Seven take the track for Hood(AUS) Handicap

Racing coverage returns to Virginia this with the second annual Hood(AUS) Handicap stakes. The weatherman has promised a firm track for this six furlong sprint, inviting all horses four years old and older. The race carries a $40000 purse. Last year’s inaugural edition was won on a yielding track by Deceptively Wax(IRE), a dual stakes winning son of sire Rock City(IRE). This year’s edition drew a field of six, with lots of early speed and not a real power closer to threaten them. It looks like this one could very well be decided by the break from the gate. Oddsmakers are not calling a sure thing, with four of the six entries rated at 5/1 or better odds, including a pair of co-favorites slated at 5/2 on the morning line. An 8/1 shot claims the rail post, and a 36/1 longshot round out the field. Even without any surprises the exotics should pay moderately well, though not spectacularly, and it could be a bettor’s week in Virginia.

PP 1) Zippity Dooter Sired by Victory Speech, Trained by cut2004. Zippity Dooter is a five year old horse, and he is making his twenty seventh career start here. This will be only his second stakes since late in his two year old season, and he is still seeking his first win at this level. He made seven starts in 2006, garnering a 2-2-3-0-0 record, with a best speed of 98.0, earned in his last outing of the year. That outing was a stakes race at this distance in Upper New York, where he finished a hard closing second in a field of seven. He’s taken his chances on dirt, but he proved his turf preference early and often with all three career victories coming on the grass. His closing style says he might prefer his races a bit longer, but he has definitely been at his best in sprints, earning ten top three finishes in twelve firm turf starts. He runs as a midpack closer, and when sprinting, his close has been quite consistent. He just hasn’t quite been able to bring it home in his last four after back to back allowance wins early last season. He is going to have to find some more speed somewhere to truly challenge the burners in this one, but if the early speed duel takes enough of a toll, we could see him crack the trifecta here.

PP 2) To Die For(IRE) Sired by Theatrical(IRE), Trained by zewango2. To Die For(IRE) turned four years old this year, and has eighteen previous runs under his belt. He has two stakes wins, including an impressive Grade I victory last year. He made twelve starts in his three year old season, running to a 3-2-1-1-1 record, with two outings cracking the 100+ speed mark. His last start was a Grade I start in the DPCD Penn Turf Mile, where he finished a disappointing ninth after fading fast just past the half. He made his first two career starts on dirt, but after two additional starts to get his turf legs he became a stakes contender on the grass and never looked back. He’s a veteran mile, and he hasn’t faced a distance this short since late in his two year old season. His running style is to open up as big of a lead as he can early, and then just try to hang on to it. The longer distance gave him an opportunity for some bigger leads, but it also gave the closers more ground to catch him, especially when he was challenged early. He’ll have an early challenge here, and probably won’t have the kind of cushion he would like, even if he can break out on top. His condition just past the half should tell the story for him here. His stamina may be what brings this one home for him.

PP 3) Lord Prospect Sired by Lord Carson, Trained by sherman16. Lord Prospect is a seven year old horse taking a very big step up in class here in his sixty fourth start. He makes his first stakes start here after spending the bulk of his career in the claim and starter allowance ranks. In thirteen starts last year, he managed a 0-2-1-0-1 record, with a best speed of 92.5 earned in his second start of the year last season. His last run was a 4K claim race at eight and a half furlongs right here in Virginia, where he finished twelfth in a field of fourteen. He has split his career evenly between dirt and turf, and though his speeds have been comparable on either surface, he has experienced the bulk of his success on the dirt. He has stretched out as far as nine furlongs, but the bulk of his success has been right here in the six to six and a half range, with seven of his eleven wins coming here. He runs generally as a midpack closer, but his close was virtually non-existent last season. Even in his heyday, he didn’t show enough speed to seriously challenge this field. With the wear and tear starting to show, he’s going to be running up hill in this one.

PP 4) U R Fast Sired by Cryptoclearance, Trained by chance2. U R Fast enters his five year old season with thirty eight starts behind him. He’s a veteran stakes runner, but that first win at this level has eluded him to date. Last year was a banner year for him, seeing him go 5-2-2-3-3 in seventeen starts, posting seven 100+ speed figures. His last outing was a stakes at seven furlongs in New Hampshire, where he finished four while closing, posting a nice 101.8 speed in a tough field. He is another horse that has split his career evenly between dirt and turf, but most of his best speeds, as well as six of eight wins have all come on the grass. He seems to fare equally as well at anywhere from six to nine furlongs not really showing a strong preference towards any particular distance. He runs a midpack closers style, and his close was up and down last season. He seemed to close better in the shorter races, though. The combination of his stamina and early speed should be good for him here. If he can manage to hold the early pace here, he should be threatening in the stretch.

PP 5) Da Show Must Go On(IRE) Sired by Theatrical(IRE), Trained by hairball. Da Show Must Go On(IRE) is a five year old horse. He has been lightly raced, and he makes only his sixteenth career start here. This is his third career stakes run, and he is still seeking his first win at this level. As a late season breed in 2005, all of his career starts came last season, where he ran to a 5-2-4-2-0 record with three starts going over the 100+ speed mark. His last start was a seven furlong stakes in Minnesota, where he gave up a lead down the stretch to fade to fourth. He’s made the bulk of his runs on turf, and though his dirt speeds weren’t bad, he has definitely run better on the grass. Twelve of fifteen starts have been sprints, and he owns a 3-0-1 record in five starts at this distance range. He’s a speedball, grabbing an early lead every chance he gets. He’s used to being challenged early, and seems to thrive on an early challenge. He seems to do better with a tight start than when he manages to open up too wide of a margin early. He’ll have plenty of competition early here, and it should be his kind of race. If he can hold off the closers after what looks to be a torrid early battle, he could very well surprise here.

PP 6) Cheese Sired by Alysheba, Trained by hoofhearts. Cheese is a well run five year old horse, making his thirty sixth career start here. He has two stakes wins on his resume, both coming in the second half of last year. Last season saw him take the track fourteen times, putting up a 6-1-3-1-0 record with three 100+ speeds. His last start was a seven and a half furlong stakes in New Hampshire, where he simply blew away a field of five opening a nine furlong lead at the half which no one could come close to catching. He has given dirt more than a fair shake, but his speeds have been better across the board on grass, and six of his seven wins have come on the green. He is at his best in sprints, but generally prefers something about a furlong longer than he has here. He’s a fast starter and he lives and dies by the early lead. He has great early speed, and has shown the stamina to survive an early challenge. The shorter race isn’t to his advantage here, especially with the early lead likely to be hotly contended. The race should be decided for him between the second and third call, and if he opens up any kind of cushion, he could be hard to beat.

PP 7) Raktavija Sired by Awesome Again, Trained by super16. Raktavija is a four year old colt, and he sees action for the twenty first time in this start. He has five previous stakes wins to his credit. He raced twelve time during the 2006 season, putting together a record of 4-1-2-0-1, with six outings netting him 100+ speeds. His last outing was in the Grade I DPCD Penn Dash, where he finished sixth in a field of strong closers. He started his career with a pair of turf wins, but after hitting a wall in his next three, a switch to turf saw him mature and steadily inprove throughout his three year old season. Turf sprints have been his strongest race, and he has five wins in nine tries at this distance range. He likes to position himself right at the head of the mid pack, and pick off the leaders as they flag. He has a very good second half jump, but he tends to get in trouble if the early pace leaves him too far back. He is sometimes vunerable to the deeper closers. There is not a lot of deep threat in this one, but he will have the fast early pace to contend with in this race. He he can stay within a couple lengths at the half, he could be a late threat here. If he finds himself much farther out though it will find it hard to catch up.