Field of Eight Invade New York in the $100,000 ESR Commentator Stakes

A field of Eight Three Year Old’s, bred in New York, will enter the Big Apple starting gate in the $100,000 ESR Commentator Stakes to be run at One Mile over the Dirt Course.

SUMMER INVASION – after an unsuccessful attempt at establishing himself as a Derby contender, the trotter1 connections took their outstanding New York Bred 3-Year Old Light Grey Colt off the Derby Trail and rekindle his dominance of the local level; the Normandy Invasion colt out of a Summer Squall x Sovereign Dancer mare has never been headed at the New York Bred level and should hold a distinct advantage over his lesser accomplished rivals;  will a bounce, off a pair of Grade III events, spoil his return to the Local Ranks; stay tuned…one to beat

GHOST OF ALPHA – the kingab trained 3-Year Old Roan Colt by Alpha out of the stakes winning mare SMART SPOOK (Ghostzapper) had dead aim on SUMMER INVASION in the ESR Magicians Apprentice back in October but was unable to close the gap on the loose front runner; last start saw him much closer to the pace in his 3yo debut, perhaps an indication that the NY Bred has matured and could well be a more willing opponent this time around…dangerous

GO BALLISTIC – is a 3-Year Old Bay Filly by Golden Missile out of the multi-stakes producing mare SUSAGEP (Mr. Prospector); the auspicious NY Bred is making her first start since October for the casino connections, but it is her second place finish in the ESR End of Time Stakes against the highly touted MONROE COUNTY, a filly with a focus on the Oaks, that demonstrates her ability to compete with these while serving notice of a thriving 3yo campaign…dangerous if fit

NYW PARTY CADET – second to SUMMER INVASION in the ESR Forest of the Dead Stakes, the cadet trained 3-Year Old Bay Colt by Desert Party out of G2 winning mare RICH BAG (Devil’s Bag) enters the field following a 4^th place finish in the Fio Rito Stakes for NY Bred’s; the significance; he recorded a 97-speed figure, which is tops for any starter in this field, while being a factor throughout…never better

PUNKIN CIASTECZKA – the ace trained 3-Year Old Brown Colt by Hold Me Back out of a Medaglia D’oro mare has found success as a regular to the ESR feature races; after an impressive debut victory over the Turf Course, followed by a 3^rd place finish in the ESR Lazarus Experiment Stakes in his two-turn debut, the talented Local Bred was unable to keep pace with SUMMER INVASION in the ESR Magicians Apprentice losing ground at every call in his dirt debut…eligible to improve

MAMPOSTEAO – the ivanyamil trained 3-Year Old Light Grey Colt by Normandy Invasion out of a Mineshaft mare struggled in both Local and Open company in his first four starts leaving his owners searching for the red beans of this classic side dish; connections made good use of his prep in the ESR I’ve Been Waiting Even Longer MSW following him up in a $150,000 Maiden Claiming event where he turned in a career best 87-speed figure for his first career win… el éxito

HONORABLE RED – the 3-Year Old Light Grey Colt by Honorable Dillon out of Zensational x Red Bullet mare enters this field off a two-race win streak for the aladar racing stables; the improving NY Bred has shown a competitive stalking ability in all his starts and is fueled by a 76-speed figure in his last start, a career best…chance at exotics

FUN IN THE RAIN – the ambitiously placed 3-Year Old scratch-bred Bay Colt by Big Brown out of Seeking the Gold x El Gran Senor mare will be making his racing debut for the nycowboy stables; although this well-bred hopeful is in deep at this level, this is a big breeding as far as NY Breds go and a top three finish is well within the scope of his pedigree…happy with part

Handicapping the Field

SUMMER INVASION has beaten the top contenders in this field, and unless he feels the consequences of back to back graded races or his competition has taken a big step forward, the outcome should remain the same.

GHOST OF ALPHA and NYW PARTY CADET are both capable of turning the tables on their main rival, but both will have to match strides with the top choice, a fate that could be fatal for all three.

GO BALLISTIC might need this start, she too likes to prompt the pace and may be short on conditioning to accomplish that task.

PUNKIN CIASTECZKA might prefer the Turf.

MAMPOSTEAO and HONORABLE RED appear to be a notch below this field.

FUN IN THE RAIN is a first time starter.

The Picks

SUMMER INVASION – they haven’t caught him yet, one more time

NYW PARTY CADET – benefits from his Fio Rito while boasting the top speed figure

GHOST OF ALPHA – different horse in his last start, but gains nothing from a speed duel