Classic Cooking in Texas
Welcome to the 7th running of the Rock’s Texas Cooking Series! Established by the Sim’s seniormost player (yes, even more senior than the guy who created the game), this series tests runners over a wide variety of distances. This week, the going is a classic ten furlongs. The forecasters are predicting rain, so it will be especially interesting to watch the horses who have proved themselves in the slop.
First up is vsmdinc2’s Globogym, a 4yo son of Pleasantly Perfect. He had a nice Grade II win at three, but since then has not shown much in graded company. Though this isn’t the toughest field out there, I don’t see him as able to take on these guys. Landed an awesome jock, though, so if he’s ever going to run huge, this is his best chance.
Next door will be Catmount2’s Safety Zone at 5/1. Safety’s coming off a big win in the Minnesota vs Vermont Challenge. The son of Spinning World has finished third in both off-track appearances, so he’s proved he can handle the surface well enough. Should be right up there at the end.
Then there’s Teamt’s 27/1 longshot, Even Steps Ted. This three-year-old looks like he’s in awfully deep here. He’s won a couple of overnight stakes against his peers, but disappointed last time out in graded company. Now it gets even tougher as he takes on his elders.
Montalcino’s Chasing Dreams has a win and a place on off tracks, which bodes well for this weekend. Taking a substantial step up here into graded company and I’m a little concerned about his jock’s 5% strike rate. Come-from-behinder will get a lot of gunk flung in his face, but that’s nothing new. A definite contender to hit the board, though I don’t really expect a win of him.
Next is Streakin6s’ Lakeside Dream. This will be his first stakes appearance, despite it being his 36th start. The son of Pivotal often wins allowance races handily, but this is a huge step up. I’d like to see some evidence that he can handle this company before backing him in a race like this. He’ll probably finish respectably, but he can’t count on a paycheck.
Halfway through the field is Wildone’s Alba Wild. The lightly-raced son of El Prado is coming off an allowance win at this distance. Ran a solid second in his one off-track start, but hasn’t yet shown the turn of foot needed to compete in graded company. He’s not a bad horse at all, but his 30/1 odds are probably about right.
Euroalien’s Oxys will spring from the seven hole this weekend. The nicely-bred son of Woodman has been struggling in allowance company of late, so this race is likely to be too much for him. Watch for him to grab the early lead and serve as a rabbit for the rest of the field to chase.
It’s hard to say anything bad about the solid favorite, Deltatiger’s Seattle Delta. He’s coming off two comfortable wins, an allowance and an overnight stakes. Very importantly, he’s won three of six off-track starts, showing that he’ll like the going just fine. He hasn’t been great in graded stakes, but his form is dandy right now and this is a lighter field than other ones he’s faced. His jockey this weekend is solid enough. Watch for him to settle midpack and then come roaring through on the stretch. He’s not unbeatable, but he’s earned his short odds.
Viper’s Twoblack was an absolute monster at this distance in allowance company, then disappointed badly in the Vermont vs. Minnesota challenge. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as he takes on a tough field again. I’m a little worried that he may have signaled that he’s not up to taking on the best fields, but his allowance runs have been so impressive that he’s earned a second shot at the big time. This will be his first try on an off track, so that could go either way. Lots of questions for this guy, and it’ll be interesting to see how they’re answered.
Tarski’s Real Fruit had some trouble in Vermont last time out, just like his next door neighbor. As for Twoblack, Real Fruit’s last race could just be a fluke. Overall, he’s been a solid competitor in overnight stakes. He’ll need to step it up a bit here, but given that he has a win and a second on off tracks, this may be a great opportunity for him to do so. Solid jockey and his like for the track give him an opportunity to really shine this week.
Phenomenal Marks is an interesting little horse trained by Pilot747. He’s run explosively from behind in his last two and his form has generally been progressing nicely. This is a big step up from the allowance company he’s been keeping, but he’s been signaling that he’s ready for something new. Wretched jockey up and he’s been indifferent on off tracks, but something interesting could happen here.
The field rounds out with Kelso’s George Cinq, who’s been decent in allowances and the occasional overnight stakes. Probably in a little deep here, but unlikely to embarrass himself. One of several perfectly nice horses in the race who’s unlikely to win.
Good luck and may your horses come back safe and sound.