King Sim Star, Western Romp Ted co-faves in Barbara Walters(G3)
Vermont– All eyes may be on Kentucky this week, but here at Vermont we got the li’l guy sophomores preparing to “catch up” to their more precocious counterparts. The Grade 3 $150,000 Barbara Walters Special hosts a full field of 3yo colts going an even-steven mile over our main track. The field is an interesting mix of wannabe Derby Trail contenders, snappy allowance types, and sprinters trying to stretch out. Let’s run ’em down and see if we can find a winner…………………
1 95898 SWORD BREAKER(KY) topicount4 G Baum 12/1 Topicount Stables
Seeking The Gold son finished up his freshman campaign promisingly. The colt exhausted his conditions with stakes victories over 7f and 8.5f (the latter was a Grade 3 too!). Sword Breaker however has suffered a bit as a 3yo. He was nowheresville in the Giants Slayer(G3) (a traditionally quick season-opener for sophomores) and positively melted when trying to stretch out to 9.5f in the I’m Trying(G2).
Sword Breaker is far from chopped liver though. The royal bred finished a compeititve 5th when returned to one-turn LTO. He boasts a 4-for-7 record in sprints. Hmmm… Saturday is his 4th route try but 1st at a flat mile. Don’t count this longshot out. Sometimes and extra sixteenth here and there makes all the difference between winner and also ran. Possible, but something to prove.
2 95389 KASHMIR HEX(IRE) confessor N Frank 15/1 Given Stables
Sadler’s Wells boy just wants the main track according to Awesome Again x Gone West female family. He comes in here after two straight beatings in Derby Trail grades. Prior to that, he was progressing nicely at the listed level over 8.5f, picking up a stakes win and a couple placings.
Fits in well with this group. Savvy trainer knows how to place ’em. ‘Hex needs to up his speed figures to high 90s for the winners circle this week, but, otherwise, he might be in for some minor money. Additionally, off pace running style suits this speed-laden group. Probably not all the marbles just yet, but close to it.
3 132362 FORTY DAY FAST(JPN) theprofit5 Te Maguire 13/1 Coomer3 Stables
Forty niner royal bred makes just his 6th career start. Speedster won likety-split enough through the NW2L and finished a decent 3rd after menacing on the lead in his stakes debut LTO. Like to see him win at that level first. It is after all May and thus he’s got some catching up to do speed figure wise.
Outsider not without a shot if he can grow up in a hurry. Also bred ambiguously for turf and classic stamina.
4 116413 BERMUDA(KY) super7 K Youngblood 9/1 Super Stables Bigger Than Big Oil
Special Bid(G3) winner Bermuda stretches out from one-turn. The Speightstown son closes classily from off pace in sprints and the Supers probably wanted to try the mile one more time after the colt finished a brave 2nd around seven panels. Bermuda rallied in that race and appeared to want more ground. The colt didn’t want any last year though — he went 0-for-2 in routes, completely destroyed both times at the graded level.
Talneted youngster on three weeks rest. Needs to pass the route litmus test. Will get speed up front to his preference. I think he can get the mile, but we’ll see what happens.
5 92457 BOOGIE WOOGIE B(KY) thunderg99 N Stelle 7/1 Boogie Woogies Stables
Victory Gallop modest bred joins the pace fray. He doesn’t present a very impressive route record though, only winning 3 of 8 lifetime route attempts. The colt did hang on for a nice 3rd though over 8.5f in the Gary Asher Memorial(G3) recently. Still, he ran awesome around 7.5f LTO with a 100+ stakes score. A race like that sure screams sprinter through and through compared to his route speed figures.
Lots of speed in this group and I really don’t like him in this spot. Merits respect though with the big number LTO. Possible on 3 weeks rest. something to prove though and would prefer him around one-turn at this point.
6 38845 EXCLUSIVE CHARM(JPN) fairhaven3 F Shaw 18/1 Fairhaven3 Stables
Woo! A nice little Silver Charm fella with a stamina-laden female family. Exclusive Charm won his NW3L over a flat mile with a good number LTO. He’s lightly raced, making only his 7th lifetime outing Saturday. So, not a lot of experience yet and was well beaten in his lone stakes start earlier this season.
Good sopeed figure prrogression sees him fit on 3 weeks rest. Odds indicate though that he’s still a cut below the horses in this group and needs to tackle the listed stakes level first. Also, will find trouble in the pace hunt — loads of speed in this field and that might compromise his chances this week.
7 100823 CK RIDGEMONT HIGH(KY) ckstable2 C Wolff 9/1 Team CK
Lots of options ahead for this talented Aptitude colt. He began his career flashingly over a mile. Unfortunately, it looks like his trainer caught a bad case of Bluegrass Derby fever — the colt was placed too high, too fast, coughing it up in Derby trail grades.
The colt found himself over the lawn in ALW company LTO. He won handily with a fine number — had to cheer up his trainer immensely! One to watch. However, he’s still trying to find his best groove — I just don’t agree with trying to find that grooviness in the grades itself due to wear and tear factors. Waste of what could probably be built into a special horse. One to watch anyways since he’s proven over a mile.
8 92879 XMAS PAST(KY) pbcash G Blackmore 11/1 Pbcash Stables
Blueblood by Ghostzapper is yet another speed horse. Proven over a mile at the ALW level and won a stakes at the distance LTO too. Agree with the entry here since he has several victories under his belt. Now it’s time to see if he’s graded material. His speed figures kind of concern me though — his top number is 94 so far.
This will be a tough test with all the competition for the pace. We’ll see if he lives up to his pedigree or needs to be slowly nudged along in the lesser ranks some more.
9 125964 CHESTY BOND(KY) bmr003 F Neely 23/1 Bmr005 Stables
Refreshing to see a Harlan’s Holiday! This lil guy doesn’t hold much on paper compared to the rest of the field, but he makes up for it with lots o’ heart. Chesty bond broke through the 90 SP# barrier over 9f two back. The closer will enjoy the speed scramble up front — ya never know, he might grab a minor share if not outrun early on. Brings plenty of stakes experience to the table compared to some of the lighter raced entrants and that might prove to be a big difference.
Has his work cut out for him and doesn’t look like a winner’s circle colt. But we’ll see what happens — he’s not that bad of a longshot!
10 117809 KING SIM STAR(KY) warchant B Langhorne 6/1 Perko Stables
King Sim Star is bred to run all day with Kingmambo x Sadler’s Wells x Mill Reef pedigree. The colt’s pretty much split his 13 starts though between sprints and short routes. His speed figures notably have risen higher with two-turns consistency.
The colt parlayed a listed level stakes score three back into decent graded follow-ups. King Sim Star ran well for a solid 5th in the Felipe Alou(G2), before picking up the beat for an even better 3rd place finish in the faster Heat Less(G2). Both races were over 8.5 furlongs and he scored 95 and 101 SP#s respectively. You gotta love that progression, combining class level and speed figures. Ths guy’s getting better and better. Would like to see him stretch out firther sooner rather later and try turf route too. Has the form to be a factor. Watch him from behind the frontrunners.
11 132333 SCHOENBERG(KY) oaklawn88 L Secret 10/1 Hornedfrog Stables
Glad somebody has a halfway decent Pleasantly Perfect. All of mine have turned out to be squishy-iffy at best. Schoenberg’s advanced nicely into two-turns, winning 3 of 4 attempts over a flat mile. His lone route loss came when his trainer rolled the dice, entering him into the Florida Derby(G1). The hunky colt went off as a considerable outsider and ran like one too, finishing well up the track.
In hindsight, you can see that Schoenberg’s speed figures just weren’t ready yet for the big dances. He had barely cracked 90+, so I’d wager that it was the class leap that did him in. He’s got plenty of stamina in his female family, so trainer Hornedfrog shouldn’t mark him off as a mere miler just yet. A very nice follow-up ALW score LTO indicates this guy’s talent. He’ll get better with starts. I’d like for a possible board or minor money finish this week from behind the pace. I like this colt, but must fire on two weeks rest.
12 41339 WESTERN ROMP TED(KY) apacolypse I Fain 6/1 Tsyndicate Stables
Ah Ha! Ted duplicated the combo of his most famous runner, champion Hall of Famer Western Groom with this Gone West x Blushing Groom x Creme dela Creme colt. The ‘Romper displays some snappy talent as well, surprising the Sleepy Fan(G2) two back over a 1 1/16 miles. That was a whipper of a victory — ‘Romper ran an out-of-the-blue 102 SP#. He had been competitve in the listed ranks prior to the score, but hadn’t yet shown superior speed figures.
Punters might’ve pointed to the off track-only in the Sleepy Fan, but ‘Romper proved them wrong in his next outing. The speedster zipped out to a swelll early lead in the Federico(G2) over 9f and just missed the photo finish. This colt’s really rounded into form — great spot, but lousy jockey. Only two weeks rest too, but that was the same “wheelback” after the Sleepy Fan. Must be respected.
13 111172 VALID MISSILE(KY) chloedawg S Gravina 9/1 Right At Home Stables
Golden Missile is one of my favorite sires because he’s just such a “value” for the BP or credits price. You probably won’t get a superior runner, but you’ll usually get a MSW winner. Valid Missile so far has followed that mold and thensome. The speedball colt took his merry old time to break his maiden last season, but has really turned it up a notch since maturing at age 3. He’s thrown five straight 90+ SP#s, including a stakes score as well as a 3rd place finish in the Wooden Indian(G1).
Tough little bugger who needs to relax a bit behind the lead if possible. He’s bred for these short routes and gets a month’s rest in this spot. I’d look for him to run pretty snappy. Don’t know where he’ll be on the board at the end, but should run a bang up race. Sleeper.
14 112764 EIGHT TRACK MIND(KY) buckpasser E Stinson 8/1 Bucksplash Stables
Borrego is a hot freshman sire right now in the game. Bucksplash has kept this colt pretty much according to pedigree in routes. The speedster pocketed a miler listed level event with a eye-candy 100 SP#. He then ran a huge one in the All Saints Derby(G1), missing Derby Lock status by a heartbreaking 1 1/4 lengths.
Eight Track Mind seemed to be a possible Derby contender. Unfortunately, the colt faded badly in the California Derby(G1). Difficult to tell whther he was just tired and due for a clinker. Or that he didn’t like the sloppy ttack (but still ran a decent 93 SP# in the race). Regardless, the effort bumped him out of the Bluegrass picture. Very strong contender in this spot on a month’s rest. He’ll face some pace compeitition though, but he’s proven to be a rabble-rouser. Post position stinks with plenty of inside speed. Still, wouldn’t be suprised to see him in the winner’s circle if he’s sharp.
Snowchief’s Picks
Tough race to handicap. Loads of speed in this group may spoil lots of the faves’ plans too. I think Western Romp Ted is the one to beat and probably should win if he relaxes behind the lead. King Sim Star also follows that game plan, but actually looks better since he’ll be coming from farther off the pace.
Should be a duel to the wire between those too with CK Ridgemont High duking it out as well. I’ll take Schoenberg and Sword Breaker for the remaining money spots.
Win: King Sim Star
Place: Western Romp Ted
Show: CK Ridemonet High or Schoenberg
Good luck to all and Happy Derby Day!!!!