Equinics: Hollywood Park Racetrack 3yo 6f TURF

Brazil (BRZ)Saturday, August 6, 2016 — 2:00:00 PM EST | Race ID : 1646331
EQUINICS
Grade I / Group 1 – Sponsored – Purse : $1,000,000
Restricted to 3 Year Olds	Owner Restricted
6 Furlongs | ~1200 Meters | Three Quarters of a Mile	Firm Turf
I never made it to Hollywood Park, though I’ve wagered and mostly lost money at close to 40 thoroughbred racetracks around North and South America.  I also live a few miles from the former site of Bay Meadows.   You can now buy a 2-bedroom condo for $1.2 million dollars on Baze Rd, formerly on the backside.  I wish I were kidding, but this seems to the wave of the future.  I suspect Golden Gate will be next.   Here’s your field!

 

Status : Race cards now available.

Entries Closed on 8/2/2016 — 6:00:00 PM EST

 

#	Horse	Bred	A/S	Owner	Jockey	R	W	IM%	USD	EPnt	Odds		Badges		Capper	my Sire
1	EMPEROR SPIRIT	ENG	3M	arsenal	A Boileau	12	4	67%	$447,000	108.00	20/1					CHARM SPIRIT (IRE)
2	TURF SET	IRE	3M	larrcamp12	F Allen	10	6	80%	$163,684	21.00	16/1					BORN TO SEA
3	IMAGE OF ALPHA	NY	3M	aaafarms	S Ledwith	10	6	90%	$246,211	37.00	12/1					ALPHA
4	NOTHING IN HERE	KY	3M	simsters5	K Banner	9	7	100%	$336,380	64.00	11/1					SPEIGHTSTOWN
5	WHY EM CEE AYE	KY	3M	xpansion5	R Whisper	12	5	83%	$179,438	18.50	11/1					MUCHO MACHO MAN
6	THREEBYFIVEBYFIVE	FL	3M	mgprice	V Gardner	10	3	60%	$153,206	10.00	24/1					IQBAAL
7	WORLDCLASS QUALITY	KY	3M	worldclass	C Volpe	11	4	55%	$676,590	40.00	10/1					ELUSIVE QUALITY
8	SNITZEL SPIRIT	AUS	3M	jbcri44	J Selden	10	5	90%	$312,225	70.00	16/1					SNITZEL
9	TETE BODEN	IRE	3M	racelord2	R Gibson	11	5	91%	$178,920	23.00	39/1					KODIAC (GB)
10	BENSHAM LEGEND	JPN	3M	dinioh2	K Uglebjerg	6	2	67%	$63,744	0.50	50/1					FRENCH DEPUTY
11	WAR SCREAM	IRE	3M	super11	J Piotrowski	12	6	58%	$240,060	38.00	11/1					SHAMARDAL
12	MARTIAN WAR	ENG	3M	westburnmagic	K Proehl	12	6	75%	$284,340	57.00	11/1					DANSILI (GB)
13	EL GATO FELIX	KY	3M	stormhaack	B Orazio	9	6	89%	$172,590	20.00	25/1					CURLIN
14	CASH CRANE	ENG	3M	used	M Kirkpatrick	11	5	82%	$318,700	89.00	21/1					OASIS DREAM (GB)
15	TOWN OF MONTES	KY	3M	calvin	L Estepp	12	4	75%	$184,222	34.13	15/1					SPEIGHTSTOWN
16	CREATES RESPECT.	JPN	3M	aguadeep6	W Ratzlaff	14	4	50%	$195,400	6.00	37/1					NOVELLIST (IRE)
17	BLUE LAGO EM	IRE	3M	eman	R Truitt	13	7	62%	$939,140	196.00	11/1					ACCLAMATION (GB)
18	MISTER NICE GUY	AUS	3M	baff2014e	F Duffy	11	8	91%	$462,080	102.00	6/1					CHOISIR (AUS)
19	A.P. RAVE	FR	3M	softy2912	J Drozd	11	5	64%	$412,580	84.00	13/1					LE HAVRE (IRE)
20	FLAT COUNTY	CA	3M	lowclaimer	R Mansur	11	3	91%	$143,701	10.56	19/1					INDIAN GODS

 

And now… Hot Takes!

 

EMPEROR SPIRIT was a brilliant 2yo sprinter, winning the G2 Laffitte Criterium.  He loves the distance, but are his sophomore peers catching up to him in ability?  Well rested for today despite 12 lifetime starts.  20/1 for boileau / The Eh Team.

 

TURF SET is much better at 3 than at 2. He’s been flirting with longer sprints but might be salty on the slight turnback to 1200m.  Despite his lack of Stakes success, I think he might be live.  16/1 for larrcamp / Universal Racing Club

 

IMAGE OF ALPHA is as consistent as they come and is finding his comfort zone in the 6.5f turf sprints… he’s won 4 of 4 in that category.  Will 100m make that much of a difference to his stalking style?  Dangerous 12/1 for kingab / Empire State Racing

NOTHING IN HERE is the son of he-mared G1 turf sprinter NOTHING OUT THERE and is a virtual spitting image, if not faster than his Mom-Dad was at this age.  7 wins and 2 seconds from 9 starts, this is your key horse in the exacta.  11/1 for Lenny / GR Simsters

WHY EM CEE AYE is equally comfortable on turf as he is on dirt; stakes-placed on both surfaces.  Lifetime best figure last out at 7f but hasn’t run 6f in awhile.  I think he projects as a turf miler but perhaps his tactical speed can get him a piece today.  11/1 for dixiedotco / Pastures of Green

 

THREEBYFIVEBYFIVE (couldn’t you have called him SEVENTY FIVE?) is the late-running winner of a 9.5 furlong stakes race.  It’s been a long time since this one’s wanted to sprint, so he’ll need some kind of blistering pace to be able to pass horses late.  Has had some time off, so perhaps gearing up for a big Fall campaign.  24/1 for lindsypark / Queensland

 

WORLDCLASS QUALITY was aptly named, winning the G1 High Flyer at Surrey in November.  He makes a huge run from the back of the pack… going a mile.  I don’t see how the sprint helps his chances, but sometimes class prevails.  10/1 for worldclass / Racing HQ

 

SNITZEL SPIRIT  is a game sprinter at the listed level, trying Graded company for the first time (Graded, Group… you know what I mean.)  Speed figs are not eye-popping, but he could be on the improve with age ( o/o Invincible Spirit and Rahy).  He’s got as good a shot as any.  16/1 for jbcri / Elite Racing Club

 

TETE BODEN has never left the cozy confines of the Swedish racetrack in 11 starts.  Let’s hope he’s inoculated against Equine Zica.  Solid but not spectacular, he could not have been considered a serious entrant for this race until an out-of-character 102 SP last out.  Darkhorse is 39/1 for Sabbath / EURO

 

BENSHAM LEGEND has won 2 in a row rather impressively, even with a seven-month gap between the starts.  One small detail, those were on the dirt at 7.5 furlongs (maybe two details).  Has a pedigree to be any kind, especially the fast kind.  Even darker horse at 50/1 for goonergeez / British and Nordic Racing Club

 

WAR SCREAM has solid numbers and good speed at the popular 7.5f distance, but earns another ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when it comes to predicting what he would do at 1200m.  I would not be shocked to see his sagacious handlers attempt to dial back his early speed to attempt to snag a bronze medal.  11/1 for the supers / DelPenn

MARTIAN WAR descends from BATTLEFIELD EARTH (G2) who has also dropped full-brothers BATTLE DREAM (G1) and MARTIAN SEA(G2).  They were all fast.  This guy is also fast (how fast is he?)  Martian War is so fast, he can outrun the cartoon stinklines emanating from his trainer.  Gene Rayburn and Charles Nelson Reilly would be proud.  11/1 for nextbonus / Comedy Central

 

EL GATO FELIX has been fed a steady diet of open allowance sprints, which he dutifully wins or runs a close second.  It’s hard to tell how good these types can be… but I think with a pedigree like Curlin x Storm Cat x Nijinsky II, there is some expectation for future dividends.  This could be the start of something big (I suspect he wants longer, but he’s going on my watch list.)  25/1 for haack / Hispano Parlante

 

CASH CRANE is by one of my favorite SIM stallions, Oasis Dream, who provides great turf speed up to a mile, at least.  This guy’s never been beyond 1200m and why not, he’s an effective stalker who’s won a G3 and a boatload of listed stakes.  This is his stiffest test to date but if the distance is in anyone’s wheelhouse, it’s this 21/1 shot for cutec / East-West

 

TOWN OF MONTES is another Speightstown with a classic back-end pedigree (Kris S. x Deputy Minister).  He lacked stamina at 2 but has shown strong tactical speed at 3, winning up to 7f.  I suspect he’ll want longer despite being moderately successful in the 6.5f listed races.  He may simply be a victim of numbers here – too many similar horses in the field to garner an advantage – unless that maturity spike kicks in.  15/1 for monte / Midas

 

CREATES RESPECT.  really has a period at the end of his name, which frustrates Microsoft Word like you wouldn’t believe.  His Dosage Index of 0.49 and sub-zero Center of Distribution strongly hint at distance capacity.  He won a 6f G3 back in May of ’15 (2yo season, that is) but has been otherwise roughed up in Graded company.  He turns back off a 1600m allowance win, so your guess is as good as mine.  37/1 for lightng99 / Megalopolis

 

BLUE LAGO EM is the other G1 winner in the field – his came at 2 in the Firebird; he ran a close 3^rd in the Golden Shoe and a fast-closing 4^th in the Breeders Bowl Juvy turf.  Since then he’s taken on lesser pots, and if you excuse the trouncing in the Japanese Derby, run at twice today’s distance, he might be most logical horse in the race.  11/1 for cothill / Minnesota Testbarn

 

MISTER NICE GUY is the name of the protagonists’ marijuana enterprise in the classic film Half Baked, as well as the name of the morning line favorite in this race.  The Chosir x Oasis Dream colt dominated the listed sprints but failed in his Graded debut at a mile.  He’s another of the multitude of early/tactical speed types shortening up from their preferred distance, so the 6/1 price is a bit of an underlay.  He’s a serious contender but no mortal lock for bbaffert / All-Stars Racing

 

A.P. RAVE is not unlike the speed version of CREATES RESPECT and BLUE LAGO EM in that he had early success in 2yo sprints, tried longer without quite the same result (although he did win an 8f listed!), and now returns to his sprinting roots.  A 101 SP hot race last month at today’s distance signals his readiness and aptitude.  Post 19 is not ideal but he can get there at 13/1 for magoo / Blazing Saddles

 

FLAT COUNTY comes from humble roots – a 10 point sire and Flatter mare whose six foals have no blacktype (yet?)  He’s been good enough to work through allowance conditions and unlike many others, may actually improve on the turnback to 6 furlongs.  His figures are low-ish but the distance and style of the race suits him perfectly – could get a surprise check at 19/1 for roys / NWRC

 

 

Last Take!

 

Take a look at the sires of the horses in this field… there are more than a few bargains and middle-of-the-pack types.  This should be a primer to those looking to find value in the breeding shed – not necessarily for WHICH sires to use, but for what types of horses to aim for.  A nice turf sprinter, especially at 2 and 3?  Lots of genetic options for that outcome.

 

Enjoy the race. Peace out!