The DPCD V Juvenile Sprint Championship
I must confess ignorance. When I first saw the letters DPCD V, I was thinking I got a bad scrabble draw and was in dire need of a vowel. Upon further review however, I’ve learned that the DPCD V is a series of horse races that’s probably topped only by the Breeders’ Bowl in regard to the competitiveness and quality it provides. It will most likely be the last race of the year for these entrants and I can’t think of a better way to cap off a big year than to earn a win this week — especially for a two-year old sprinter. Let’s take a look at the field in this year’s running of the DPCD V Juvenile Sprint Championship.
1 Desert Sniper (greenappl6) – Action This Day colt gets the rail, but has zero speed to take advantage of it and his last trio have been particularly ugly. Failed to hit 80 on the speed dial in his last pair — finishing behind Timeless Event and the filly, Jacobite Hot Sauce — and you have to think this week’s winner will fire a 90 plus. Would be as big a surprise as Action This Day was in his Breeders’ Cup shocker…
2 Staple It Together (fairfax) – One of four in here at 15-1 and, like the rail horse, he’s another who lacks any of the speed needed to take advantage of his inside post. Doesn’t really have the look of a contender this week — top speed figure is light and his lone graded stakes try resulted in a fifth place finish behind Bermuda back in May and in the six months since then he has shown little, if any, improvement and he’d need to improve leaps and bounds to have any kind of shot in here…
3 More Magic (michaelo) – Lightning fast son of Forestry has been favored every time he’s entered a starting gate. He has yet to be tested in the early stages of a race thus far and, as he draws inside of all the speed, you can’t really see anything changing with that scenario this week. He has yet to try graded stakes foes and with only four starts (three wins) on the docket, his lack of experience might be a concern, but you can also make a case that he’s got the most upside of anyone in this bunch. Post position, current form, and possible upside make him a top candidate for the picture taking…
4 Jacobite Hot Sauce (thearkle) – Bargain bred by Temescal Ridge is the lone filly in the field and, yeah she beat boys earlier this year, but she’s coming into this after getting trounced by her own kind in the last two and she’s facing a tougher field of boys than she faced earlier this year. She may have disliked the distance in the last two, but she’d also shown she was capable of performing well in a route earlier this year as well. No problem seeing a speedy gal take on the boys and she is a G-1 placed sprinter, but really would have liked to see her come into this with some sharper races against her own gender…
5 Early Peak (IRE) (stupor8) – In Excess (IRE) colt gives the field another closer and, after a slow start to his career, he’s improved nicely and topped the accomplishments of his stakes winning half-brother with a nice G-2 win two back. Failed the route test in his latest, but so too have a lot of these and you can’t really penalize for not wanting to run long. Style is similar to Bermuda and, like that one, he probably needs to continue to improve to finish on top this week, but that’s not impossible…
6 Morph The Cat (trotter2) – Model of consistency until the two-turn failure in last and that’s a shame, because he had been making such steady progress sprinting up until that point. Cat Thief colt should be able to make some noise in this field — top speed figure fits with these and, while many in here seem to be stone-cold closers or one-dimensional speedsters, he has shown some good tactical speed. Getting all the marbles might be a stretch, but have to think he has a good chance of scooping a few this week…
7 Rio Secco (fatattack2) – The ultimate X factor — he hasn’t been seen sprinting since the maiden breaker and, unlike many of these, he’s actually proven himself a pretty good router — despite the dismal showing last out in the Breeders Bowl Juvenile. Willing to draw a line through that race as a lot of good horses don’t fire in those deep fields, but what to make of the turn back in distance this week? Well, he broke his maiden coming from way back, fired a pretty good speed figure (for a two-year old in May), and should have plenty of heat to chase in this one too. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a good showing, but tough, tough call no matter how you slice it…
8 Timeless Event (reddog) – Another with Forestry in his pedigree and, like that one, the name of his game is speed. He’s hit the exacta in his last four and snapped a string of three runner-up finishes by topping stakes foes in last. Unfortunately, the three runner-up finishes say more about him than the stakes win — while there’s no doubt he’s fast, he’s also prone to getting a wee bit leg weary in the stretch. His best shot at winning involves getting an easy lead and hoping he’s got enough left when they turn for home, but that’s probably too much to ask with More Magic on his inside. Not sold on his chances…
9 Adhesive (thebaker2) – Cozzene colt shares some of Rio Secco’s attributes — he’s a successful router who didn’t run a lick in the Breeders Bowl Juvenile. He bounced back from that lackluster effort with a nice runner-up try in last however and that makes the move to a G-1 sprint all the more perplexing. He’s tried this before and the result was a sixth place finish in the G-1 Hoserhead Juvenile — a race in which he finished behind some nice customers like Rattle My Chain (AUS) and Syn City. You have to think routing is his calling — he looked like a legitimate Bluegrass Derby contender three back when he won the G-2 North Fork Stakes and he beat a couple nice customers in that one, namely Rattle My Chain (AUS) and Syn City.
See my point?
10 Bermuda (super7) – So he’s probably not on the Corporation’s long list of Derby hopefuls, but he is undefeated playing the sprint game and comes into this off a career best speed figure last out when seen doing what he does best. Aims for his third graded stakes win of the year and while he’s probably the best closer in the field, he’s probably going to need another career best to get the job done this week and that certainly isn’t a given as he makes his debut in G-1 company. Would be a mild surprise in my book if he were to get the win this week…
11 Cape Wrath (buffy9) – Huge effort in last followed four so-so races and, while a repeat of it makes him a contender in here, you can’t automatically assume he’s really that good. It’s not uncommon for a two-year old to take a giant leap this time of the year, but this is a tough spot for him — 6-1 in last despite being the only stakes winner in the field suggest he’s never really been that well regarded. Might turn out to be a nice one, but need to see an encore performance before jumping on the bandwagon…
12 Syn City (xxxstable) – You and I colt is the number one ranked turf sprinter for his age division and, if that’s not enough for you, he’s G-1 placed on both surfaces and has banked over half a million dollars. Speed is the name of his game, but he’s much more effective when he gets the early lead and I don’t think that’s going to be the case this week as he as a couple of wicked speed horses well inside of him. Would love to have a horse with his versatility in my barn, but don’t think he’s a real threat for the win this week…
13 Mozart’s Quest (griffeyjr) – Most experienced horse in the race also has the dubious distinction of being the longest shot on the board. Sixth in his last duo — the latter of those being the somewhat proverbial route failure, but he beat a future graded stakes winner, Henianlauch, back in July so he does have a sliver of talent in his withers, but he simply hasn’t progressed and that’s a problem. With eleven races under his belt I’m not sure he can make the necessary improvement to even hit the board this week…
14 Edgewater (IRE) (lenny7) – Sometimes a breeder’s best laid plans go horribly awry. Sometimes you go to the breeding stable so certain you’ve bred the next English or Irish Derby winner and then your little guy turns two, goes to the turf course, and shows you that there’s nothing more he’d like to do than sprint on dirt. Fortunately for our superstar trainer, this speedy, stakes winning son of turf monster Montjeu (IRE) has proven to be a pretty solid horse on the dirt. But he’s probably not this solid — the speed figures are a little light for these and all that speed from this post probably means he just gets hung wide early and that’s not what you want from a guy that tired going four and half furlongs last out.
Selections – 3 – 6 – 10