Privileged, Fly For Buda, Intergalactic the horses to beat in World Cup Nine
The Sim World Cup Nine features an even dozen horses going 9 furlongs on the Kentucky main track. Each of our three competing teams has entered horses who excel at this distance and who are competitive on the global stage. The strength of this field is obvious when you look at the odds: three are favored at 5-1, and the longest odds are just 21-1. Race fans aren’t treated to a race of this very high caliber very often. The big $500k purse and the Grade 1 rating are the icing on the SWC Nine cake.
Team North And South America is the deepest of the three teams with four excellent horses. Any of these four would likely be favored in an ordinary race, but this time around two (Privileged and Fly For Buda) are sharing cofavorite status. The other two NASA reps, Waymart and Triple A Prayer, are both 3yos at 14-1.
Fly For Buda, running for the gg stable as part of the Topicount group, is a horse that specializes at 9f. He’s no slouch at other distances, but the 5yo’s forte is a mile and an eighth. The son of Sadler’s Wells is closing in on $4million in earnings, has eight graded wins including the Middle Jewel, California Derby, Jerzey City, Statewide Pinhead Guild, and most recently the Iowa Cornhusker BB Classic. Some might worry about the disappointing 11th place finish last out in the G1 Sim History Day BillGulch Kentucky Challenge, but Fly has a tendency to come back really well after odd losses. As long as he’s in the first flight of horses by the second call, this war horse has a great chance of coming out on top.
Privileged took home the trophy in the G1 Sim History Day BillGulch Kentucky Challenge last out with an awesome come-from-behind win for a 111SP. It was the 5yo’s third G1 win for the saver stable under the tutelage of Dixiedotco. Talk about a versatile horse, those three G1s came at 7, 8 and 9f, and each of those came in different years. This year at 9 he’s been nearly great, earning a win, two second, and a third at that distance. The horse’s races have been smartly spaced and he looks to be set for another huge race. At #3 in the division, Privileged has earned his stripes as one of the best older horses in the sim. The trainer says “He’s well rested and sharp, and I expect another top effort from him.”
Waymart is a 3yo his way to the big time. He was exclusively in allowance company through march, but stepped up into the listed ranks for the mpeace7777 stable with such ease that trainer Smubs pushed him straight up to grades. The Statue of Liberty colt handled the new challenges with aplomb, taking the G2 Flat Land and G1 Eddie Haskell in short order. His last three SPs, 107-108-109, are on par with his elders’ numbers. Given Waymart’s tendency to demolish any new task placed his in his path, one really must expect the colt to do very well here.
The final Team NASA entrant is Triple A Prayer. The 3yo Aldebaran colt has almost $400k in earnings courtesy of four stakes wins and a victory in the G2 Mountainous Derby last time out. He’s undefeated in two starts at 9f, is versatile enough to win on the lead or from stalking position as necessary. Triple A runs for pazbarn, part of the Pazjazz group. The colt posted an excellent 109SP in the Mountainous last time out, which was part of a really nice progression in speed figures. There’s no reason to think he won’t keep up the high level of competition. Paz is deservedly high on this horse, saying he expects Triple A to “tuck behind the leaders and put a big push down the stretch.”
Team FENZA has a strong contingent led by the third cofavorite Intergalactic. FENZA also field the oldest horse in the race with Hemisphere. Add two more nice horses, and it’s a good group.
Intergalactic is the big horse for the team. The 4yo Aptitude colt runs for Eddieboo out of the eddie72 barn. After 19 starts, the colt has over $1.3 million in earnings. He has three graded wins at 9, and regularly runs 100+ SPs in most of his starts. What I like most about this horse is the way he’s continued to improve. He runs with the best, and runs well every time. The trainer notes that “he’s sharp as a tack, so there are no real excuses is he doesn’t fire” The big concern for his connections is the depth of talent in this race; with Ermington Pegusus in the SWC Classic, a lot of horses capable of running at both 9 and 10 have shifted to this race in an effort to “dodge EP by placing their best runners in this one…..that’s gonna make for a very tight race.”
Roll With It has had a rough last few races, but he’s such a solid horse normally that a couple of blips on his recent record are excusable. Running for the colt stable as part of the schmoove group, the colt has shown marked skill at 4 years of age. Trainer Davemac explains that “Roll With It made real improvement early this year once we decided to ride him cold.” I have no idea what that means, but it must be good, given that Roll With It won the G2 Eviscerator by open lengths and was close to taking the G2 Iowa Cornhusker BB Classic two back. The 4y Pulpit colt comes into this race well-rested, and his patented come-from-behind stretch run should be a good one. 10-1 odds.
Hemisphere drew the rail spot for trainer Volcano (aka veeman). The 6yo son of Montjeu has had an unusual career. he did well at 2, running third in a G3. During a short 3yo season he won a stake. Just one start at 4, but midway through his 5 campaign he finally got a chance to run regularly, and rewarded the trainer with several solid performances. One year ago this weekend he was second in the G1 Bob Woodward at 9f to earn a personal high 109SP. Since then he’s been running top 5 in nearly every start, despite running in everything from allowances to grades, sprints to routes, turf and dirt. Hemisphere’s recently been hitting SPs around a 100, which isn’t enough to win this race, but is should be enough for a piece of the purse.
Northern Bullet is the baby of Team FENZA at just 3 years old. The Red Bullet colt is twice graded-placed at a mile, and is twice a stakes winner at 9. Add in the 110SP he popped three back in an 8.5f stake, and this colt is a very interesting one. he went against elders for the first time last out in an allowance, and acquitted himself well with a fourth place by less than two lengths. I love the drop back to easier company for that new test, and think the Bullet ought to really build off of that race here. The major concern is whether he can duplicate or at least come near that 110, as this group of horses is strong enough that it’ll take much more than a low-100s SP to win here.
The European/Scandinavian team is led by #7-ranked Formulated Risk. He’s backed up by a pair of 4yos and and the occasionally brilliant 3yo Be Auror Song.
Formulated Risk runs for the Beefcake group, and is trained out of the karen stable. The 5yo son of Beat Hollow is closing in on the $1million mark, and a second or better here would elevate him into that elite category of horses. Risk was purchased just under a year ago out of a $30k claimer, making him one of the most astute claims the game has ever seen. While he has just one graded win on his nine-win record, the six extra graded placings show this is a horse not to be messed with. Average SPs are in the 105-10 range, and 9 furlongs is his best distance. It’s true that he’s winless since March, but a placing is still well within Risk’s range, and it would be no surprise if he notched his first G1 win here. At 6-1, he’s getting some serious attention at the betting windows.
While he’s the youngster on Team Europe, Be Auror Song still deserves a very close look. He’s won the G3 Smallville and the G2 Captain Hook at 9f this year, but has struggled a bit in to starts since the Captain Hook. The Unbridled’s Song colt runs for the auror stable, part of Fernando’s stable group. The colt has an tendency to inconsistency, but he’s still managed to earn $422k with 6 wins from 14 starts. Against his own age group he’d be getting some serious attention, but with just two >100SPs on his record, and after two poor races, this race will be a big challenge. On the plus side, if he handles it well it’s a signal that the Song is back. he’s the 21-1 longshot.
Speightsband has earned his 7-1 odds with five straight 105+ SPs. The 4yo Speightstown colt runs for the stoneface barn, part of the Br4ca group. ‘Band has been on a tear this year, posting SPs under 100 just twice since January while earning two stakes wins and placing in the G3 Lil’ Leprechaun Mile. This race will be just his second in graded company, but given the way he’s handled the lower stakes ranks there’s no reason to think he won’t live up to his trainer’s expectations of top-4 run. His trainer does think that ‘Band’s weak point is that he is a “bit lacking in finishing power/turn of foot.”
The final European entry is the 4yo Louis Quatorze colt Louis Cielo. He runs for Pogook out of the pogs2 stable, and was a super claim out of his debut for just $25k. That smart move has rewarded the trainer several times over as the colt has developed into a solid stakes horse. Indeed, Louis just won his first stake last time out, posting a great 111SP for the 9f distance in the process.ouis is a perfect 2-for-2 at 9, and has shown he can close or stalk and still win well. The jump to graded company is never easy, but if ever a horse could do it, Louis is that horse and now is his time. At 9-1 he could be a very good bet.
This is one heck of a race. Every horse in this field has a legitimate chance to win. While Fly For Buda, Privileged, Formulated Risk, Waymart and Intergalactic are the obvious choices, don’t overlook Speightsband, Roll With It, and Triple A Prayer. I do think that Team NASA has a great shot at sweeping the board with their very strong quartet.