DUR Showcase Stakes 2yos

DUR Showcase Stakes for 2yo’s.

            One of the Sim’s largest residencies will be displaying their 2yo talent this week in Hong Kong.  The trainers will be keen to grab bragging rites and some early season stakes points that may prove crucial in gaining a start in the bigger races later in the year.  The distance is 6 panels on the dirt track and they will be vying for a share of the $75 000 on offer, lets have a closer look at the combatants.

SISSON’S ZAPPER(KY) will jump from the inside gate for v8mullet who is a member of the Binzaman stables.  He is extremely well bred being by superstar Ghostzapper out of v8mullet’s good mare Goat Farmer, herself a 5 times stakes winner and graded placed mare.  Whilst Goat Farmer was adept at either surface she excelled on the turf and I would not be surprised if Sisson’s Zapper is tested on the grass later in the year to see if some of Mum’s ability wore off.  Saturday will be his second raceday appearance after going down narrowly on debut in a small 4 horse field in Wisconsin.  He ran reasonable time on debut and showed plenty of pace to lead, but this is a much harder assignment and he will have to derive plenty of improvement from that first run to break his maiden here.  One of Hong Kong’s best will be in the saddle in H Harbert.  He is having another strong year winning at 14% with 15 winners for the year.

From the 2 gate we have CASSIE ROX(KY) for stinglikab, a member of the Teejay Racing stables and a supporter of the mountain men from Penrith.  Cassie Rox is on debut this weekend and she will hopefully show a bit more fight than the Panthers.  She is the second horse out of the mare Veloce who showed little on the track but has produced a stakes winner already in Thunderburg and is by Came Home who has had a bit of a slow start to 2007 after performing very well last year.  It is going to be a huge ask for a filly to come out and win on debut at stakes level and C Baxter is the jockey tasked with giving her an easy run.  He is riding well this year, already winning 7 races at the respectable average of 13%.

Pigeon1’s horse PUTNEY WOODMAN(KY) is next in the line.  She is by that grand old sire Woodman and is the first foal of Golden Racer, who was only able to greet the judge first on 1 occasion in an inauspicious career.  She made her debut 6 weeks ago in Vermont and was able to win first up in a 6 horse field, leading from start to finish.  That form has already stacked up well with the second placed horse Witch Hunter going on to break her maiden at her third attempt after another second place finish.  It is not unusual for good fillies to be able to match it with the boys early in the 2yo season and this mare looks to have the class to be a threat this weekend.  M Bower will be in the stirrups on Saturday and he has been solid this year with limited opportunities, riding 6 winners at 10%.

From barrier 4 we have SUCK MY KISS(NZ) for bcummings, a member of the Billy2Shoe stables.  He is a scratched bred colt by relatively unknown Kiwi sire Spectatorial out of a Private Key mare.  He nearly sprung a huge upset on debut fighting on down the stretch to go under by a length at the big odds of $45.  He is again going to start at big odds with 39/1 already available.  1 of 2 things can happen with these early 2yo’s that perform well first up but are perhaps not all that royally bred.  Firstly, and most commonly, they never reach those heights again and frustrate their trainer for 12 months before they finally give up and put them in the auction or sometimes they just happen to be that diamond in the rough.  For Billy’s sake I hope it is the second outcome.  Q Dumas will be the jockey and he will be looking to turn things around after only 3 winners for the year from 46 rides.

STUCK IN THE TAB(KY) will start from barrier 5 for airbiscuit, a member of the Bmr005 stables.  He is the first foal of Intidab Lass, who was an F grade mare with career earnings of around $125 000, by first year sire Bandini who is a son of Fusaichi Pegasus.  He is having his 3^rd start this weekend.  After an indifferent debut on the grass airbiscuit sent Stuck In The Tab to New York for a 6fl maiden on the dirt.  In a very strong full field Stuck In The Tab sat right on the heels of the leader before exploding down the stretch to take victory in the slick time of 1:12.  To add merit to his win both horses that filled the placings in New York have gone on to break their maidens at their next raceday appearance.  At 13/1 I think this guy is a great each/way bet on Saturday and helping his cause will be P Kelly, Hong Kong’s second top jockey.  He has booted home 49 winners already this year and is in the placings 50% of the time.

Starting from post 6 for wabred is DEGOLD SILENCE(KY), a first starter by Dehere out of the Seeking The Gold mare Malt Jesse.  Malt Jesse was unable to win a race during her career but she has proven her worth in the breeding barn, producing the stakes winning, graded placed colt Deputy Goldseeker who is by Silver Deputy.  Snappa racing will be hoping Dehere continues on from a great 2006 where he was able to sire the winner of the Breeders Bowl Juvy in Degoldenstorm, who was interestingly enough also out of a Seeking The Gold mare.  It is hard to know what to expect from this bloke on Saturday but he must have showed something in early season trials as the bookies have kept him tight in the market at 5/1.  Experienced jock V Ching will be riding and he has had a great start to the year winning 8 races from 55 attempts at an average of 14.5%.

Bcummings second entry in a two prong attack JONES(KY) will jump from barrier 7.  He looks like another Billy2Shoe bargain bred and is by Zavata out of a Mujadil mare.  This will be his second race start after debuting 3^rd in a small field on a wet track in Iowa.  His time wasn’t all that slick on debut but there could be plenty of improvement in him now he is on a dry track.  At 57/1 he may be one to keep in mind for multiples.  S Wooley has the ride and will be looking to add to his 4 winners for the year.

 RAIL ARC(URU) for gtrain will jump from barrier 8.  A member of the Kingdamo stables she is a scratch bred filly by Ride The Rails out of a Baptism mare that is making her debut this weekend.  I must admit I know little about this filly’s sire but I can tell you in the sim he is yet to produce a stakes winner from 38 runners in 4 crops.  As I mentioned earlier sometimes these bargain bred horses can come out and run big times on debut but we will have to wait until Saturday to see what gtrain has on his hands.  Experienced jockey Pe Williams will ride Rail Arc and he is going great guns this year with 8 winners at 14.5%.

From the walshy stable comes SPIRALIZE(KY) who will jump from the 9 hole.  He is part of Pedro’s Racing Empire and will be making his 3^rd raceday appearance this weekend.  Spiralize is the 5^th horse to race out of the F grade broodmare Mama Lea, who produced a stakes winner by Viscount in 2004, and is by A.P Indy stallion Pulpit.  After debuting on turf he was switched to the dirt in Italy and immediately displayed his liking for the surface by winning his maiden in a slick 1:12 for the 6 furlongs.  He will probably sit around midfield in Saturday’s race and with plenty of pace on should get his chance to make a move at the top of the stretch.  12/1 is available at the moment and that is great odds for a last start winner.  Increasing his chances is the jockey selection of C Shinkle who currently sits 3^rd on the jockey premiership ladder with 23 wins under his belt for the year.

MEGS THE CAT(KY) for zzz2912 will start from barrier 10.  In what could cause a bit of controversy this weekend zzz2912 is part of Magoo Lodge but is in fact a member of the EAAA residency.  Stewards are currently investigating and several trainers and jockeys have been asked to give evidence at a hastily convened hearing.  The controversy aside Megs The Cat is a smart looking colt by Hennessy out of the Ferdinand mare Return Seattle.  Return Seattle only won 2 races during a brief 19 race career but 1 of those victories was at stakes level.  In the breeding barn she has been a solid producer with her best son Reunion Slew winning the Gr III Television stakes as an early 2yo.  Megs The Cat also looks like a precocious 2yo and showed plenty of speed on debut in leading all the way for victory.  Hong Kong’s top jockey T “The Enforcer” Brewer has taken the ride and Megs couldn’t be in safer hands.  He is having another outstanding year with 65 winners at 20%.

From barrier 11 we have NEVER READY(KY) for mcsheen who is a member of the Vansheen stables.  He is a lovely looking scratch bred colt by More Than Ready out of a Caerleon mare and will be having his second start this weekend.  He raced on the pace on debut in Kentucky but weakened a bit down the stretch to finish 6^th, recording a respectable Sp of 62.  I think this guys future may lie on the turf but he did show some ability on the dirt first up and if he can gain some improvement out of that run it might be enough to put him in the money on Saturday.  D Aldridge will be in the saddle and he is currently 4^th on the premiership table with 18 winners for the year.

Pre-post favourite IVOREVIC(IRE) for sam will start from gate 12 and will carry the famous colours of Theatrical in Saturday’s race.  The stable has 188 wins to date and is just 1 of 8 stables that Theatrical has pushed passed the 100 win barrier (3 of them are well over 200 wins).  He is by freshman sire Ivan Denisovich, who is another of Danehill’s great sons, out of the Nureyev mare Norevic, herself a Gr I winner for the cashedup stable.  With that breeding and Mum’s racetrack performances you would think this guy would be running around on the lush turf course in Hong Kong but Theatrical decided to debut him on the dirt in Illinois over 5.5fl and proving his trainer’s hunch correct he easily accounted for the 10 horse field in the good time of 1:05 2/5ths.  After not being able to secure the services of T Brewer Theatrical has called upon in form jockey M Goldsbury who is having a career best year with 14 winners at 18%.

PRIDWEN(KY) for ceclaim14 will start from the extreme outside barrier 13.  Carrying the Royal Belgian Kempen Farm colours this son of Tale of the Cat will be having his 3rd race start and is yet to break his maiden status.  He went very close on debut in a strong field over 6fl falling 1 and a ½ lengths short in picking up 2^nd place prizemoney.  Last time out he struggled in the wet at Ostend and failed to let go in the stretch coming home hard held in 11^th place.  Look for a marked improvement in this guy on Saturday, however his biggest problem will be getting across somewhere near the rail in this big field with so many other horses pushing forward early.  E Lang has the job of getting him across and saving some fuel for the stretch.  He is going ok this year with 8 wins from 64 rides.

SPEED CHART

As with all early 2yo races it is a bit of a lottery to pick a winner in this race.  For what its worth I think Spiralize and Stuck in the Tab are great value at 12/1 and 13/1.  Megs The Cat also has to be respected with the top jock onboard and the family is well known for throwing early 2yo types.  The other top hope to throw in is Ivorevic, you have to be wary of any runner that has Theatrical’s colours on their back.

Good luck to all connections and I hope you plenty of fun with your 2yo’s.