The Dell Computer Futurity (Grade I)

Dell Computer Futurity (Grade I)

2 Year Old | Dirt | 7 Furlongs | $750,000

It’s been a tremendous meet where the sim meets the surf, and this Sunday’s Dell Computer Futurity serves a dual purpose: closing out the summer meet at a storied track with an eye towards the future. The Dell Computer Futurity showcases the finest two year olds whose hopes are to one day win the Bluegrass Derby, Middle Jewel Stakes, The New Yorker, or perhaps all three. Let’s take a look at who we may be watching come May and June of next year.

DARK AIN’T EMM (13/1)

DARK AIN’T EMM has performed well in his first four races, hitting the board every trip. DARK AIN’T EMM’s last trip out can tell us a lot about what to expect from this horse in the Futurity. The lightng118 trainee by THE FACTOR drew the first pole position in the Midsoil Stakes was forced to create his own route on the rail late down the backstretch and just couldn’t get it done. This horse has plenty of talent, has progressed nicely, and his running style once again will require a perfect trip, but the added furlong will help this colt close on the leader and pull away.

INSIDE PITCH (14/1)

Sired by STREET SENSE, INSIDE PITCH broke his maiden just last month, but made serious gains in his second race. Gallantbloom drops his mount that took him to the winner’s circle  in lieu of AJ Parker, a 27 year old jockey with 8 years experience who has quickly risen to the top 170 jockeys all-time by in-the-money percentage.

CONGRATS CHARLIE (26/1)

No one has said “congrats” to CONGRATS CHARLIE since early June when this 6ward04 colt broke his maiden in Wyoming. Since then, CONGRATS CHARLIE was an also ran in a NW2L allowance in Oregon. This horse may be out classed this go out, but this is certainly a horse that could mature nicely early in his 3 year old season.

IVA BIGGUN (13/1)

As with most 2 year olds, IVA BIGGUN is a huge mystery. He broke his maiden at the end of July, and did so in exciting fashion- with one furlong left, he tracked down the leader from a length back and finished a length ahead with a speed rating of 77. That was on July 30th, and his connections (nitroo) have been resting him since. I think the horse will like the two extra furlongs, and is certainly an attractive wager with the odds he is currently getting.

A LITTLE BIT CHILE (11/1)

A LITTLE BIT CHILE is a French-bred by the blakentra connections with some pretty sharp looking turf pedigree; his sire, LE HAVRE (IRE), has seen 94% of his 2016 2 year olds go on to be turf runners. Nonetheless, A LITTLE BIT CHILE broke his maiden on dirt in an $11,200 maiden special weight and followed that up with a win in a NW1X on August 19th. Unfortunately, I think the combination of two weeks rest and an extra 1.5 furlongs are going to be too much for this impressive looking colt.

WAAJIYEV (5/1)

Palmareal has challenged this horse in his first seven starts, and while I would have liked to see some more rest with this promising 2 year old, palmareal has seen progressive improvement with each trip out. WAAJIYEV ran in Pea Patch Juvenile-an 8 furlong, Grade III stakes at Charles Town-on August 9th, where he missed the winner’s circle by a quarter length. He ran an impressive 92 speed figure in that race, and with another command performance this horse will be favorite in the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile.

THE AWAY TEAM (7/1)

Despite winning on turf and synthetic, THE AWAY TEAM (FRANKEL (GB) x SEEKING THE GOLD x NORTHERN DANCER) finally found his form on the dirt in June. From there, he went on to win the Midsoil Stakes in Spain, and shipped to California thereafter. The dixiedotco colt likes to go wire-to-wire, but will need an extra kick with the added furlong. It is more common that Americans see big Euro horses shipped stateside to run in our major turf races, but there is a ton of buzz in southern California with the British-bred sprinter coming to Del Mar to compete for the Futurity.

MEYERED (9/1)

MEYERED suffered a minor setback in the Equinics (Grade I for 2 year olds), finishing 5th place to some special 2 year old colts. As much as there can be trends in a 2 year olds past performances, MEYERED seems to stagnate two races in a row and then makes a big jump in his performance. I think this horse will deal well with the added distance and could challenge WAAJIYEV.

DARK CITY CASTLE (21/1)

The first of deeprock78‘s two entries, DARK CITY CASTLE has raced five times since the beginning of the year with one win and two place finishes. The horse’s last trip out saw an extra half furlong than he had been racing, and the colt saw a big bump in performance at that distance in a NW3L. It remains to be seen how this horse will deal with stakes level competition or the fanfare associated with a big race like this, but he’s definitely been calm with his stablemate DARK RACE DAY training for this race as well.

DARK RACE DAY (27/1)

DARK RACE DAY is hoping for a little brighter race day than his name would predict, but with a mixed record at the allowance level, I’m not sure that this horse has what it takes to challenge the class of runners that have entered this race. It did take a while for DARK RACE DAY’s dam to find her form, and there is some silver lining in the face that this colt broke his maiden much sooner, so we still have the opportunity to be surprised this weekend.

UNCLE INDY (5/1)

Full disclosure: I am not an UNCLE MO fan, so it’s going to be very difficult for me to fairly evaluate this very fine colt. UNCLE INDY has put in tremendous performances in the Swift Hollandia Dirt Juvenile, Vermont BB Juvenile (Grade II), and the Equinics (Grade I) 2 year old race, but the biggest UNCLE MO colts have a history of under performing in big races (or maybe just the races I bet them?). Anyway, this horse is probably going to do great on Sunday, but at 5/1, this horse is likely going to get bet down, meaning it’s not going to be a value play.

SIPPIN AGAIN (6/1)

SIPPIN AGAIN has shown tremendous resolve to find the winner’s circle; in four races, SIPPIN AGAIN’s connections (mtkhoflegacy) had their picture taken post race three times, including the Grade II High Roller’s Juvenile. SIPPIN AGAIN is a pure stalker, and got the trip she wanted in his three wins. In his Equinics race, SIPPIN AGAIN got caught up in the traffic of a 20-horse field and wasn’t able to navigate from the rail to just off pace in order to run the route needed. It is unlikely that this will happen again during the Futurity.

SUMMERDINI (8/1)

This colt is a puzzle for me. SUMMERDINI ran wire-to-wire in his last race, an 8 furlong, NW2L allowance, but has previously attempted to run as a closer. SUMMERDINI (BERNARDINI x  SUMMER SQUALL x FORTY NINER) lost those two races trying to close and jonesstables2 looks to have changed the horse’s running style into a successful early speed runner. The 7 furlongs should suit this colt very well, but he’s never attempted to wire a field this big from an outside post, which is why I think he’s getting 8/1 odds for Sunday.

PATH OF VENGEANCE (10/1)

In his first year at stud, AMERICAN PHAROAH has already produced some quality 2 year olds, and PATH OF VENGEANCE is no different. It took a few races for this colt to break his maiden, but he is hitting stride as this class heads towards the Derby prep season. Does that mean this horse is going to compete for the Futurity this weekend? It certainly could; this horse broke his maiden from the outside, albeit not this far wide. And it was his sire that burst on to the scene in this exact race in 2014. Do those things matter? We will find out.

CapeCod Picks:

6 – WAAJIYEV

7 – THE AWAY TEAM

12 – SIPPIN AGAIN