Ten To Try 100 Guineas
Ten To Try 100
Virginia – There could be some surprises Saturday when the 10 horses break from the gate in the $75,000, one mile on the turf, 100 Guineas a $75,000 stake for the elite three year-olds of the modestly bred. Of the horses entered in this bargain bred bonanza – one is ranked in the top 25 of turf sprinters but has never run a mile, three are fillies, some have never run on the grass, one has never started, some are former claimers and all are by obscure sires that most people have never heard of. It is exactly the hodgepodge of entrants that make this series presented by Knightmare, one of the most fun Sim events of the year. Here is a look at the field by post position.
Breaking on the hedge will be Shoaib Akhtar (6/1) a 3 YO bright chestnut filly. Trimmed in white, she is by Intikhab and is trained by Younggroup. A former claimer she has done well recently in starter allowances and has won four of her last six races. In fact she has been in the money 11 of her 14 starts, including five wins. She has won at the distance but will need her best on Saturday to get a major part of the pie.
Model H (5/2) is another of the female contingent and she was deemed the favorite by the morning line guy. A plain brown daughter of Moulin, she has won nine of her 17 races for trainer Larsonisk. She has a pretty form, winning five of her last five including The Lever Busting, The King’s Bodies, The Oblivious and The Bargain Oaks. Unfortunately all of those races were over the main track and while she has started on the grass she has never finished in the top three. She still looks good in this race, loves the distance, and may have more trouble with the colts than the surface.
Post three will hold the first time starter Ko Ko Shan (99/1) who only got his gate card last week. Trainers with horses in the gate on either side of this copper chestnut son of Shaniko, are praying that he breaks relatively straight and not to either side where he could seriously jeopardize their chances. According to trainer Lgbost9y, the colt has had some sharp morning works but his sire has only had one winner in the past two years and that has got to be cause for concern.
Ford GT Forty (24/1) is a nice looking bay colt by Ford Every Stream. Trained by Prosportz, he has only won one race in his five career starts, but has been in the money in two of his three starts on the turf. Lightly raced, the colt seemed destined for the claiming ranks after two dismal starts on the dirt. When trainer Prosportz switched him to the grass he came alive and finished a closing second in his first turf start and then followed that with a picture perfect win in his next. He closed well last time out to finish 5th in an allowance 1X, which will hopefully set him up for Saturday.
Mujastrophic (22/1) is one of about five in this race that makes me glad I am not a track announcer. A daughter of Cat’s Debut, she has won two of 12 starts but both were at distances of less than a mile. She passed tired last time out in The Bargain Derby against the boys on the dirt and should like the turn back in distance and the return to a grass surface. Foxmax trains this good looking, red filly.
Post Six will hold Gonzo (4/1) a dark bay or brown colt with a big white blaze down his nose. Trained by Aussie02, he is well liked by his connections because with that blaze, they can always pick him out in a field of horses. Gonzo is by Bold Executive and has earned more than $200,000 winning half of his last eight starts. He took The Best Comet, The
Trainer Foxon2 will send out Playing Ground (9/2), a portly dark bay son of Wellbeing. “He’s always run this way,” Foxon2 told me laughing, “and he runs as well as he eats.” Yes, he does. He has won three of his nine starts and has finished in the money in seven of them. He has plenty of gas and will probably try to take the field wire to wire as he likes the front end. He tends to fade at any distance one jump over a mile, but he can get a mile just fine and will hopefully be around at the wire. He comes in to this race off an allowance victory and is stakes placed so should fit well with these.
William Thomas (6/1) is a large boned bay colt by Yonaguska and is trained by Lamepony. He has run seven of his eight races on the dirt including last time out when he closed strongly to finish third in The Bargain Derby under strong left handed urging by jockey Matt Isdell. He won The Fabulous Gonz in late December as a 2 YO so he can handle the class and while he has only started once on the grass, it was a winning effort, taking an allowance race by four. Lamepony is one of the few trainers that secured a top rider for her entrant
Sought After will be represented by Sakura (18/1), a 3 YO dark bay or brown colt trained by Oggerz. This colt is a claimer that is stepping up, but he has some decent credentials to warrant the move. He is 5/6 in the money on the grass and has won three of them. He holds some decent speed figures and his biggest problem may not be the competition but the distance. Six and a half furlongs seem to be his best distan….but you never know.
On the outside will be Kyle’s Ojai Gold (4/1) a compact 3 YO colt by Frontier Gold. Sykesy trains this bright bay colt and although he has only won two of his eleven starts he is an honest little horse that has never been worse than fourth in his last seven races. He was second last time out in The Montjeu’s Revenge at seven furlongs and that should set him up for a possible winning effort this time around.
So there you have the field for The Bargain Bred 100 Guineas. I think every horse in the race could possibly win, so come around Saturday afternoon and see how it turns out. Best of Luck to all.