Bertrando Handicap Promises to be Exciting Race
The highlight race this week here in Hong Kong is the Grade II running of the Bertrando Handicap, a race held over a mile and one eighth on the dirt. The race, which is oepn to four year old horses and up will be the fifteenth race on the race card for this Saturday. A total of $250,000 prize pruse is up for grabs. The weather here has been cool and free of rain, so expect the track to be listed as dirt for the running of Saturday’s race. Despite the good weather conditions here in Hong Kong the race has drawn a smaller field of nine horses, providing what promises to be a close, action-packed race for these impressive horses.
Drawing the rail will be Onemorefortheroad (Broad Brush x Riase A Native x Forli) and is owned and trained by hornfrog3. This royalaly-bred five year old horse has had a total of twenty-nine lifetime starts, seven of these starts resulting in wins for the homebred. The horses most recent start came a few weeks ago in Dubai during the Grade III Sand Castle Godolfin Mile where he uncharacteristaclly held towardds the back a the pack, at one point dropping to last, but recovering to finish back in thirteenth, fifteen lenghts behind the winner. The horses most recent win came in late October of last year during the ungraded Slew The Music Bonanza where the horse was held back in ningth and began to pick off slower moving horses right out of the gate, to win by two and one-fourth lengths with a speed figure of one hundred eight.
In the second slot will be Formulated Risk (GB) (Beat Hollow (GB) x Bahri x Nureyev) and out of the stakes-running dam Carolina Roll, is next in the field. This five year old bay horse is trained and owned by karen and has been lightly raced with a total of twenty-seven lifetime starts including nine wins and career earnings just over the half a million dollar mark. The horses most recent start came overseas in Arkansas during the nine furlong, Grade I Oaktree Handicap where he was held towards the back of the pack in tenth and didn’t make a move on the rest of the field until the stretch and finishesd a closing seventh, seven and a half lengths back. The colts most recent win came just a few weeks before in the Grade III Saints Handicap, where the horse was again held back towards the back of the pack, this time challenging the field earlier in the race and winning by a half a length and posting a speed figure of one hundred and nine in 1:47.
Next will be San Pellegrino (War Chant x Pleasant Colony x Caerleon) and is owned by super12. This four year old bay colt has had a total of twenty-two lifetime starts including three wins, eight places and two shows to his credit and career earnings approaching one million dollars. The colts most recent start came in an allowance caliber race overseas in Massachusetts where he was held back just off the pace in fifth and covered ground quickly in the stretch, but claiming second, two and one-fourth lengths back with an impressive speed of one hundred three. The colts most recent victory came in mid June of last year during an allowance caliber race in Kentucky where he sat back in second, wearing down the leader, to take command of the race just before the wire and winning by a nose. The colt has had both ungrded and graded stakes starts in the past, the most recent of which was the ungraded DelPeen Champions Day Classic Restricted in December of last year where the colt finished sixth.
One of our favorites, Grand D’Inverne (IRE) (Galileo (IRE) x Cigar x Grand Lodge (IRE)), trained by umea is next in the field. The six year old bay horse has been lightly raced throughout his racing career with only twenty-six lifetime starts, including nine wins. The horses most recent start came overseas in the state of Vermont during the ungraded Tout Ou Rien Handicap where the horse went impressively wire to wire, at one point having an eight and three-fourths lengths lead on the rest of the field. The horse set a speed figure of one hundred twelve for this start. This Saturday’s race will be the horses’ first attempt at graded stakes company.
Longshot Private Dividend (Shahrastani x Grey Dawn II x First Consul) and is owned and trained by sherman05a. This is the old-timer of the race at elven years old and has had a total of fourty-one lifetime starts, including four wins. The light gray horses most recent start came in Japan during the Grade I Godzilla vs The World Turf Classic where the horse was held back in eighth and dropped dramatically back in the pack as the race progressed, finishing a well-distances eleventh in the field, over twenty-eight lengths back and recording an unimpressive speed figure of fifty-three in 2:00 over the ten furlong turf race. Before the horse was taken into training by sherman05a they gray horse had a career as an upper level claimer. The horses most recent victory came in December of last year during a five furlong allownace caliber race in Norway, where the horse stalked behind just in third and gained the lead before coming into the stretch to win by one and three-fourth lengths on a fast dirt track with a speed figure of eighty-two.
Following will be Call Of The Wild II (War Chant x Nureyev x Valid Appeal) and is trained by gipper8. This six year old homebred horse has hada total of twenty-eight lifetime starts including nine wins and is out of the stakes-running dam Mammoth Jess. The horse most recent start came in Dubai during the ten furlong, Grade I Sand Castle Classic in which the horse was held just off the pae in fourth but began to loose ground and fade before the stretch, finighisng a disappointing twelth, twelve and a half lengths back from the winner. The horses most recent win was just a few weeks before during the ungraded Seattle That Arc Handicap where he was held back in thrid and got up to win by a nose over the rest of the competition and posed a speed figure of one hundred six.
Crazyjoe owned Wonderboy Cougar (IRE) (Barathea (IRE) x Polar Falcon x Nodouble), and out of the stakes-running dam Buttery Fisherman. This six year old brown horse has had a total of fourty lifetime stars and a lucky thirteen wins and ten places. The hores most recnet start came in early March during the fourteen furlong ungraded Prospector Dancing Handcap where the horse was held back in third, moved up into second, but then dropped back into third and finished there, five and three-fourths lengths back. The horses most recent win came in early December of last year during an allowance claiber race overseas in the state of Vermont in which he again was held back in third, this time overtaking the lead by the turn and winning by two and a half lengths and going away, posing a speed figure of one hudnred four.
Our other favorite, So Slew Me (Belong To Me x Seattle Slew x Storm Cat), and out of the stakes-running dam No More Stormes, is next in the fild. This 2006 Bluegrass Derby and Middle Jewel Stakes starter is owned and trained by babyfarms and has a total of twenty-six starts including seven wins. The impressive homebred cols most recent stasrt came in New York during the Grade III Winchester Cap where he sat behind the front runner in second, just three-fourths of a length off the pace, gained the lead, and then lost it at the wire, defeated by a length. The colts most recent win came in late February in Eastern Kentcuky during an allowance caliber race in which he sat a little further off the pace in third, ralled at the stretch and maintained his lead to win by four and a half lengths, posting an impressive speed of one hundred eight.
Drawing the outside post is I Come To Play (IRE) (Catcher In The Rye (IRE) x Be My Guest x Forty Niner) and is out of the dam Nine Ghost. Trained by chilbound2, this five year old chestnut has had a total of thirty-two lifetime starts including sleven wins and career earnings amounting to just over half a million. The horses most recent start came in the ungraded Tout Ou Rein Handicap in Vermont where he was held back in sixth and challenged the front runners in the stretch, finishing third, eight and three-fourth lengths back, posing a speed figure of one hundred two. The horses most recent start came in the ungraded Her Song Challenge where he was held in fifth, taking the lead in the stretch and winning two two and a half lengths over the rest of the field. This horse has also had graded stakes starts, the most recent of which being the Grade I Gleen Handicap, where he finished sixth, three and a half lengths back.