Fly For Buda, Gracepointe Prayer favored in New Hampshire

Superhorse Ermington Pegasus didn’t show up, but by no means does that make the field for the 9f New Hampshire Handicap less than outstanding. The $600k Grade 1 drew 14 fine older horses , including defending champ Call Of the Wild II, excellent filly Armed With Money, old warhorse Act Of God, and 9f specialist Fly For Buda. You know it’s a loaded field when you realize that of the 14 entrants, six are millionaires; two are Eclipse winners; three are ranked in the top 10 of their divisions; and 10 are graded winners. The race record is held by Prince of Gold; his 2003 win was run in a swift 1:46.4

 

Although not quite the favorite at 7-1, Call Of The Wild II deserves some serious respect. The 6yo son of War Chant has the kind of race record most horses can only dream of. Six grade 1 wins, including the Breeders Bowl Classic, CA Classic, Sand Castle Classic, and the New Hampshire handicap. That’s right, the 2006 champ is back to defend his title. Gipper8’s star horse usually runs at 10f, but he’s a 2x graded winner at 9. What you have to love about this horse is his recent form. He’s been on a win-every-other pattern of late. This race should be a win, if he keeps it up.

 

GG’s Fly For Buda has been brilliant this year, winning two and placing twice more in four starts. The 5yo son of Sadler’s Wells has made this distance his specialty, with five 9f graded wins. Fly is fresh off a two-length score in the Statewide Pinhead Guild where he rolled to a 109SP. He’ll press the pace early and go for the lead at the half pole. The 6-1 odds are a gift for this talented colt, winner of the 2005 Middle Jewel, 2006 Jerzey City, and 12 other races. A win here would put him within striking distance of $4 million in earnings.

 

The other 6-1 horse, Gracepointe Prayer, doesn’t have nearly the sterling record of Fly, but Prayer is no slouch on the track. Pazfour’s 4yo Cryptoclearance colt is still looking for his first graded win, but if he keeps posting 110s like he did last time out, that isn’t far away. Prayer has finished in the top 3 at 9 four of six tries, and has put together a strong 1007 campaign with four wins from seven tries. A bounce off his second place finish in the G3 Perfectionistic last time out is likely, and the two-week turnaround won’t help, but Prayer is a classy colt who most certainly could surprise. Running style very similar to Fly’s could present an interesting stretch duel.

 

Sharing 7-1 with Call of the Wild II is Tempest, trained by oscar. The 5yo son of A.P. Indy hasn’t won a major since September when he took home the G1 Bob Woodward, but his last two races indicate he’s turned it around. Those last two saw Tempest post a 107 and 109 to place third in a G3 and win an allowance. This us a great race to test whether he’s back in form. 9f is his best distance, so if those last two weren’t flukes, Tempest will be flying down the stretch as he closes from way back.

 

Pg45’s Fitting Solution was looking like retirement was approaching. That is, until the 6yo son of Seeking The Gold put it all together for a 2+ length win in an allowance two back, where he earned a 105SP. Backing that up with a two-length win in the 8.5f G3 Gus Fonner and a 110 SP was enough to serve notice that Solution is back. He’s earned over $700k from 12 wins. A win would push him over a million. Solution is a speedball; he’ll make sure the race time is legit. 8-1 odds makes him a nice bet.

 

Also at 8-1 is Colt’s Roll With It. The 4yo Pulpit colt is riding a four-race winning streak, including his sole graded score in the G3 Eviscerator last time out. The colt’s had sort of an odd history. he spent his first sixteen starts sprinting on dirt, amassing a good but unspectacular record of 16:5-2-2. Finally unleashed around two turns in February, Roll With it exploded with a 106SP. Of to stakes he went for a 2-length win and a 108SP. Last time out he bumped his routing record to 3 for 3 with a nearly 4-length win in the Eviscerator and a 111SP. Just how good is this colt? So far, freak of nature good. In the Eviscerator, he beat New Found Cyclone, Half A World Away and Otto Causes. Keep an eye on this colt throughout the summer – he’ll be making some big waves.

 

And we have a third at 8-1, a 4yo Rainbow Quest colt named The Green Felt. He’s got seven wins from 22 starts, a good record, but it’s his 2007 campaign that has been drawing attention. In six starts this year, he’s run 100+ in 5, 110+ in 2. His last race was especially noteworthy. The G2 Mansur LeRoys drew some excellent handicap horses, including Journeyman and Nagasaki. The Green Felt ran a superb closing race to win by a quarter-length with a 112SP. He’s getting real hot at just the right time. Talented’s colt has an excellent shot here.

 

Armed With Money was superb in defeat in the G1 Sand Castle Classic in March. She settled for fourth but was the only horse making a move on Ermington Pegasus at the wire. Monksfield’s Eclipse-winning filly is making just her fourth start at 9f; she’s won 2 of 3 tries previously. Facing boys could be her downfall, as in three tries she’s run third, fourth, and fifth. Still, when she’s on her game she can beat the best mares in the sim, and has proven she’s competitive with the best males in the sim. The Military filly will be a sentimental choice for many. At 9-1, a win could make a lot of bettors rich.

 

It’s a wonder that Lenny13 didn’t go hunting for a muddy track for his 5yo Act Of God. The son of Empire Maker has earned almost $400k on an offtrack. Make no mistake, though, this horse can be incredible on a fast track too. He’s winless in four starts this year, but has two seconds in G3s, including a half-length loss with a 109SP in the Saints Handicap. Act Of God was ninth here last year after his closing run started too late to be effective. Given the number of stalkers in the race, Act of God’s different style might help him pull of the win. He’s been on a good race – bad race – good race pattern recently. This would be his bad race, if he follows the trend. 10-1.

 

This time last year Privileged was prepping for a run in the New Yorker. Trainer Saver has to be hoping that the 4yo Gone West colt finishes better than the sixth he earned then. he struggled throughout most of last summer, but in October picked up a significant G3 win in the Hudson Hawk. While he’s been winless since October, his superb 109SP in the G1 Oaktree last out says Privileged may be back.The Oaktree was his only 9f start ever, and it was his highest SP, so this is an ideal race for the colt. Also 10-1.

 

Bookworm enters Salutations at 13-1. The 4yo Fusaichi Pegasus colt hasn’t spent extensive time in the graded ranks, but he has tried 8 times for two thirds. Sal struggled through most of his 3yo campaign, going winless from May on. Once he turned 4, however, he seemed to put it all together, reeling off four straight 100+ speed figures. Two back he won his first stake, then promptly followed that up with a third (and 107SP) in the G3 Ecliptic. Nice colt may be in over his head in this strong field, but it’ll be a good test of his abilities.

 

At 17-1 is Wildly, trained by Screaming. The 5yo son of Civilisation is comparatively inexperienced with just 11 starts. To his credit, he’s earned six wins. This race might be a bit of a stretch, as Wildly just won his first stake last time out. The 2 3/4 length win was impressive enough, at a 107SP, to merit a shot here. He’s got a few obstacles, however. Class, of course. Listed stake to G1 is never easy. Distance could also play a factor. Wildly’s only two-turn start was last time out at a mile. Asking him to go 9 may be too much at this time.

 

The 78-1 entrant, Head Start, could sure use a head start in this race. A quarter-mile ought to do it. he just broke his maiden three back at 10f. Since then he’s finished second in allowance company twice. He’s really blossomed since switching to 6ward’s stable in March, but honestly he hasn’t yet shown the ability to compete at this level. On the other hand, when he goes back in against his own class next start, the 4yo son of Jump Start just might run a huge race.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that a trainer would toss a 3yo in against older horses of high caliber. That’s exactly what the 89-1 Our Tribe is being asked to do. The 3yo tribunal colt has just a maiden win to his credit after 10 starts. Three more placings help beef up his record, but with just $32k in earnings, the colt hasn’t even earned a divisional ranking yet. His high speed of 96, earned in a fourth place in the mile G3 Bluegrass Derby Trial last time out, is at least 8 points under what it will take to win this race. No shot here.

 

This race is pretty much impossible to handicap. Any of the field really has a legit shot to place. To win? It could be any of the following: Armed With Money; Call Of The Wild II; Gracepointe Prayer; Fly For Buda; Fitting Solution; Act Of God; Privileged; The Green Felt; or Roll With It. A new stakes record could well be set, given the deep talent of this crew.