Speedsters take the gate for Tuff Gong(IRE) Memorial

Sprinters grab top billing this week, as Virginia hosts the Tuff Gong(IRE) Memorial Stakes. The race will run over six and a half furlongs of firm Virginia turf, and it invites all horses three years old and older to participate. The best of them will share a piece of the $55000 purse. This is the third annual running of the stakes here in Virginia, and it has typically been a showcase for speed, with the winners clocking speed figures in excess of 104 in both previous outings. Last year’s race was by Digging The Grave, the current number 1 ranked turf sprinter in the world, in a rare appearance in open stakes competition. This year’s running draws a field of ten, and oddsmakers are calling it a well matched field. The 5/2 favorite is backed by three second favorites at 5/1, and the rest of the field falls in between 7/1 and 16/1 odds. There could be money to be made for the smart bettors in this one.

PP 1) Starfall(IRE) Sired by Giant’s Causway(IRE), Trained by given3. Starfall(IRE) is a four year old colt, making his twentieth career start in this race. He is currently ranked number 27 in the division, and boasts five stakes wins. His last ten starts have seen him go 4-2-0-0-0, breaking the 100+ speed barrier five time, topping out at 104.8 in his last run. That race was an A2s race in California at this distance, where he handily bested a field of twelve by two and a have lengths. Turf has been his surface of choice, and though he has tried dirt, and perfomred moderately well, turf is what pays the bills in his barn. He loves the distance here, and has made eleven of nineteen starts in this distance range, resulting in six wins and eight top two finishes. He generally likes to run from the head of the midpack, though he is not afraid to grab a piece of the early lead if the field gets a sluggish break. It’s been a rough couple of months for him, taking some beatings in graded company, but he always performs well in open company, winning his last three starts in unrestricted open stakes company. He should settle off the pace here early and be somewhere in the mix down the stretch.

PP 2) Mr. C. Song Sired by Forest Wildcat, Trained by focusforce. Mr. C. Song is running in his four year old season, and he makes his sixteenth career start here. He carries a rank of 20 in the Turf Sprint division, putting three previous stakes wins in the books, and he comes into this one as the favorite. His last ten starts have netted out to a 4-3-1-2-0 record, clocking eight 100+ speeds, including a blazing 112.0 in his last race. That start was a Grade I effort at this distance in Upper New York, where he lost a heartbreaker at the wire by a nose after leading for most of the race. He started his career last year on the dirt, posting some nice speed numbers and having good success, but a switch to turf propelled his speed numbers into the 100s, resulting in five straight victories, finishing his conditions and marching confidently into stakes competition. He has victories out to the eight furlong mark, with the bulk of his success falling in the seven furlong range. He has raced in five shorter turf sprints, posting three top two finishes, two of those in graded company. He typically runs as a midpack closer, but he has also shown the ability to close from deeper when he needs to do it. He has the most consistently higher speeds in this field recently, and that is what makes him the horse to beat here. If he has another outing like his last, he could walk away with this one.

PP 3) West D’inverne Sired by Gone West, Trained by umea. West D’inverne is a six year old horse and he steps to the gate for career run number twenty five in this race. This is his third try in stakes company and he is still seeking his first victory at this level. His last ten starts have seen him run to a 1-3-4-0-0 record, breaking the 100+ speed mark three times, with a best number of 105.6 clocked on dirt earlier this year. His last start was a stakes race at seven and a half furlongs in Michigan, where he finished third by four lengths in a full field. His career has been an even split between dirt and turf, and he has had success on both surfaces. His average turf speeds are about two and a half points higher though, and turf has accounted for the bulk of his earnings. On turf he seems to prefer a longer sprint, but he has still never been out of the top three in this distance range. It also bears stating that he has never broken 100 speed in a shorter turf sprint, though he only has three starts in this range, one of them on an off track. He is another horse in this field that likes to run from the head of midpack, and he has shown little ability to come back if he drops to deep in the early going. He is coming into this one off his two best turf runs of the season, but both were at seven and a half furlongs. I think this race is going to be too short for him to contend with the speed he finds around him here.

PP 4) Five Grouse Sired by Bionic Prospect, Trained by jockfan02. Five Grouse is the old man of this field at seven years old, and he makes his fortieth career appearance here. He comes in with a divisional rank of 54, and three previous stakes victories, the most recent coming late last year. He’s gone 0-3-0-1-2 over his last ten, with a top speed of 100.6 early this year. His last run was an A2n in Indiana at this distance, where he got creamed, finishing twelvth in a field of fourteen. He has made only one career dirt start, and it was just a confirmation that turf is where he wants to stay. Thirty of thirty nine career starts have been in this distance range, resulting in eight wins and twenty top three finishes, though much of that success cam earlier in his career. He likes to get out front early, either leading or at least having a piece of the early lead. He shows little inclination to close any real kind of distance. He is going to have a very tough time getting out in front of the kind of speed he faces in this one, and the effort is going to cost him early. Look for him to make a fast break but begin to fade before they even make the half post.

PP 5) Silvery Blue Sired by Silver Deputy, Trained by pharlaris. Silvery Blue is a four year old colt, and he punches in for his eighteenth career start in this race. He has just recently stepped up to stakes company in his last three, and he is still seeking his first victory. His last ten starts have seen him run to a 2-1-2-1-1 record, with a top speed number of 100.8 earned in an allowance race earlier this year. His last start was a stakes race at this distance on a tough Delaware track, where he finished seventh in a field of twelve, unable to muster much of a close. He spent the first half of his career on dirt, and experience moderate success there, but has he rose up through his conditions, he found turf to be a more competitive surface for him. He has one win and three top three finishes in six starts at this distance on turf and this has been about his best distance. He runs as a deep closer, but he struggles if he gets out too deep in the early going. His close has been consistent, but his best striking distance looks to be about four lengths out at the half. He struggled with the speeds at stakes level, dropping back faster than he likes in the early going, and with the speed in this field, I don’t se this one being an exception. The is not a real burner up front in this one which is good for him, but there are several very fast horses that normally like a stalker’s role, and that could bury him early. Should be closing late, but most likely it will be too late to make him a real threat.

PP 6) Hard Rock Sired by Roar, Trained by gcphantom. Hard Rock is a hard raced four year old colt, racing for the thirty fifth career time in this race. He has three prior stakes wins, the lastest capping a three race winning streak earlier this year. He comes off back to back allowance victories, posting his best numbers of the year. Overall in his last ten, he has a record of 4-0-1-1-2, with three 100+ speeds, capped by a 106.2 figure earned in his last race. That start was an A2t outing at seven furlongs in Maine, where he dominated a field of six by two lengths behind a textbook close. As a two year old, he started his career on dirt, with mixed results, and responded to a switch to turf by posting three victories and a second in his first four turf starts. He loves any kind of sprint between six and seven and a half furlongs, and in this distance range he boasts nine top three finishes in thirteen trips. All five career 100+ speeds, though, have come in the seven to seven and a half furlong range. He is a deep closer, and his close has been fairly consistent, propelling him to victory in five of his last eight starts. Notably, his stumbles have been in two of his three stakes starts, and one allowance, two of those being shorter sprints. He’s a hot horse, coming off his two best starts of his career, but I don’t think he is going to have the real estate to get it done here. With the proper setup, he could crack the trifecta, but he will likely have a good deal of distance to make up late.

PP 7) The Union Label(IRE) Sired by Giant’s Causeway(IRE), Trained by keepagoin. The Union Label(IRE) is a lightly raced six year old horse, making only his sixteenth career start here. This is his first stakes start, earned by virtue of impressive allowance wins in his last two starts, exhausting his conditions. He boasts a 4-2-2-0-0 record in his last ten races, with four 100+ speed figures, the best being the 107.1 number he posted in his last start. That race was an A3t at five and a half furlongs in Connecticut, where he cruised to a one length victory in a full field. He’s tried dirt enough times to show that he feels miserable on the harder surface, and turf has been his bread and butter. He likes shorter sprints, and he has two wins and a show in four starts at this distance range. He likes to run from the head of the midpack, but three of his last four victories have found him with a piece of the early lead. He’s going to be in a tight group here, all liking that same kind of break, and in the end it’s going to be about the stamina to hold on to the pace. He’s been doing some of the best running of his career and comes into this one hot, but the victories in his last two both came in much shorter races. He’s going to have to dig down deep to hold on late in this one.

PP 8) Once Haunted Sired by Silver Ghost, Trained by loubrown. Once Haunted is a five year old horse, making a field high forty third career appearance in this race. All thirteen career victories have been at stakes level, including one at Grade I. His most recent was a six furlong gallop earlier this year. In his last ten starts, he has raced to a 1-2-2-1-0 record, with three 100+ starts, capped by a 107.2 earned in his stakes win earlier this year. His last start was a stakes race at this distance in Florida, where he just couldn’t keep up with the younger legs, finishing tenth in a field of twelve, never really being a factor. He had one dirt start early in his career, and it was enough to make him a permanent fixture on the turf since. This is his distance range of choice, with twenty three of his career starts resulting in nine wins and fourteen top three finishes. He is yet another horse in this field that likes to run from the head of the midpack, but other than a couple flashes of past brilliance, his close has been virtually nonexistent this season. The wear and tear seems to be starting to show on him, and he will need a serious return to form to be a threat in this race late.

PP 9) King’s Evil(IRE) Sired by King Of Kings(IRE), Trained by simsters6. King’s Evil(IRE) is a four year old colt who is running in his twenty fifth career race here. He has one stakes victory on his resume, coming earlier this season. He has galloped to a 2-2-1-1-1 record in his last ten starts, running 3 100+ starts, topping out at 103.8 in an allowance win earlier this year. His last start was a seven and a half furlong stakes race in Mississippi, where an early speed duel cost him in the second half, dropping him to eleventh in a field of twelve. He has given dirt a fair shake, but his speeds there topped out under ninety, which is lower than his average speed on the grass. He is a decent router, with victories out to the twelve furlong mark, but he also shows sprint quality speed, with three wins in four starts in this distance range. He is a fast starter, liking to take command at the break. Unusual for early speedsters, he seems to work better when he is pressured early rather getting a clean lead and big early cushion. He should provide the early fireworks here, without a major challenge early. He has had trouble holding his leads late, but this is his sweet spot, with both of his victories this season coming right at this distance. He is still rebounding from a slight injury earlier this season. He is going to need the stamina he has shown in the longer routes to hold off some good horses that will be sitting just off his tail in the second half of this one.

PP 10) Pirsquared(MI) Sired by Perfect Circle, Trained by zjkj. Pirsquared(MI) is the only three year old colt that elected to face this formidable field, and he makes is twenty first career start here. He has one previous stakes victory, which came in his first race of this season. In his last ten starts, he has put together a record of 1-5-2-1-1, with his speeds topping out at 103.2 earned in an allowance race two starts back. His last race was an A3x in Illinois at six furlongs, where he bested a field of nine by a length. After lanquishing on dirt for the first four starts of his two year old season, a switch to turf netted him three wins and two places in his next five starts, and he has never looked back. He has shown good speed out to eight furlongs, and has had some success. In this distance range on turf, he has two wins and three places in five tries. He is a midpack closer, and his close has been up and down this season. He has a tendency to make his break a bit early, and that has cost him in some of his longer races, so the shorter distance should be a plus for him here. Though he only has one to show for it, he has been flirting with that 100 speed mark over his last few starts, and he is an improving colt. In this field however, he is going to need to do more than flirt with it. He will need his best an then some to be a serious threat here.