Six Up Monster Special highlights Classic turfers

It’s a return to classic distance in Virginia this week, hosting the Six Up Monster Special. The excellent work of the grounds crew here in Virginia has kept the turf rated as firm for this week’s racing. The race run over eight and a half furlongs of turf, and invites all horses four years and older to particpate. There is a $50000 purse up for grabs. Due to a glitch in the history computers here at Virginia, there is no past data on this race, but we should be looking at an exciting race here this Saturday. The race has drawn a diverse field of ten. There is plenty of room for another good week at the betting window again this week, with this odds distribution. Oddsmakers have assigned a 5/2 favorite and a 9/2 second choice. Five others fall in between 5/1 and 9/1, with the balance falling in the 10/1 to 19/1 range. If either or both of the favorites gets knocked off, we could be looking at some nice payouts.

PP 1) Wars Of Empire Sired by Empire Maker, Trained by waremblem1. Wars Of Empire is a four year old colt, making his seventeenth career start here. He comes off a career best, and this will be his first try at stakes level. His last ten starts earned him a record of 2-1-2-1-2 with a best speed of 100.6 earned on an off track in his last race. That outing was an A4x run in Arkansas, where he ate up a deficit of nearly six down the stretch, tacking on a couple more for good mearsure to beat a field of eight by a length and three quarters. He’s made five dirt starts, but the majority of his success has come on the turf surface. He’s 3-1-1 in five turf starts in this distance range, and all three of his career victories have come in this distance range. He runs as a midpack to deep closer, and his close has been very consistent over his last five. He has shown a marked improvement since late last year and has been steadily improving. He faces a tough challenge here, but he is a horse to watch this year, as he looks to be driving to his peak performance.

PP 2) Landlocked Sired by Dixieland Band, Trained by tcrowell. Landlocked is a five year old horse, and he takes to the track for his thirtieth time in this race. He’s recently jumped back up to stakes level after putting together three straight allowance wins late last year, but he is still seeking his first stakes win. He’s recorded a 3-2-1-1-1 with two 100+ speed runs. His last race was an eight furlong stakes in Alabama, where he finished a hard closing second in a field of nine. He started his career on dirt, and did quite well, as he began his three year old season, the competition became quite fierce, and he switched to turf for a change of pace. He responded quite well, and has never looked back. Distance-wise, he has raced well anywhere from six to eight furlongs, and has shown good speed out to nine furlongs. His career best speeds have been at the distance he faces here, though his percentage is a bit higher in sprints. He’s a deep closer and his close has been very good. He has shown the capabilty to make up large chunks of ground in short distances. He has a lot of speed out in front of him here, and he will need his best to catch the leaders here.

PP 3) Hansom Ransom(IRE) Sired by Swain(IRE), Trained by sarasans. Hansom Ransom(IRE) is running in his five year old season and makes his thrity fifth career start here. He has one previous stakes victory, with that coming on dirt. Of the course of his last ten starts, all on dirt, he ran to a mark of 0-3-1-3-0 with six 100+ speeds. His last start was a seven and a half furlong dirt stakes in Florida, where he finished tenth in a field of ten. In a turnaround from what we usually see in these types of races, he started his career on turf, then after a couple lackluster starts, switched surface to dirt. He exploded on dirt, popping off 100+ speeds in four of his next five. His last two on dirt have been really off, and he switches back to turf here, perhaps in an attempt to shake him up. He is primarily a sprinter, and one fifth place finish to show for five route starts. He runs as a midpack closer, primarily, but has experimented with several running styles. Recently, not much of anything has been working for him. His best race was one where he came from the head of mid pack. I don’t think returning to turf in this type of company is going to help improve matters for him.

PP 4) Slartibartfast Sired by Lemon Drop Kid, Trained by pudj1. Slartibartfast is a five year old horse who takes his twenty eighth career trip here. He has one stakes win to his credit, that win coming in his two year old debut. He has a record of 2-2-0-1-1 in his last ten starts, with a best speed of 101.6, earned late last spring. His last start as an A3n at eight furlongs in Indiana, where he finished fifth on a hard close in a field of twelve. He has been primarily a dirt runner, who has recently renewed some experimentation on the turf surface. He’s been out of the money only twice in seven turf starts. On dirt he seems to prefer a sprint, but he seems to prefer this short route distance on turf. He’s a deep closer but his close has been spotty over his last few starts. The longer distance should help him here, and he has been closing well in his last two starts on turf. If he shows the speed he is capable of, he could threaten late, but if he gets caught too deep he’s not going to make it back in this one.

PP 5) Pulpit Fiction Sired by Pulpit, Trained by foxon3. Pulpit Fiction makes the third start of his five year old season and the nineteenth of his career in this race. He has one previous stakes win. He’s been on fire over his last ten, with a record of 4-3-1-0-0 and three 100+ speeds. His only two falters has been in graded company. His last startwas an eight furlong Grade 3 on a tough Kentucky track, where he finished tenth in a full field, though only seven and a half out at the wire. He started out his career very nicely on dirt, but after a setback in his third start, he switched to turf and has neve r looked back. He’s gone on to earned nearly 180K on the grass in his next fifteen starts. This is his distance of choice and he boasts five wins in ten starts, and he has shown the stamina to get out into the nine furlong range. He’s a midpack to deep closer and his sweet spot seems to be about the seven to eight length mark at the half. He’s got a lot of speed out in front of him here, and surviving the early pace will be the key for him in this one.

PP 6) Restless Bay Sired by Paines Bay, Trained by countwilde. Restless Bay is a five year old horse, running for the thirty third time. He is looking to break a stakes jinx here and grab his first win at this level. His last ten have been disappointing with a record of 1-0-2-2-0, though he does have two 100+ speed over that period. His last start was an A*800 where he finished last in a five and a have furlong dirt sprint in Iowa. He is a turfer through and through with his averages speeds fifteen to twenty points higher on the grass. He is also a pure sprinter though, with the bulk of his success and by far his best speeds in the six to six and a half furlong range. Recently he has run as both a closer and a stalker, not having a load of success either way. The majority of his wins have come from the head of the midpack, and his trainer might want to consider putting him back in that kind of start. At his best he has the speed to compete in this field, but he has been streaky to say the least, and he won’t be at his best in a route. Look for him to live up to his odds here.

PP 7) Chart Master Sired by Red Ransom, Trained by ravensclaw. Chart Master is a four year old colt and he takes the gate for the eighteenth time in this start. This is only his second stakes start and he is seeking his first victory at this level. His last ten starts have netted him a 3-4-0-1-1 record with two 100+ speeds. His last outing was his first stakes, a seven furlong effort in Nebraska, where he finished second by a head in a real thriller. He has been a pure turf runner from day one and his hooves have never touched the dirt. With ten top two finishes in seventeen starts, there’s been no real reason to move him. He has run well anywhere from seven to nine furlongs, and this race is right up the middle of his distance preference. He is a fast starter, and if he opens up a big gap, he can be hard to catch. He has also shown the ability to hang tough if challenged early, and has the stamina to stay in the mix until the end. He’s very tough and this distance, and you will want to box him in your exotics.

PP 8) Theatrical Affair(IRE) Sired by Theatrical(IRE), Trained by dontnagme. Theatrical Affair(IRE) is a five year old horse riding a hot streak into this race. This will be his twenty first career start, and he rolls into this one with wins in six of his last eight. He has two previous stakes wins. Overall in his last ten, he has earned a 6-2-0-1-1 record with five 100+ starts, including his last four races. His last start was a stakes at this distance in Georgia, where he easlity bested a field of eleven by a length and a quarter. He tried dirt once and ran quite well, but as evidenced by his recent speed figures, his home is on the turf. This is his distance of choice, though he has shown the ability to get out pas tnine furlongs, and he has eleven top three finishes in fifteen starts at this distance range. He runs a midpack closer’s pace, though interestingly enough his last four victories have all been wire to wire. He’ll have speed in front of him in this one and will end up having to close some ground. With the dominating speeds he has been running, that shouldn’t be a problem here. If he runs as he has been, he should take this one.

PP 9) High D’Inverne(IRE) Sired by High Chaparral(IRE), Trained by dcstar. High D’Inverne is a four year old colt stepping into his eleventh career start here. This will be his first taste of stakes level competition. The colt’s first ten starts have seen him run to a 3-2-1-2-1 record, with two 100+ speed runs. His last run was an A3x run in South Carolina at eight furlongs, where he finished fourth after leading a field of fourteen into the stretch. He had one career dirt run, where he showed speed comparable to his turf debut, but he has been steadily maturing on turf. He has four top two finishes in this distance range in six starts, with all his career victories coming at this distance or slightly longer. He is a fast starter, with all three of his victories coming gate to wire. He’ll have a dogfight on his hands here early, and if he can’t propel himself into and early lead, he could be in trouble as they turn for home here.

PP 10) Polish Proverb Sired by Danzig, Trained by timjbehr. Polish Proverb is making his twenty fifth career start here in the beginning of his five year old season. He is no stranger to stakes competition, but he is still seeking his first taste of victory at this level. His last ten runs have lead to a record of 3-0-4-0-3 with four 100+ speeds. He comes off an A1t at this distance in Indiana, where he bested a field of eight by a length and a half. He started his career on dirt, but he really came into his own when his trainer made the decision to switch him to turf. He is at his perfect distance here, with eight wins and fourteen top three finishes in this distance range. He’s a midpack closer and his close has been fairly consistent. He’s shown the ability to pop off some big speed numbers, and they are some of the best in this field. The key for him in this one is to survive a hot early pace. If he can stay within a couple lengths of the leaders, he’ll be dangerous, but if he drops too far back, he won’t be able to make up the distance.