Garbaccio brothers mean business

By ITCH

Unlike future Chicago White Sox home games, the $45,000 SECRET BOOMER MEMORIAL going 7.5 furlongs for 2yos will not begin at 7:11 p.m.

However, there is, in fact, a 7-11 connection to the chain of Slurpee slingers in the race. No fewer than seven of the 11 horses entered hail from contest barns in the West Virginia Stakes Competition.

Wassie has the biggest entry, with three runners: RAINBOW’S QUEST G, FANTASTICOLT G and WHAT ME WORRY G(GB). Buzz has two: ONE FUZZY CAT and GENERAL DUBAI. Contest leader Bob123 g brings WELLINGTON II BG, and Nextbonus has BARKER BLACK.

As always, we review the contenders in qualifying order:

It’s Wassie at the top with RAINBOW QUEST G. Two of the three Wassie entries in here are by Fantasticat, and this is the better of them. The other makes his first start here. With only one other horse in the field ever having hit the board in stakes company, those three straight owner-restricted Global Simulated Racing allowance victories look darn good. In fact, we might say the form of Rainbow Quest G looks a lot like Wassie’s brother’s horse last week, that tough MAPLE NUT BG, who won. Like The Nut, Rainbow stumbled a bit last out when shortened, brought here for the 5.5 furlong Surpassingly Hope Challenge. Rainbow did not embarrass himself in that race, running a close-up third, which really gives him more stakes accomplishment than just about every horse in the field.

Every horse but his brother’s, that is. WELLINGTON II BG was second last out in an Iowa stake, which is the best stake finish for any horse in the race. It had to be encouraging for Bob to see, because this son of Alysheba is the offspring of probably his favorite horse of all Simulated time, BG WELLINGTON BOOT. It also tells you how much Bob thinks of Alysheba that he chose that sire to to go with his big horse when he retired him. So far, Bob’s faith in Alysheba has been rewarded, as Wellington II BG looks like a runner. He should be right on the lead, and the only question is whether he can handle the significant stretchout to 7.5 furlongs. If he runs anything like his daddy, he’ll power home with his ears sticking straight up. Put is this way: Bob looks like he’s in a very likely spot to pad his lead in Spa VI.

One thing we know for sure about this race: Nextbonus entry is not going to be in heat. Last week, Bonus brought two fillies, and said it was just not the right time for those girls. This week, he brings a late-running colt from his austrialia barn: BARKER BLACK. By FuPeg with Danehill as the DS and Bonus’ favorite, Capote, as the DDS, Barker Black is eligible to run on turf or dirt. He broke his maiden on the grass, but three straight losses after that on turf prompted a switch to dirt last out. The horse ran second, posting by far his best lifetime speed fig of 78 after not topping the 60s in the four grass starts. Barker Black could well relish the distance of Saturday’s race. (Verb used in honor of message board discussion of hot dogs.)

There are only five horses in this field with any stakes points at all, which means that nin’s FANTASOOZ, one of many Fantasticats in this race, is not an automatic pitch. Normally, when you are handicapping races and see a horse off the board in five straight at the class, you are inclined to make a quick elimination. However, this is a freaky circumstance here because only two horses got stakes chops in this race. Fantasooz surely must be facing an easier field here than in his other races, you would think. It’s possible he hits the board here.

Rhapsody’s LAST SPLASH has only one stakes point, but is a very interesting proposition indeed. A positive opinion of this son of Limehouse’s chances could be formed on speed figs alone. This one has run two straight in the 80s, in breaking his maiden going 7 furlongs and his first condition going a mile. This brown son of Limehouse is out of whirlwind’s Grade D 15yo Summer Squall mare Summer Mama. She got four get in the Sim, and the only one who’s stakes placed is retired. Last Splash looks to have a good opporunity to get stakes placed here, and an even better one to be her mama’s best racer in the Sim. Sharp form, figs, affinity for the distance. It’s interesting to see that Jocko Maloney lands here on a non-contest horse, making this the second straight week that a plethora of W.Va. trainers have told him to take a hike. This horse has his preferred running style and the Irish Immigrant might make them pay.

Buzz43’s GENERAL DUBAI is the first half of the entry for the rarest of Simulated horse trainers, the Hoosier Mountaineer, buzz. This chestnut son of Essence of Dubai broke his maiden at first asking going six, but has followed that up with three disappointing efforts. Buzz will have to engineer a form turnaround to reach contention with this colt Saturday.

The second half of the buzz entry is ONE FUZZY CAT, who enters the race in much better form that his stablemate and is the preferred runner of the two, if you ask me. A son of the Storm Cat sire One Nice Cat, this one took a while to get going, but has demonstrated why that might not be such a bad thing. Compare his current form to General Dubai’s, who won at first asking. Seems like sometimes if you win first time out, you have to throw the horse to the dogs, so to speak, before they have hardly any racing experience. Let’s just say it’s easy to get in a rut against winners with a first-out victor. With One Fuzzy Cat, he had some races under his belt before he started to run good two back, when he broke his maiden with a nice 81 speed fig going a flat mile. Now he’s followed that up with a third for a big purse at Eastern Kentucky, and has form similar to Rhapsody’s Last Splash, who we’ve already said we like in this race. Buzz could score points with this horse.

MITTY TRACY ACES is a filly aginst the boys here for deeprock9. A chestnut daughter of Mazel Trick, she broke her maiden last out going six furlongs at Missouri. As such, she fits two profiles I try to avoid when handicapping: first vs. winners and fillies against colts. She has got a lot to overcome here, and if she hits the board, would be impressive. The barn has won only three races in 129 starts, so this is not the first unlikely spot they’ve been in.

When you’re taking a greater reach than a 2 percent trainer, chances are you really asking for a lot, as are the trainers of the final three entrants, none of whom has broken their maiden.

SECRET LOVE for grtnotion ran a nice third in his debut going 7 furlongs in Colorado. This is a son of Menifee who could turn out to be a nice horse.

WHAT ME WORRY G(GB) makes his career debut here for Wassie. He’s by the Giant’s Causeway sire Footstepsinthesand, out of the Grade G Seeking the Gold mare The Unknown, whose two runners in the Sim so far are both platers. You’d think Seeking the Gold would be a powerful DS, but I don’t think Sheik Maktoum Al Maktoum is breaking out the Big Oil money for this one either, if you know what I mean.

FANTASTICOLT G also debuts for Wassie, and is a scratch-bred with Machiavellian as the DS and Best Turn as the DDS.

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!!!!!