THE 1ST MINNESOTA SPRINT
– THE 1ST MINNESOTA SPRINT — Owner Restricted
Stakes
Six and one half furlongs
Fast Dirt
$250,000
All horses, 3 years old and up
1. 97760 COZZ I’M FLYING(AUS) { Flying Spur(aus) X Cozzene X Targowice} stable: earthling. I was totally shocked to learn that this was not a Johnno trained horse. I was all set to fire out 101 Flying Spud jokes, too. Its a good thing that I doubled check the residents list because it would have been embarrassing to through out a bunch of pot shots at Johnno when i totally had an opportunity to poke fun at Randy. Nevermind the fact that this horse has gone 100-102-100 his last three times out at this distance, the best reason to figure that this horse will win is because how fitting would it be if the ONLY Flying Spur that wins at the festival came out of Randy’s barn and not Johnno‘s…and with John Ritorto on saddle to boot! The horse goes of at 18/1, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Cases to be made against though include, never having won a stakes, having a little bit of seconditis, and he might be due for a bounce after three straight well run races.
2. 87749 TABASCO GLITTER { Tabasco Cat X Glitterman XBuffalo Lark} stable: cdonofri. Well therereally is no reason to go any further than the 2 horse, as this is the greatestsim horse that has ever run. What’s that? You don’t buy it? Oh, ok then. This isMY favorite sim horse of all time. Winner of the 2004 Minnesota Derby, T.G. hasbeen running well lately. In the money 3 of the last 4 times out in conditionedallowances, including two 100+ showings. He has certainly seemed to like runningat “The Downs” as he has two wins and two seconds in five lifetimestarts. Ritterspauch is aboard, the 6th different track jockey that will haveridden him. The negatives; the distance is a little bit short for him, it wouldmake me way happier than is allowed under the law, and the small fact that hehasn’t won a stakes race since the ’04 derby. at 12/1 bet early , bet often.
3. 98947 STONYBROOKLAKE {Meadowlake X Flying Spur (aus) X Abel Prospect} stable: zambrano.I hate to admit it, but I bred this one because Johnno always told usabout Flying Spur. I noticed that mare Jennifer L H was unowned, so I took aflyer on her. I have been more than pleased with the result, as Stonybrook Lakehas won a stakes race 3 times. Although S. Lake hasn’t won since 2874, he didpop off an impressive 102 two races back. The track’s second best jock KBowen has the assignment. The negatives, S. Lake has never won at the Downs,there might be too much speed in this race for him to grab the lead like heneeds to do, and because at 15/1 that exacta box i’m going to play with TabascoGlitter will pay out way too much.
4. 69664 ALLPENTUP {Pentilicus X Stop the Music X IcyGroom} stable: reminder. Wow, what do you know,another entry from Mr. Randy Logan. This time I promise I won’t be distracted bythe poking fun at Johnno thing, i swear. If this was a year ago, I wouldhave said that this one was a lock to win considering the speed figs he wasputting up (and i would have been wrong since he only showed in the Twin CitiesSprint last year at the festival). He has been running quite an ambitious tourlately, sticking to stakes level and above (one G2, one G1) since 2804. Coincidentally,he also hasn’t won since 2776, his last race before the tour began. This one iscertainly capable of popping off a 105+ race, but he hasn’t showed that abilityrecently. O. Stinson rides this 12/1 shot, but i personally like Randy’s otherentry better.
5. 19566 I’M SADLER {Sadler’s Wells X Alysheba X SeattleSlew} stable: skanky. I had found it strange that Ihad never heard of this stable before. I figured with a name like skanky, idefinitely would have remembered. Turns out this is one of the picts’ stables,but its not listed in the residents list..Theo…get on that 🙂 . This is thereal darkhorse in this race (which is kinda strange to say since the horse pageclearly lists this one as a Chestnut). 36 of this horses 39 races havebeen run on the grass. But that is not to say that this one dislikes thedirt. In his three dirt races the lowest speed figure was an 84, and all threeof those races were at longer distances than here. It is hard to know what I’mSadler will do here, as the conditions seem to be out of his element. Goodson,not one of the premier jocks at Minny, gets the call. At 96/1 it just might beworth a $2 bet considering the regal breeding lines.
6. 85523 CAHILL HARBOR {Boston Harbor X Cahill Road X TomFool} stable: cobleskill. With 267k in lifetimeearnings and winning 1/4 of his career races makes this silverny99 horse a horseto be reckoned with. Last year at this time, C. Harbor was dabbling in runningturf sprints at the festival. That 112 back in 2004 sure does jump off thescreen when i look at this horses’ history. Unfortunately, the 98 four back isprobably more realistic these days. Saaverda, a 7.4% WP on the year jock getsthe call, and at 18/1 he’d better be having a good day.
7. 46832 HAIL INDY {A.P.Indy X Raise A Native X Hail ToReason} stable: estreet. The 9/1 odds makes youlook a little bit closer at this one then the horse to its inside. Dundey surehas a spectacular 4 year old. Three out his last four races have been 100+,including a 106. Definitely a late blossomer with 5 of 6 career wins coming thisyear. B. Craver, who is having a career down year, has the mount. Now the downside; Hail Indy has never ran in a stakes level race, has never ran at theDowns, seems to prefer 7+ furlongs, and has never won back to back races. I’lladmit though there is a chance we will be saying Hail Dundey after the race.
8. 38773 ELEVEN SPURS {Bahri X Hoist The Flag X BestTurn} stable: ryry. Cothill sends this former claimto his toughest test yet. Since being claimed this one has won two starters andhas come in fourth in two allowances. Asked to make a jump into a stakes racemay be a bit much, and this is reflected with the 22/1 odds. Well Tom, I hopeBeasley can take E.Spurs to new heights for your sake, but I have to say itwould be a surprise. (It is now safe to bet on this one, as I have discountedhim.)
9. 107007 LORELAI {Outofthebox X Middle Man X NationalAssembly} stable: miltlink1. This filly from Fred’sconglomerate of stables seems to be a little out classed amongst the boys, butthen i look at that residency race ran a few back and notice that she held herown against good company. I wouldn’t totally discount Lorelai being amongst thecrowd if a speed duel breaks down in front of her. There have been worse 46/1shots through the years, and B. Ireland might just bring some luck to the lady.
10. 126411 LAKE BED {Meadowlake X Salt Lake X Coastal}stable: bedford. This is a premier Minnesotaresidency stable. Cothill is a premier residency trainer. Lake Bed has a chanceto be a premier Minnesota Race Horse. This three year old colt has been in themoney 6 of 7 tries, and has seemingly loved 6 furlongs. With all that said,cothill doesn’t get the benefit of a premier Minnesota jock, as B. Pickel hasseen better days. Witha 99 high speed figure, Lake Bed will have to step it upto figure into the results here, but a horse this talented just might be able toso. At 28/1, this will likely be the last time you will see odds this good onsuch a quality horse.
11. 17280 ONE IN A MILLION II {Forty Niner X DixielandBand X Caro(ire)} stable: desperado3. Like aheat at a swim meet, the middle lanes are filled with the best talent, thosewith the best chance to win. This horse is 6/1 with 6 year vet P./ Green on thesaddle. I think the worst thing i can say about this horse is that he may wantto go an extra 1/2 furlong after the race is over. He’s used to being in gradedcompany, even though the last few have been disappointing races within theallowance ranks. Without a win this year, dessie can wrap up the year nicelywinning this race. He’s shot off races with ungodly speed figures in the past,so just by holding to his form puts him within the few best here today.
12. 95878 GREEN CITY { Green Desert X Carson City XFoolish Pleasure} stable: tenpin5. The other halfof our middle lane duo is sent out by jkj. With 10 wins in 36 starts, and a 103SP win the last time he ran at this distance, this one would be tough to argueagainst. He has won two stakes races since July, and has also shown 103+ speedthree times over that period. Greeny only was 7th in his one race over thiscourse though, so it is possible that he doesn’t like the surface at the Downs.B. Sprague has been having an up year in the reigns, but a win here would be adefinite notch on his whip. Its hard to believe that a jkj entry would doanything but win, so we all might be racing for second place behind Green City.
13. 129467 HAYLEY’S PRINCE {Forty Niner X VaguelyNoble X Hoist the Flag} stable: rharfo7. Ah, rharfo,my friend, so you do have an entry in here. I was starting to get concerned thati wasn’t going to be able to write about your wonderful training skills. Oh,61/1 are the odds and you have 5.5% Merwitz on board. Well this is goodexperience for a horse that has only raced 4 times previously, i suppose. Hereis the one reason why this one might possibly have a chance. The 97 posted inits MSW win is quite impressive, especially since it was a hard fought by thehead win. That shows toughness. He’ll need it here within this group of superstars.
14. 52184 WELL KRISSED {Sadler’s Wells X Kris (gb) X Sham}stable alba1. The odds makers really don’t likethis one at 97/1. The Pict has his second entry here. He has been in the money 5of 7 times in sprints, but i have to admit if this one was mine i would beentering him into routes. He was in stakes company last year in which he posteda 102 speed figure over 9 furlongs, so he definitely has the class to be in withthese. The only reason why i wouldn’t be surprised if W.K. won though is becauseit would surprise me. (figure out the logic to that one!).
15. 64306 COOL FOR CATS { Storm Cat X Mr. Prospector XCommon Grounds(gb)} stable: colin99. Dundey’s otherstrong entry. I’m not sure if those lastthree races were planned or not, but itsmaking me thankful that the track didn’t come up sloppy. This horse is a forceto be reckoned with either which way though. let’s see, in no particular order,Cool for Cats has won on this track, has won at this distance, has won at thislevel, has posted 100+ Sp at this distance, has beaten at least on other entryin todays race previously, and has won two in a row. Nuff said? Underrated jockGeddes gets the call.
16. 17404 HOMER SIMPSON {BLACKMINNALOUSHE X Forty Niner X Nureyev} stable: minnow.Someone please remind me next year not to pick the race that has 20 entries, ok?This one comes from supertoy fame. this will be only his 3rd race all year..talkabout patience…returning to the festival after a year’s absense, but this timetakes on the sprinters rather than the derbyiers (i know that is not a word). Iam shocked and appalled that Dennis didn’t hire D Sanford for the ride, butinstead went with Mr. Hijacked. I don’t know what to really write about thisvery well rested horse, except that if he still has last year’s ability he hasan excellent shot. Oh , one more thing…D’OH!
17. 93718 SCHMOOZER {Montjeu(ire) X Dancing Brave X Halo}stable: oasis3. I think its pretty cool that one of our newest residents, brent,was able to enter some horses in the festival. This one, who ships in fromEurope, has been absolutely spectacular in his last 5 races at similardistances. The closer i look at him, the more confused i am that there aredouble digit (10/1) odds here. Welcome to the family Brent. If your stables arefilled with horses like this you’ll soon be winning a lot of contests!
18. 84166 INCYANE GENIUS {Beau Genius X Cyane X IronRuler} stable: staceylg. Uh, rich you don’t really care if I don’t actually talkabout how good your horse is and how i think he has a legit shot here, or howthe two 100+ SP figs he’s shown recently means he should be right with the bestin the race, do you? Good, because i want to talk about how S. Upertoy’s winningpercentage has skyrocketed since we all started using the Minnesota JockeyGuild. we really need to stop doing that or d-man’s head is going to swell,don’t you think?
19. 27187 LEMON PHYL { Lemon Drop Kid X Gone West XDanzig} stable: esstable. This article istaking so long that I almost didn’t realize that I hadn’t written about one ofTheo’s horses yet. A nice claim at the end of last year, and has done reasonablywell in allowances since. A run over these hallowed grounds two back waspromising as he placed showing a dangerous 104 SP. a repeat of that performanceprobably scores big at the festival. Klein was on board that day, but Theo hasupgraded to Mr. Griffin who’s shooting at 12.6% this year. Well, if anyonedeserves a big victorious festival day, its Theo…so if that means TabascoGlitter has to lose ,i hope its to Lemon Phyl.
20. 55087 EVERY THING TO ME {Belong to Me X Jump Start XCoronado’s Quest} stable: maplefarms. hey did youknow that Joseph Barbera, of Hanna Barbera fame died recently? They just flashedit across comedy central during Family Guy. Can you tell I’m running out ofthings to write about? The track’s top jock K. Friar takes the mount for Rick.This three year old took 2nd in the residency race at this distance with Ritortoaboard, so just with the upgrade in jockey alone, we should expect better. Thiscolt has run several races with 100+ speeds, but also seems to do better inallowance company rather than stakes company, and that might just be hisdownfall at the festival. At 10/1, i think I would try and beat him with mybets, and i would probably lose because of it.
wow, i was going to try and lay out my top five picks in anice array of bets, but this took much longer than i thought it would. so i willjust say this, Go Tabasco Glitter!. see you at the festival.