Casterly Rock, Fame And Fortune, Sometimes Not faves in main track Smackdown III sprint

Texas–  Casterly Rock gets all the action here at 4/1 for the $500,000 Smackdown III six furlongs over the main track division for 4yo+.   Lock-n-load and quick-draw-McGraw!   Shoot ’em up, it’s a showdown, pardner.   😉   Time for a good ol’ fashioned shootout at the Smackdown corral.   Let’s get the lowdown on this hoedown…. Ha!  

 

 

 

Casterly Rock(IRE) (4/1) – grrm

Talk about a deep division as compared to the turf sprinters.   Casterly Rock has a Grade 1 a Grade 2, as well as the Grade 1 BB sprint in his trophy collection of late — and he’s still ranked #3 in the division.    No matter though — he’s the one to beat in Grade 1 company any time around and defintely the horse to beat here in the Smackdown.    Certainly one of the healdining hroses on all of Smackdown day. 

 

So, Rocky (as he’s known to his fans!) went 3-for-3 to begin ’07.   He had that streak snapped though in the Ethereal Unreal Spiritual(G1).   don’t worry about that one though — he finished 4th, missing by just 3 lengths with a mere 107 SP#.   *cough cough* Ahem.   What a horse.   =)  The big guy dropped down to listed company and he hit the board — me thinks Dan had him on less than 100% because, hey, Smackdown is Rocky’s.  

 

But don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched!   Lots of very swift ponies in this field.   Can one of them Take down Rocky?  Smackdown!  

 

Fame And Fortune (6/1) – lenny11

Lenny has a co-entry here in this veteran 6yo son of Danehill.  Haven’t heard a lot about this horse — he’s 13-for-41 lifetime with only $400k in the bank.  The big guy however won the Jim’s BB Sprint(G2) two back ferociously stalker-style with a 111 SP#.   Great numbers for this stalker — he’s extremely consistent and Lenny has him at the pinnacle of his career.  

 

Fame And Fortune coughed it up LTO however in an extneded 7.5f sprint.  The horse just never jumped on the bit, finishing also-ran when stepping back to listed company.   Surprising race — he’s just as tough normally when stepping down a level.   PErhaps it was a tuneup.   Or perhaps indeed it was a true stinky clinker.   A month’s rest hopefully has worked out the kinks.    

 

Saratoga Special (8/1) – texasace

On the rail, Wayne jumps in here with a newbie Touch Gold son.   This 4yo’s smokin’ hot with a 7-for-12 lifetime record.   The speedster flashed and slashed the listed level before finishing an honest 4th in his graded debut two back.  

 

Quite an up-and-comer with gorgeous 105+ speed figures to boot.   ‘Special kind of tired though when asked to step down a level around 6.5f.   Hmmm…. that effort came just three weeks after the excellent graded debut.   Again, ‘Special gets 3 weeks again.   We’ll see how the green colt handles the vigorous schedule.  Pacesetter.  

 

Unavailable (10/1) – lenny6

Lenny’s “B” horse has won 5 of his last 6.   The 5yo Broad Brush son counted a listed level stakes as well as a Grade 3 amongst the ALW wins in that victory group.   The stalker’s more of a closeup pace presser — he likes to duel and wear those speedsters out.  

 

Anyway you look at it, this 10-of-24 horse is a live sleeper.    I don’t think he’s as good as the favorite, but he might manage a lion’s share here.    Tough. 

 

 

 

Smouldering Street (11/1) – magoo2912

Old man at age son is a grandson of Graustark.   Experienced horse too at 40 starts, winning 2 of his last 4 at listed level.   Joins the pace hunt.   Don’t know if he’ll be able to hold his own here against tough faves.   He’s got the numbers still in him though with a 107 SP# in his last.   Factor for a minor share. 

 

Stratification (11/1) – peter12

Five straight 100+ SP#s for Kingmambo 4yo colt.   He’s lightly raced at 14 starts, but holds well at listed level.   Also finished a decent 4th in Jim BB Sprint(G2) to Fame And Fortune.   Closer needs pace to run at.   Good shot for a piece of the purse.   Don’t count him out as a light up the board trifecta candidate. 

 

Pedro Maximus (15/1) – mattsbest

Capote 5yo has won 3 of his last 4 in ALW company.   The closer’s quite solid and very useful BP earner around six panels.  Quite a class leap, but you gotta give him props for the recent winning form.    Sometimes that makes all the difference and surprises everyone with a stakes score out of the blue.  Longshot, but has pros as much as cons.      

 

Posh Pinto (22/1) – jordbake 

Another bargain baby here who’s outrun his pedigree.  Posh Pinto joins the speedsters.   He’s only got 90s for the ost part and they won’t factor into the winner’s circle in this spot.   However, he’ll mix it up on the lead.   Who knows?   Maybe he’ll soften up the shorter-priced faves and throw a monkey wrench into everybody’s plans! 

 

Fusaichi Freddy (29/1) – walshy

FuPeg 4yo in is 12th career start only.   He’s pretty much outclassed, winning just his NW2x LTO.    Tough luck — this race drew a rally strong field.   Midpacker rallied for a snappy 103 SP# LTO.   Who’s Knows?   He might enjoy the class leap…. but probably not at this point. 

   

 

Sometimes Not(IRE) (7/1) – mustbetime

What a bargain in this Cape Cross x Turtle Island son!   This 4yo’s got plenty of power punches from midpack, dminating the listed level and holding his own in the grades.   The colt finished 3rd in a pair of very swift Grade 3s earlier this season before hitting a wall in the Ethereal Unreal Spiritual(G1) versus the big boys.

 

The key with this colt is that he’s smoking hot quick on the stretch drive.   Can he handle the class leap though with already an 8-for-24 record?   The guy’s due and threw a big 109 SP# last month.   Must be respected.   14-hole is tough though.

 

Twelfth Knight (9/1) – barndog

11-of-19 in the money for Forty Niner royal bred.  Barn brings an interesting outsider.   Great speed figures, even though he lacks consistency at the listed level.   Don’t know how good he is, but he should be in the hunt for some minor money.  Dark horse.

Roaringnative (11/1) – crandy 

Grade 3- placed this season so far for the 4yo Roar son.   He was very consistent for a while there, but kind of hit a wall since in grades.   Recovered speed figure-wise at listed level LTO, but not enough to hit the board.   Hopefully regains form for NWRC!

Mental Armor (14/1) – barndog

7-for-16 lifetime Gone West 4yo keeps trucking along at ALW level.  Speedster/ pace presser has a 3-race win streak going a ways back.  Very consistent horse and I think it’s about time to try the stakes level.  Tough though that’s it’s against graded quality favorites.  A live sleeper though for Barn and the NWRC.     

Cookie Man (16/1) – cgk 
Old timer with 50+ starts was quite a sprinter in his day.   The Twilight Agenda 6yo can still throw 100+ too.   Won a NW2n LTO with a 93 SP#.   Joins the stalker group and might sit up even closer to the early lead.   Cookie Man is the pride and joy and definitely part of NWRC history! 

 

 

Snowchief’s Picks:

 

If anybody beats Casterly Rock here, then it’s gonna be one of Lenny’s co-entries.   DUR has some nice entries here, but GR Simsters probably will sweep the board.  Sometimes Not or Twelfth Knight might surprise for NWRC points.

 

Win:   Casterly Rock

Place:  Fame And Fortune

Show:  Unavailable or Sometimes Not

Longshot:  Stratification, Twelfth Knight