Ten In For Ecliptic Stakes
The fifteenth race on the card for this weekend in Dubai will be the Grade III Ecliptic Stakes over a mile and one sixteenth on the dirt. The race, open to all horses of four years old and up, has drawn in a field of ten horses. The weather has been perfect here for the first part of the week and is expected to carry out throughout race day.
Drawing the rail is Credit Granted (Forest Wildcat x Sadler’s Wells x Machiavellian), who is out of the graded race-winning dam Credit Busting. The four year old bay colt is owned and trained by brentuk and has been lightly raced with a total of seventeen lifetime starts, five of which have resulted in wins. The colts most recent start came in the Grade II Statewide Pinhead Guild Stakes where he was held way off the pace in eleventh and sent up to challenge horses in the stretch, crossing the wire in fifth. His most recent victory came in Sweden during the ungraded Sir Manta Memorial where he again was held well off the pace in eleventh and sent after horses in the stretch, going on this time, however, to win by four lengths.
In at odds of 5/1 is Sadler’s Gone West (Sadler’s Wells x Gone West x Seattle Slew), who is trained and owned by lostcode. The five year old homebred colt has had a total of thirty-five lifetime starts including eleven wins. His most recent start came in an allowance caliber race in Norway where he was held far off the pace back in twelfth and sent forward mid-way through the stretch, crossing under the wire in sixth. His most recent win came in late March during an allowance caliber race in Longchamp where he was held closer to the pace in seventh and made his move on the front-runners early on in the race, earning him the victory by three and one-half lengths. The colts last start with graded company came in July of last year during an off-track in the Grade II Prims Memorial where he finished eleventh.
In the third post is Berryhill Place (Polish Navy x Two Punch x El Prado (IRE)), who is trained by tobe. The six year old light gray horse has had a total of forty-nine lifetime starts including twelve wins. His most recent start came under previous owner opus at a claiming race in Delaware in which he was held off the pace in seventh and moved up on the other horses gradually, going on to win by one and three-fourth lengths and setting a speed figure of one hundred six. The horses most recent graded start came in September of 2003 during the Grade II Darling Squash Futurity as a two year old where the colt finished seventh, well beaten by fourteen and one-half lengths.
Next is Salutations (Fusaichi Pegasus x Seattle Slew x Forli), out of the dam Post Script. The four year old chestnut is owned by bookworm and has had a total of twenty-three career starts, including five ins, on both the turf and dirt. The colts most recent start came in South Carolina on a sloppy track during the ungraded Wax Tom Handicap where the lingered behind the front runners in fifth and began to move up in the stretch, going on to win the race by two and one-fourth lengths with a speed figure of one hundred six in the slop. His previous race, an allowance caliber start in New Jersey, also resulted in a win. The colts most recent start with graded company came in October of last year during the Grade II Mountainous Derby where he finished eighth.
Following will be Tete Volante (St. Jovite x Testa Rossa (AUS) x Sir Tristrasm (IRE)), who is trained by kartago/ The four year old bay colt has had a total of twenty-four starts with wins on both the turf and dirt. His most recent start came in Ireland during the Grade II Saint Pats Legacy where he was held back mid-field for the majority of the race and was sent forward in the stretch, going on to cross the wire third, three lengths off the pace. His most recent win came in September of last year during an allowance caliber race in Norway where he won by two lengths.
Longshot Rook (Seeking The Gold x Easy Goer x Dr. Fager), owned and trained by nikolai is next in the post. The nine year old bay horse has had a total of forty-one lifetime starts including seven wins, all on the dirt. The horses most recent start came in the Grade I All Comers Stakes, his only start on the turf, where he finished tenth, seventeen lengths back with a speed figure of eighty-two. His most recent win came in January of this year during an allowance caliber race in Spain where he was held off the pace in fourth and went on to win the five and a half furlong sprint by one length with a speed figure of ninety-five.
San Pellegrino (War Chant x Pleasant Colony x Caerleon), who is trained and owned by super12. The four year old homebred has had a total of twenty-three career starts including three wins. The colts most recent start came in the Grade II Bertando Handicap in Hong Kong where he was held back in eighth and urged forward toward the end of the stretch where he went on to finish five and one-half lengths back in fourth. The bay colts most recent win came in June of last year during an allowance caliber race in Kentucky where he went on to narrowly win by a nose.
7/2 shot Skeleton Keymaker (Kingmambo x Secretariat x Northern Dancer), who is owned by sxoobzilla has had a total of sixteen lifetime starts, including seven wins., all on the dirt. The bay colts most recent start came during the ungraded Shimko’s Noodles Handicap over eight and a half furlongs in which he was held in second, trailing by a head off the leader. He went on to take the lead in the stretch but was caught at the wire and finished second, one and a half lengths off the pace. His most recent win came just the previous start during the ungraded Judge’s Judges Stakes in Mexico where the colt went wire to wire and won the race by a nose.
Stalmanu2 trained Big Blue Cat (Forest Wildcat x Cape Town x Rahy) is next. tHe four year old homebred chestnut is out of the stakes winning dam Orthanc and has had a total of twenty-two lifetime starts including six wins, with wins both on the dirt and turf. The colts most recent start came in April in South Korea during the ungraded Pan Mike Memorial where he was held off the pace in fourth, faded to fifth, and then moved back up into fourth, finishing fourth at the wire, back by seven lengths. His most recent start came in an allowance caliber race on the turf in January where he was held further off the pace in ninth and went on to win the race by one-fourth of a length.
Breaking from the far outside will be Fight For Freedom (Forestry x Mr. Prospector x Dixieland Band), who is out of the race-winning dam Jed’s Lands. The five year old bay horse is owned by hills and has had a total of twenty-eight career starts, including eight wins, all of which came on the dirt. The homebreds most recent start came in an allowance caliber race in Japan over eight and a half furlongs in which the horse impressively went wire to wire winning the race by two lengths and setting a speed figure of one hundred four.