Grade 1 Turf Invaders on rough and tumble Tasmania

Here’s the lineup for the Grade 1 Turf Invaders Stakes in the antipodean outpost of Tasmania. 

A mile and one eighth

Firm Turf

$500,000

All horses, 3 years old and up

Race 3287.6715

REDSADKY (4-1) as a Grade 1 winner as a 3-year-old and returns after a 4th place finish in last year’s event.  The nine furlongs are right in this 5-year-old’s wheelhouse, and recent sprint work seems to have sharpened him back into form.  The 107 SP# he ran last out was his best since June 2006. The concern is that he may be on the downside of a solid career, and regression to his other 2007 SP# will not land him in the winner’s circle here.  Competent Do Tyrrell is booked to ride for sherwood.

VALLEY STATION (11-1) is a confirmed frontrunner, having led at second call in almost all of his last ten races.  The good news is that all of that speed was shown in turf routes; the bad news is that he hasn’t been in the trifecta in a stakes race since 2004.  It’s great to see a son of the lesser-used Arch in this Grade 1, but he looks up against it on form.  Journeyman D Manuel will look to control the pace and steal it on the front end for the waybill stable star.

BRUNDLE’S CHAPFLY(IRE) (5-1) steps up after consecutive wins in a CPU-value allowance and the ungraded TURF CUTTER Memorial.  You can’t blame brundlefly for trying the move back to a Grade 1 (there were earlier failures in turf sprints), as this horse posted his fastest SP# ever in those two victories (109 and 104, respectively).  The 5-year-old may be a late developer despite a fine 12 for 36 record.  While his recent wins were shorter than this race, he has a nice running style for the turf and must be considered a contender.  Tasmanian top 10 rider J Ohlmann has the reins.

S R AWARENESS(IRE) (13-1) is sire Tirol’s only stakes winner in his last five crops.  Lordpye2 has squeezed $84k out of this 4-year-old’s modest pedigree, including 4th place finishes in graded stakes his last two.  The most recent of these was in the Grade 3 Otter Dash at Epsom.  We’ll have to see how that sharpens the horse for jockey B J Bergen after a steady diet of turf at classic distances since his successful maiden claiming debut just this past December.  There will be pace pressure here, but a return to his top performance could win it.

BLACK COIN (9/2), a son of Sadler’s Wells, burst onto the scene with four straight, career-opening wins through February.  The 4-year-old has relished turf routes from the start, andkool4katz sends him here off of two more wins in ungraded stakes.  Those showed improvements in the speed figure category and also showcased his versatility, with wins from stalking and up-front positions.  A win here would stamp him among the turf heavyweights for graded stakes.  Reliable local hero A Tazdevil rides.

OTTO ROCKET(IRE) (9-1) finished fourth to BRUNDLE’S CHAPFLY in the TURF CUTTER, which was a disappointment after a sharp score in the EXETER HILL Stakes back in April.  That race saw the Rocket score a career-best 105, and was a possible ticket to bigger things in the turf classic division.  M Awbey, a winner of 10% of his rides this year, will likely put the 4-year-old into an off-the-pace position for sdprizes.  The well-bred son of Rock of Gibraltar seems unlikely on the win end, but by no means a throwout for exotics.

Favorite SIP OF SAKI (7/5) brings multiple graded wins and a $2.4 million bankroll to the party.  He broke through this year with Grade 1 wins in the Explosive Bet Stakes in Louisiana and the Sydney Mile.  In the latter, he closed with a furious rush to double up 110 SP#.  He then failed to menace with a 5th place finish in the Doomben Cup, where he could not match newly minted monster Puppet Regime’s closing rush.  Bjbandit2 gave the 5-year-old a short break off the transpacific travel schedule, so a return to form seems likely.  Top rider J Harzheim will look to help the son of Sakhee keep up with little sister FIRST BUZZARD(KY), who took a Grade 3 since SIP OF SAKI’s last win.

MISS BARYSH(IRE) (17-1) starts from the outside post and carries the banner for the distaff side.  Pies76 brings in the experienced 5-year-old mare off a failure in the Grade 1 Rich and Famous Handicap against her own sex on June 30th.  With the stiffer competition, lack of black type wins, and lack of triple digit SP# in her past performances, she looks up against it.  Closing for a trifecta appearance is still within the realm of possibility with consistent S Elswick aboard.