Grade II Copenhagen Cup

Grade II Copenhagen Cup

…………. The changing nature of BTB has put me on the freelance reporter path, as my years as the Minnesota / Illinois stakes reporter have concluded . This week i chose a Grade II stakes race in Denmark for my report, and my reasons of course were personal. I happen to have a runner in the race that will be discussed as i get to his post. A smallish field of eight horses will go to post, ranging in odds from 2/1 to 16/1. We have several very classy entrants to go along with a few on the fringes. Let’s HTTP/1.1 100 Continuego from post to post and see who’s ready to take this graded victory.

pp1) – 2/1 – Danzig With Sal (Danzig / Storm Cat / Mr. Prospector) (H) – KERYN – B. Schardein (24%) – only 12 starts for this 4 yr old and he’s already ranked 6th in classic dirt division, i guess if you combine 3 of the top 5 (Slew / Sadler’s the other two) sire / dam sire combo’s you hope to get something like this, though it doesn’t always work out, it certainly has in this case. he won the GSR Grade I and except for one or two starts this guy pretty much will put up a 110+ at a mile, lucky for the others the track is fast because this colt is even better on a wet track. he’s the betting favorite of the race and only has two other adversaries that have ran a 110+ of late, so — he has the look of a solid choice and barring a very bad day for him or a very very good day for someone else, he should put another win or place in the column and that would be win #9 win from 13 starts. Schardein takes control and the colt’s pressing running style should be fine for this field.

pp2) – 10/1 – Super Dootsin(IRE) (Black Tie Affair / Capote / Alydar) (H) – GCUTTY – M. Sheridan (16%) – this 4yr old colt has primarily been a dirt sprinter with some pretty decent runs in his pp’s including a 109spd at 6.5f and a 107 at 7f, his only route attempt was at 9.5f on a sloppy track so we really don’t have anything to go on at the mile — he has 6 wins from 22 dirt sprints. he certainly has the breeding to take to the mile or more, but it’s an iffy proposition to assume a runner will do anything he hasn’t proven, my guess from past experiences would be that he’s at least capable of matching his long sprint spd#’s at the mile, and there’s the CHANCE that he may really enjoy the mile, and that’s what has to happen for him to challenge for the win today .

pp3) – 11/1 – Devil’s Desert (Devil His Due / Green Desert / Paristo) (H) – TWISTER – J. Hempler (12%) – here he is , my guy, 5 yr old horse i bred 3 years ago i guess, Devil His Due had been a real life hot sire with a filly that was top notch that year, wish i could remember her name , anyway i used Devil His Due twice that year and both runners had nice Damsire’s and both did quite well, now he makes his 46th start and his last 5 starts have been lackluster, though 6 starts back he ran a 106 spd for the mile … he’s in this race as a farewell tribute to the veteran, 20 out of 45 in the top 3, as runners need to stay near 50% top three for me to stay with them for the long run. after this week i’ll breed him into the horse pool, and hopefully he’ll be some new players “star” for another year or so … Lady Hempler takes the mount, as she does pretty much all my runners, unless she got a better offer. i don’t expect him to do anything in this race i’m just saying he gave a Graded effort for me throughout his career and now he goes from me in Graded style.

pp4) – 5/2 – Avacado Bill (Secret Odds / Sadler’s Wells / Night Invader) (C) – RUOK – T. Haley (11%) – 6yr old pc bred has had quite a career, a 31st ranking in classic dirt, this will be start #33 with 10 wins and 5 places to date. though this guy has mostly been going longer than a mile of late , he also has been an accomplished sprinter and the mile poses no distance problem, as in too short … he’s the obvious main threat to post #1, and it appears that after an off form run last out he’ll be even more dangerous this time around, he’s a deep closer in a field full of pace pressers, but that probably won’t be that much trouble for this horse if he decides to fire a big run… i’d box him with the #1 and use the rest for third in a tri bet, but i’m wrong a lot .

pp5) – 7/1 – Ring O Fire (Pine Bluff / Cryptoclearance / Prized) (H) – JUSTIN – D. Mills (6%) – this 4yr old colt makes start #23, he’s got 5 wins and 5 seconds, but , they were all on the turf . his one dirt start was as a 2yr old week 1824. his maiden voyage, and he didn’t do to badly really, his second run on the turf he showed improvement about equall to what you might have expected from another dirt run, so — now a couple years later he gets back on the dirt. the mile is a good distance and if he likes the surface say equally we could expect him for shot to hit the board, who knows, maybe he’ll love the change and run a new lifetime best, and if that happens he’s a threat to win …..

pp6) – 16/1 – Dialtone (Mining / Saratoga Six / Phone Trick) (H) – SUNDANCE – J. Wilcox (17%) – 6yr old horse makes start #45 with 5 wins to his credit. looks like this guy is hoping to cash a stakes check in this smallish field with only a few real graded runners in the grHTTP/1.1 100 Continueoup, but even at that he hasn’t broke a 100 in quite awhile and he’s been going 12f and longer with some decent success, not a bad shot to take, he could easily give his A+ effort with the drop in distance and then with a little racing luck who knows, on the other hand Sundance my need some sunscreen if the old guy decides he doesn’t want to go the mile today at this pace.

pp7) – 7/1 – Robert The Bruce (Mt. Livermore / Roberto / In Reality) (H) – DIOSCURI – S. McCubbins (9%) – great name, 5yr old comes in for start #20, he’s secured 5 wins and $55 grand to date, he’s making the jump from Alw racing to Graded Stakes, but he’s doing it at a very good time, he’s on his good race of an ‘every other race’ cycle he’s been showing of late, and his best to date is a 113 spd# at a mile he ran a couple months back. he’s lightly raced and has classy breeding, there’s no reason he couldn’t make another step forward or at least equal his best, he may find himself on the lead, and he doesn’t mind that position, or being just off the pace suits him as well. He’d be my long shot pick to win and a good one to throw into any gimmick .

pp8 ) – 5/1 – Any Port (Stormy Atlantic / Boston Harbor / Relaunch) (H) – SENDEM2 – K. Helton (10%) – final runner of the group is a 4yr old colt making start #25 with a 7/5/6 result line and nearly 150 grand in the bank, main concern with this very talented colt is the 8f, as he’s been sprinting of late, and he’s been running 105 type #’s 3 of his last 4 starts at 6,5f t0 7f, can he take it this level and above at a mile ? once again a smart trainer has found a good spot to see what might be with this colt reaching his prime. he should be an early pace factor with the stretch, and he could be a late factor if he takes to the change to the mile, if not, it was a good chance and he’ll be primed to run an even bigger sprint the next time around.

…………………. Good luck to all, and another farewell to my Devil’s Desert, who knows, we may get together again further down the lane. Let’s bring them back RTG at worst in what is an interesting race even if not a typical Grade II event as far as overall strength of the field.