Captain Hook draws competitive field
New York plays host to the G2 Captain Hook this week. The 9f $200k race has drawn some of the game’s top 3yos, including a few who played important roles on the Bluegrass Derby trail such as Gahdamjo, Creepy Mesa, and Be Auror Song. The fastest Captain Hook on record was run by Extortionist in 2004. His final time of 1:47.1 could well be eclipsed this year.
The two outside horses are the 9-2 cofavorites. Gramid, owned by dogman65, will be piloted by top jockey A Rolling. The Canadian-bred son of Peaks and Valleys likes to drop way back and put in a huge move down the stretch. he waited too long in the Derby and settled for eighth by five lengths. The cutback to 9 may not suit him so well, but it could be an excellent prep if the colt moves on to the New Yorker next time out. This is a darn good horse. In January he posted a 105 to win the G3 Silver Fence. He’s also got a G1 win this spring (the Chicago Derby), and stands out as the horse to beat.
Gahdamjo, trained by greenapple, finished just over a length ahead of Gramid in the Bluegrass. ‘Jo is a fast colt, as evidenced by his fantastic California Derby win. In that race, ‘Jo jumped to the lead and never looked back, wiring the field by nearly four lengths with a superb 106SP. Too bad the New York track came up fast, as ‘Jo is one heck of a mud horse. But don’t write him off on a fast track – the Mineshaft colt can run pretty well on it.
Be Auror Song skipped the Bluegrass in favor of some rest time after running second in the G2 Heat Less 6 weeks ago. Auror’s Unbridled’s Song colt will give the front of the field his fill attention, as he loves to be in the clear kicking dirt in his followers’ faces. BAS has four wins from 11 starts, with the most prestigious the G3 Smallville against a very good field. Top SP of 102 makes him very competitive here. 5-1 odds are generous.
Darthblur’s Creepy Mesa finished eleventh in the Bluegrass. That 9+ length loss was uncharacteristic of the colt – so far he’s mostly shown a willingness to add distance, and the ability to run in traffic. He was looking brilliant as a juvenile with three straight wins including a G3, but has not won since November. In the five races since, Creepy Mesa has hit the board three times. His best SP to date was earned in January in a narrow loss to Degoldenstorm in the G3 Giant Slayer. Likely to play a role in the top 5 order, but a win? Doubtful, based on current form. 6-1.
Trifecta enters Trifecta Taxes as one of two at 7-1. The Salt Lake colt has an excellent 12:7-2-1 record for just under a half-million in earnings. He’s three times a stakes winner, but this entry presents a twist – it’s the colt’s first two-turn race. He’s never gone longer than 7f. Sprinting, he likes to be on the lead, but can lead when stalking. Pedigree says the distance shouldn’t be a problem, but Taxes is still a puzzle to many bettors.
C.V. Cat is the second at 7-1. You don’t get much more blue-blooded than the Cat – he’s by Storm Cat out of a Seattle Slew mare. Reclaimed’s colt hasn’t quite live up to his parentage, but he’s acquitted himself well with 4 wins (plus 5 more top 3s) in 12 starts. He’s gone after graded three times, finishing third, fifth, and fifth. The Cat has three stakes wins, all sprinting. His only routing win was at a mile in February. Good colt improving very nicely, but he’s not quite up to Gramid’s consistency.
Moving into double-digit odds, we turn to Change Of Plans at 11-1. The Mass Media colt, owned by flagdown2, isn’t superfast (his top SP is 94) but he looks like he can run all day long. This race may be a prep for the New Yorker, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to flake out in this one. Despite having just two wins in 13 starts, COP tends to hang around for the finish with six placings to his credit. Was third in the Chicago Derby by just over 6 lengths after being shuffled back farther than ever before. With a good break and some luck, he’ll stay closer to the pace and have something left to try to pull off the W.
The rail horse, Blackjack Cat, is 12-1. Racingqueen’s Tactical Cat colt broke his maiden in a mile turf stake in just his second start. After finding no more grass success in two more tries, the colt went back to the dirt for five allowance starts. He finally got win #2 last time out at a mile. The 95SP and 3 1/4 length win must have inspired enough confidence in the colt to get him his first dirt stakes try, and first ever graded attempt. He will have a hard time getting his preferred lead in this crowd.
Pun Intended is on a nice two-race win streak, but you’ve got to expect this Azamour colt to falter as he makes his first stakes attempt. Too bad, because the colt’s a nice one. Shagadel4 has trained him to a solid 9:3-2-2 record, but with a top SP of 94, Pun is still 12 points slower then the best of this field. What will help is his preferred running style. There are so many speed horses in this race that Pun’s preference to close from the middle to back of the pack can only help him. At 14-1, he’s an intriguing horse to include in tris.
Waremblem6’s Feast Of Ravens had an easy time of it in his stakes debut last time out. Facing just three other horses, the Belong To Me colt came from well back to win by 1 1/2 lengths going 8.5f. This will be a considerably tougher race, but the trainer tends to do pretty well with longshots like this 17-1 colt. He’s never gone over 8.5, but looks like 9 will be no problem, and his high SP of 95 is good for a comparatively inexperienced horse as he makes his eighth start. In four routes, the colt has a pair of wins, a place, and a show.
Mr LOL himself enters a Medallist colt, The Shine, for the meguire6th stable. Until his last start, no one would have expected the colt to have any chance here. But his last race, the G2 Chief Snow Handicap, was his first board finish this year; a lifetime high SP of 96; and most importantly, his first start at 9f. Off the strength of that race, the 20-1 odds seem a bit long. He also had a couple of poor turf starts recently that contributed to the long odds.
G1robbo’s Grand Reward colt is the field longshot at 31-1. Ain’t He Grand has just a maiden win to his credit in 12 starts. He’s tried stakes twice, once on firm turf for a second, once on good dirt for a twelfth. Top SP of 94 earned at a mile in a fifth-place finish on dirt. Outclassed here.
Gramid and Gahdamjo are clearly the best of the field, with Gramid the better of the two, in my opinion. But, this is far from a two-horse race. Be Auror Song is no slouch, and one can make a good case for at least eight of these horses to win. Looking for some potential sleeper horses? Check out Pun Intended and Feast of Ravens.