‘Taxi’ in drivers’ seat for End Of The Line Futurity-G2
A full field of 14 2-year olds converge on the Kentucky strip for Saturday’s G2 End Of The Line Futurity, all looking for that final tuneup for the G1 Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile in four weeks. Local weather stations are calling for bright, sunny skies in Lexington for the Saturday card, which means we should see a nice fast strip for the races. These juveniles come from all over, with the bulk of the field from North America, while another ships in from England, and yet another from the sands of Dubai. The installed morning line favorite is bigmoose2‘s Taxi Driver. Here’s how they look, in post position order.
jwb‘s Thisistheone comes to Kentucky from a couple of good mile tries over Nevada’s main track. This son of Indian Charlie adds an extra half panel for the End Of The Line off of a win. He triumphed over a field of nine in that effort, bringing home a competitive speed number of 79. His highest to dat is a respectable 82 two starts back. This guy could come running late if he gets a good set up.
The lightly raced Margin of Safety hails from the barn of jmadm. He approaches this off of a couple of visually impressive sprint victories in maiden and allowance company in Maine and New Jersey, respectively. In both of those efforts, the son of Stephen Got Even came powerfully from just off the pace to draw off to victory. The stretchout will be a question here, but he seems bred to handle it. We’ll see if he’s up to the task.
Haunt is the first son of Ghostzapper that we come to in this field. As of late, he’s been struggling in graded stakes company. With a 13th place effort in a Grade 3 and a 9th in a Grade 1, we’ll need to see more effort in the late stages of the race out of this one if arrakis wants to get a picture take here.
A maiden, Slam The Door Shut breaks from the 4 post. A son of Grand Slam, this guy put up a fight in listed stakes comapny in his most recent effort in Alabama. Trainer camotion ambitiously places this one off of a second place try, although a more logical choice would have been a maiden race. However, this time of year, you may as well try your luck. May see this one hanging around for a piece of the pie. The experience at this distance doesn’t hurt.
Awesome Song enters this one off of a maiden score in a listed stake. goldcity liked the looks of this one winning in Idaho over the mud, and felt complled to try for the Breeders’ Bowl. A logical stepping stone is here, and, like most of the others, this spot will be a good gauge as to where this lightly raced son of Unbridled’s Song stands.
Lenny1 sends out Forty Deuce, by Point Given. He hooked a deep grade 1 field on Labor Day weekend in Vermont, and came up with a close 8th place finish. This one looks to benefit from more ground, and could pick up some pieces late.
Just outside of that one is bigmoose2s Taxi Driver, who runs with the same silks as the early BB Classic favorite Solar Song. Yet another lightly raced colt, but this one is 2 for 2, undefeated, and showing lots of promise. This is quite a step up from an allowance effort, but a grade 2 seems logical off of easily dispatching rivals in his prior efforts. This son of Ghostzapper looks to keep on ticking, attempting to go to the Breeders’ Bowl undefeated.
Greeley’s Prayer attempts a route for the first time for trainer pazracing. He has a solid foundation of six starts under his belt, but lacks a stakes win. With only a maiden win and a lower-end Nw2L victory to his credit, this one will need to improve on the stretchout in order to have a ‘prayer’ in here.
Biodynamic hails from the super stables, and comes into this Grade 2 off of a front running allowance score over the all-weather surface in England. The son of Dixieland Band stretched out to a mile nicely there, and figues to be part of the pace as he adds an extra sixteenth of a mile. He crosses the pond here looking for that first stakes victory. Tough spot, but not impossible.
bodgit‘s Otto Amazing is a intriguing son of Mineshaft. He owns a stakes score over this distance and track, and an impressive speed number of 85 to go with. It should be noted that the 1 1/16 mile stake victory came on the heels of a maiden victory in California going 6 furlongs. With that type of seasoning already under his belt, this one is my personal pick. Look for more stalk and pounce tactics today from this one.
Rock Hard Cat comes to Kentucky from Dubai after a close up 8th place effort in the Camel Juvenile(G2). Prior to that, this son of freshman stallion Rock Hard Ten won a minor stake in Indiana at this distance before louisville decided to ship to the desert. After a globe-trotting early part of his career, he returns to North America in search of that Breeders’ Bowl berth.
inzy3‘s The Crack Of Dawn is the most experienced colt in the field. However, this son of Tapit just scored in a Nw2L allowance on his second crack at that condition after needing five tries to break his maiden. Although closely matched with the others in the speed # category, this one will need to prove his class in here.
Smooth As Butter, a son of New York stallion Freud, owns a race-high speed # of 88 in his most recent effort, a one mile allowance victory in Vermont for trainer springtime. However, class will also be a question here as this guy has yet to compete in a stakes event in his six race career. The extra distance may be a question, as will the pace, as he’ll likely be a part of it. Needs to follow a big effort with an even bigger effort.
Intruder is the second half of the super entry. By Victory Gallop, there’s seen a steady improvement out of this colt since his first efforts in Delaware. It took four tries to break his maiden, but this one had shown an appreciation for the added distance in his last two effort. Last time out, he was a closing second in a stakes in British Columbia. Kentucky is the battle grounds today, and this is a tall task that Intruder could very well be up to.
Good luck to all connections, as a good effort here may spell a trip back to Kentucky for the Breeders’ Bowl in Novermber!