. They show a mild preference for dirt, but he has sired a few very fine turfers. His progreny tend to mature into routers, and the trainer may want to stretch him out a bit in the future. From the dam line, Thunder Gulch reenforces the dirt influence, though doesn’t leave turf out of the equation, and lends both speed and stamina to the mix. This horses tends to run as a midpack closer, but in the speedy short sprints he hasn’t really had room to show what he really has as a closer. He is going to need whatever close he can muster to catch the early speed here, and at this distance, he is going to have his work cut out for him.

PP 4) Consolidator Cielo Sired by Consolidator, Trained by ohiovalley. Consolidator Cielo runs for the sixth time in his career here, coming in from the west coast for this race. He is coming off his maiden win, and this is his first stakes start. Through his first five runs, he has a record of 1-1-2-0-0 record, with a best speed of 67.6 earned two races back. All his runs have been a sprint distance, and he has been all over the board, not a lot of consistency in his first five. His preference is definitely for turf, with his one dirt start being an unequivocal failure. Consolidator is a freshman sire, so his progeny haven’t seen much route distance, and thus far they have shown a marked preference for dirt. Many of Storm Cat’s sons are closet turf sires, though, so turf is always a possiblility for them. Captain Bodgit through the dam line seem to have progeny that have little use for turf, though is a quite good sprint influence. This colt has tended to grab a piece of the early lead, though he has generally had problems holding on to it down the stretch. He has some very good early speed to face here and that doesn’t bode well for his running style. He will need a career best run by far to challenge here.

PP 5) Aready To Run Sired by Arazi, Trained by newones. Aready To Run is the second filly in this field. She has five career starts under her saddle, and comes into this one straight off her maiden win. This will be her first start at stakes level. Five starts have left her with a 1-1-0-2-0 record, with a career best speed of 64.4, earned three starts back in her first turf effort. She has explored both surfaces, all in sprints, and her speeds are comparable on both surfaces. Her only win has come on turf, though. Her sire, Arazi, has progeny with a strong dirt preference, though some of his best runners have shown that turf is a very real possiblity. They tend to mature into routers, but at higher levels, his percentage of sprinters and routers are almost the same. On his dam side we find Giant’s Causeway(IRE), whose runners seem to split about 50/50 between dirt and turf, and he has a strong sprint influence up to the highest levels of competition. She has been taking a midpack closer’s break in most of her starts, but her close has been somewhat less than consistent. This race is tailor made for a good closer, and that should work to her advantage here. She is going to need a lot more speed than she has shown so far though to bring it home down the stretch.

PP 6) See My Baby Jive(IRE) Sired by North Light(IRE), Trained by calle3. See My Baby Jive(IRE) comes into this one as a well deserved favorite at 4/5 odds. In five career starts, he has five wins, including one open stakes and two grade threes. He brings to the table here a #1 ranking in the Juvenile Turf Sprint division, and this looks to be a Breeder’s Bowl prep for him. He has never been off the grass, and having never lost, it would be hard to recommend moving him. He has excelled anywhere from five to seven furlongs, but he definitely has the look of a sprinter. He is the product of freshman sire North Light(IRE), who has produced almost exclusively turfers in his first year. Being a freshman, it is hard to tell how they would fair at distance, but the lineage carries a good deal of stamina. Gone West on the dam side is a blue blood sire, whose progeny seem equally proficient on dirt and turf. He has produced some strong sprinters, but has also lent stamina to many of his runners. This horse is all speed, and he has gone wire to wire in all five starts, jumping out to big leads and not really giving much ground afterwards. He has been steadily improving, and unless someone pops off a big race, he should take this one easily.