Sophomore turfers take spotlight in Air Moe(IRE) Stakes

This week, Virginia race fans turn their eyes to the sophomore Turf Classic division in the Air Moe(IRE) Stakes. This is the second annual running of this race, won last year by Incinerator, who dominated a short field to claim his third stakes victory of his sophomore campaign. The race, for all three year olds, runs over ten furlongs of turf, rated as firm for our Saturday racers. At $60000, it also carries a premium purse for the Virginia track. Five colts have taken up the gauntlet here, many of them taking their first try at stakes level. Oddsmakers seem pretty sure about this one, assigning a 6/5 favorite with and 8/5 second choice. Two of the other entries go off at 5/1, with the last being touted as a 10/1 longshot. With the relative lack of stakes experience here, there could very well be some surprises in store when they cross the wire here.

PP 1) Minor Miracle Sired by Cozzene, Trained by oscar. Minor Miracle has thus far lived up to his name, earning his first stakes start here by virtue of back to back wins in his first two career starts. He handled both fields easily, popping off a 97.3 speed in an allowance victory in his last start. He has never been off the turf surface, but with a perfect record coming in, why mess with success? This will be his longest start to date, and that could be the wild card for him in this one. The breeding combination of Cozzene x Kingmambo indicates he should be able to handle the distance, but as we’ve all seen at one time or another, breeding can be deceiving. He likes to run at the head of the midpack, and he has displayed a powerful closing kick. He isn’t facing any blazing early speed here, and that should definitely be to his advantage. He displayed excellent speed in his last, and if he can duplicate or improve on that, he could give this veteran field a run for their money.

PP 2) Pedro Extremist Sired by Sakhee, Trained by rx7. Pedro Extremist makes his thriteenth career start here, and enters this one as the oddsmaker’s favorite. This will be his fourth stakes start, and he is still seeking his first win at this level. His first twelve starts have seen him go 3-5-1-0-0 with a best speed of 97.6, earned in a stakes run two starts back. After two starts on dirt to begin his career, both resulting in rather lackluster finishes, he switched to turf, and really seemed to blossom, finishing out of the top three only once in his next ten starts. He has raced out to twelve furlongs, and he doesn’t seem to have any problem with the distance here. All three of his career victories have come right at the distance he faces here. He is a midpack closer, and his close has been fairly consistent. He tends to get in trouble if he is out too deep at the half, but at this distance, and with not a lot of early speed in the field, that shouldn’t be the case here. His speeds have been very consistent as well, and they are some of the best in this field. The stakes experience, as well as the distance experience combine to make him the one to beat in this field.

PP 3) Kirby’s New Crowd Sired by Crowd, Trained by jimch8. Kirby’s New Crowd is a well travelled colt who makes his sixteenth career start here. This is his first try at stakes level. His first fifteen starts have seen him go 4-1-4-3-0 with a best speed of 88.7, earned two starts back. He has spent the bulk of his career in the Claim/Starter ranks and that his where he experienced most of his success. He stepped back up to allowance level two starts back after his tag expired. He spent much of his early career on dirt, but his turf speeds have been 6-10 points higher on the average. This will be his longest run to date by a half furlong. He seems to prefer routing, but the speed figures may be a bit skewed, given that the majority of his three year old runs have been routes. He is a stalker, and he has some ability to close from slightly farther out. Given the lack of early speed here, he could very well find himself setting the pace in this race. He’s had trouble holding an early lead especially at higher levels of competition. With the speed of the competition that will be closing on him here, look for him to lead early but be fading as they reach the half.

PP 4) Highly Motivated Sired by Johar, Trained by causeway. Highly Motivated takes his sixteenth career run in this race. He had two stakes runs as a two year old, but this will be his first try as a three year old, and he is looking for his first stakes win. He earned his way into this one with back to back allowance wins in his last two starts. Overall for his fifteen career starts, he is 5-3-3-3-1 with a best speed of 100.4 earned last time out as he dominated a fair sized allowance field. His one dirt start early in his career was enough to convince his trainer that turf was where he belong, and he has not left the turf in his last thriteen starts. This will be his longest start so far, though he has gone nine or better three times. He did passibly well in that distance range, but has experienced his best success in the seven to eight furlong range. He runs as a midpack closer, and his close has bee nfairly consistent. He has also proved he can handle a duel in a field of closers with a slower early pace. Where he finds himself in trouble is when he is too far out at the half, or when he finds himself grabbing a lead too early. With the distance here, the latter is a good possibility. He should crack the trifecta, but will have to find that happy medium to win this one.

PP 5) Greater Slew Sired by Pulpit, Trained by acesacres. Greater Slew takes to the track for the fifteenth time here. This will be his first stakes start. After not much success in the allowance ranks, he raced in medium to high level claims and his last was a starter allowance where he scored his first win of the year. He carries a record of 2-1-3-1-2 through his first fourteen, with a best speed of 92.3 earned in a claim race earlier this year. His dirt and turf speeds have been comparable, but his best runs have been on turf. He has gone to nine furlongs twice previously, but this will be his longest race. He raced at nine in his last where he showed an excellent close to eke out a win at the wire. He is a deep closer, and his close looked very good in the claim and starter ranks. That same close didn’t look so good in the allowance ranks where he lost by an average of nearly eleven lengths over his last five allowance starts. The speed here is not overwhelming, and the early pace should be relatively easy. Look for him to start to close at the half, but run short of steam when they hit the stretch.