Will a Hero Emerge from the Smallville Cup?
A field of twelve is lining up for the start of the Smallville Cup this weekend, where brave young horses are attempting to earn more laurels on the Derby Trail. Who will be faster than a speeding bullet and who will find the challenging nine-furlong course to be their kryptonite? Stay tuned and find out.
Farad’s Jibe will break on the inside for the race. He’s a solid colt who likes to come from behind and has run well in overnight stakes. His speed figs are right up there with the best in the race, but he disappointed in his first graded outing. I expect him to be just a bit short on class for this race, but he’s not totally out of the picture.
Kiri’s And Humble Too has a properly Clark Kentish name. He’s been smoking the competition in allowance company, but hasn’t fared as well in graded stakes. He’s a bit of a puzzle – he earned huge numbers as a juvenile, but as a sophomore has run only 2 4-horse allowances. Sure, he won them, but he beat a whole lot of nothing. This will be his first real test as a 3yo and it will be interesting to see how he has matured. It’s possible he’s quite good; we just don’t know yet.
It’s appropriate that the Buffy8 stable is represented in a superhero-themed race. But will Spitfire MK I show the strength and spunk of the Chosen One? He rounded off a nice 2yo campaign with a graded win, then took a stake through the heart in the Carolina Niner Stakes. This will be the colt’s first start since that 7th-place finish. This weekend, the trainer will find out if the colt just needed a tuneup or if that was a sign of things to come. My money’s on that race being a tuneup, but we’ll know soon enough.
Eddie RU Kidn is a nice up-and-coming colt for Rrlogan. The son of Eddington finished a solid 4th in his first graded attempt, running only 1 ½ lengths behind the winner. I think he’ll be right there, though I’d be more enthused if he’d won either of his previous stakes races. He’ll try to win from the front, but I suspect some of the classy horses behind him will wear him down.
Auror’s Be Auror Song was a solid fourth in his only graded outing, the very tough DPCD Eruption Stakes. Since then, he’s run big races in two overnight stakes. He can run fast enough to win this race, so the only question is whether he can handle this competition. His jockey isn’t all that good, so he won’t get much help there, but he’s a classy colt with a real shot.
Attenzione is one of two Superstables entries in the race and is the longer shot of the two at 15/1. The son of Dixieland Band hasn’t yet shown the turn of foot need to win this race, but he is certainly improving as he stretches out. I don’t think the extra ½ furlong over his last race will make enough of a difference, but he’ll be interesting to watch as the races get longer and he matures. He’ll be flying late, but it’ll probably be too late.
Seedly’s Plucky Hero has the perfect name for this race, but he’s a true underdog at 28/1. He’s won two straight allowances, but this is a huge step up and he has an uphill battle. He’s going to need to step into a phone booth and come out in spandex and a cape to have a shot here.
Mavrkstbl4’s I Do and Adieu is looking awfully good for a horse with only three races under his belt. He had a powerful debut last year (he only finished second, but scored a 91 fig). Then he won a MSW handily and came back next in an overnight stakes, where he narrowly defeated the field with a 95 fig. He has two questions to answer – can he handle the step-up in class and can he handle the extra furlong? Hard to say, but so far he’s looking like a horse to watch very seriously.
Psychotic Gold, running for Super12, is the one serious Derby horse in this field. Ranked 6th among Derby contenders, he shows up at most of the big races and….finishes second or third. His 3yo debut was disappointing; he placed third in an overnight stakes. At 9.5 furlongs, it may have been too long, or he may have peaked too soon, or he may simply have had an off race after a 6-week break. Now that he’s tuned up, this race will tell us a lot about how he’s looking for the Derby. With a top jockey aboard and no other major contenders present, he has no excuses this time around.
Yang’s Meridian Court is a talented son of Street Cry who finished second in graded company last time out. He’s been improving steadily and that last race was a great way to start his sophomore season. If he can run up to that last race, he’s going to be right up there with the best. Unfortunately, he has a pretty bad jockey aboard, but he may be talented enough to overcome that.
Andros’ Demptos finished just behind Meridian Court last time out in the Grade 3 Thousand Island. He’s been on the board one other time in a graded race, so the son of Smarty Jones is capable of handling a tough field. In this wide-open race, the late-charging colt will benefit from having a skilled jockey aboard. I suspect he’ll also like stretching out just a bit more here.
Finally, Simsters5 presesnts the filly, Braddock. While she has a terrific record in allowances and against her own sex, her only graded attempt was disappointing. I think this daughter of Giant’s Causeway is a really nice filly, but is in too deep here.
Good luck and may your horses come back safe and sound