Race favorite Informer looks to make it five in a row

As the world focuses on the Breeder’s Bowl out in New Jersey, Virginia focus shifts to turf classic runners in this week’s Jungle Alert(SAF) Bonanza. The race extends an invitation to all horses three years and older to run over nine and a half furlongs of firm turf. The purse waiting at the finish line is $50000 to share among the best of them on this given Saturday. This is the third annual running of this event, and for the past two years, the winner has cruised home an even five legths ahead of the pack. Last year’s field boasts three of six entries moving on the graded wins, and another with points at that level. It was won by Sky Turn To Black moving from midpack to dominate in the second half. This year’s event has drawn a field of ten, nine males and one filly, all over the board in age, experience, and talent. The favorite weighs in at 5/2 odds, with five more entries knocking on the door at 7/1 or better odds. Two mid range longshots at 10/1 and 15/1, and two long odds entries at 63/1 and 84/1 round out the field. With the range of odds here, there could be some decent money to be made for the savvy bettor.

PP 1) Union Pacific Sired by Geri, Trained by sherman10. The first half of a tandem entry by his trainer, Union Pacific is a six year old horse, making his sixty first career start in this run. His first three career stakes starts have been in his last three races, and he is still seeking his first stakes win. Since the beginning of his four year old season, he has spent most of his time in the claim and starter allowance ranks, with a stint in the allowance ranks last year. Over the course of his last ten starts, he has a record of 1-0-2-0-1 with a top speed of 87.8 earned in a claim earlier this year. His last start was a fourteen furlong dirt stakes in Eastern Kentucky, where he finished eight in a field of nine, just over twenty six lengths out at the wire. This horse is a dirt runner, failing to break the 75 speed barrier in five career turf starts. On dirt, he has posted wins from eight to fourteen furlongs and is at his best running ten furlongs or more. He runs mostly as a closer, but his close has been virtually non-existent recentlyeven in the lower ranks where he belongs. He is wasting a nice 5K tag running in stakes competition, when he could be in longer dirt starter allowances. He should live up to his 63/1 odds here.

PP 2) Kondor(KY) Sired by Hennessy, Trained by cnl. Kondor(KY) is a three year old colt, making his nineteenth career run here. He has one stakes win to his credit, coming a couple months back this year. His last ten runs have earned him a 5-2-2-0-0 record, breaking the 100+ speed barrier three times, maxing at 104.9 in his last start. That run was in the Mario’s Logs Challenge right here in Virginia four weeks ago, where he finished third in a field of nine, fading in the stretch after leading most of the race. Twelve of eighteen career runs have been on turf, and he has experienced success there, whereas he has never finished better than third on dirt, showing a marked prference for the grass. He has been at his best in the ten to eleven furlong range, and while the race might be a bit shorter than he prefers, he has been cometitive in the nine to nine and a half furlong range, as well. He’s a speed ball, liking to control the pace from the front of the pack. He has shown the ability to close short gaps on occasion, but that is definitely not his forte. He shouldn’t have a problem taking early control here, and while there are a couple of decent stalkers in the pack, he shouldn’t find himself under too much early pressure. He has been coming into his own over the past few months, jumping from speeds in the mid to high eighties to post three 100+ speeds in his last five. As well as he has been running, and being the only real early speed up front, he may be overpriced at 7/1 odds.

PP 3) Draco Sired by Sadler’s Wells, Trained by spqr. Draco is a royally bred four year old colt who runs for the eighteenth career time here. He has one previous career stakes victory, coming at Grade 3 level late last year. He drops back to open stakes level after running his last two in Grade 2 competition. He has run to a 2-1-0-4-1 recorded in his last ten, with six 100+ efforts, crowned by a speed of 110.3 in his Grade 3 victory last year. His last race was a Grade 2 effort on a yielding turf track in Florida, wher ehe finished a long out eighth place in an eight and a half furlong race. Though he broke his maiden and notched two victories on dirt, he’s proven to like the grass better, notching seven 100+ speeds in twelve turf starts. This is preferred distance, with four top two finishes in seven starts, and he has never finished out of the money in this distance range. He runs as a deep closer, and while his close has been fairly consistent, it has been having trouble getting him all the way there at the wire. The combination of a drop in class and a slightly longer race bode well for him here. He should be moving toward the high part of his cycle, and could well pop off a very good run here.

PP 4) Heaven’s Rage Sired by Fusaichi Pegasus, Trained by wallflower. Heaven’s Rage is the only filly to grace this field, and she makes her eighteenth career start here, running in her four year old season. She has three prior stakes victories, one of those coming against the boys earlier this year in California. Her last ten runs have resulted in a 3-0-2-0-1 record, with one 100+ effort, that being a 105.8 earned in the aforementioned California race earlier this year. Her last run was a ten and a half furlong stakes in Michigan, where she appeared to get bumped coming out of the gate, trailing a field of six home by nearly twenty nine lengths. After starting her career with a couple of decent though not spectacular runs on dirt, with a switch to turf, she put up three wins and seven top three finishes in her next seven starts. The races looks to be a tad long for her, as she seems to start running into problems out past the nine furlong mark. She seems to prefer an off track, especially as she stretches out, and she is not going to get that here. She likes to run from the midpack, and she does quite well when she can survive the early speed. Her primed striking distance is two to three furlongs at the half, and if she finds herself out too much further than that, she has had problems mustering any real kind of second half effort. With the speed in this field, she is going to have a tough hill to climb in the second half.

PP 5) Ego Sired by E Dubai, Trained by sherman10. Ego is a six year old horse, the second half of a tandem entry by his trainer. He makes his forty third career appearance here. This horse also jumps from the claiming ranks into stakes competition, and looks for his first stakes victory in his second career stakes start. His last ten starts have watched him go 0-0-2-0-1, with a top speed of 86.5 earned in a starter allowance earlier this year. His last start was a stakes race at this distance on yielding turf in Argentina, where he finished last in a field of five, just over thrity four lengths out at the wire. He is another dirt runner, at his best in the eight to ten furlong range. He seems to slightly prefer an off track when racing on dirt. Two turf starts have been less then spectacular well below his average dirt speeds at the time when he ran them. He runs as a closer, but has shown very little inclination to do anything other than relax in the second half over his last several starts. Having been less than competitive even in the claiming ranks for the most part this year, this jump in class won’t do him any good, especially on a surface he doesn’t particularly seem to care for that much. He should join his stable mate in following the field home here.

PP 6) Backstage Buda Sired by Sadler’s Wells, Trained by wee. Backstage Buda is a blue blood four year old colt, seeing action for the twenty fourth time here. He is still looking for his first win in stakes competition. His trainer has watched him run to a 3-1-3-0-1 record in his last ten starts, posting two 100+ speeds, capping them with a 105.7 in his last start. That race was an A4x effort at eight and a half furlongs in Spain, where he won a thriller at the wire by a scant quarter length with a sterling second half effort. He has a pair of token dirt runs over his career, where he showed some decent speed, but turf has been his bread and butter. Seven to eight furlongs seems to be his sweet spot, and he has ten top three finishes in twelve starts in the eight to eight and a half furlong range. With a couple of exceptions, though, he seems to lose a step when he gets out past that range. He prefers to run from midpack early, and his close has been workmanlike, though he as shown flashes of brilliance, as he did in his last start. He has been a hot horse, breaking the 105 mark in two of his last three, and that is a positive for him. On the down side, this race appears to be longer than he prefers, and he could well find himself out too deep to be effective in the second half here.

PP 7) Angel’s Grace(AUS) Sired by Redoute’s Choice(AUS), Trained by steller. Angel’s Grace(AUS) is a three year old colt, the relative rookie of this field, making only his tenth career start. This is his second try at stakes level, and he is still seeking his first victory in this grade of competition. His first nine starts have netted him a record of 4-1-2-0-0, with two 100+ speed efforts, topping out at 105.2 a couple starts back. In his last race, he particapted in the Mario’s Logs Challenge at ten furlongs right here in Virginia, where he backslid after three very nice starts to finish last in a field of nine, appearing to sustain some type of slight injury. All nine career starts have been on turf, and after smartly marching up through his conditions and posting seven top three finishes in nine starts, there has been very little inclination to move him. He has a wins from six through nine and a half furlongs, with his career best effort coming at the distance he faces here. He generally does his best work as a stalker, showing his top form when he can stay under three lengths at the half. He runs into problems when he gets out much deeper than that. His last race combined a number of firsts for him, with his first eight being run at the same track, under the same jockey, as well as being his longest race of his career. He was caught in a very fast field, five of nine horses breaking the 101 speed mark with a very hot early pace. The name of the game for him here is holding the early pace, and there shouldn’t be the duel up front that there was last time. Expect a better performance from him here, though I can’t recommend him until he gets himself back on track.

PP 8) Sister Awake(KY) Sired by Woodman, Trained by lenny5. Sister Awake(KY) is a three year old colt, looking at his thirteenth career start here. He has a pair of stakes victories to his credit, coming in his first two starts this year. He boasts a 4-0-1-2-2 record during his last ten starts, cracking the 100+ mark in two starts, with a best of 102.4 clocked in his last outing. That race was an eight and a half furlong open allowance on a tough Delaware track, where he closed nearly twelve lengths in the second half, eight of those down the stretch, before settling for a relatively close in fifth place finish. After two very nice starts on dirt to begin his career, his trainer switched him to turf, where he ratcheted up his speeds, and has been steadily improving over the course of this year. He has never sprinted and absolutely loves this distance range, with three wins in three tries at this distance. This colt is a deep closer, and outside of three races at Grade 1 level, his close has been consistent, at times bordering on spectacular. It’s a good possibilty that if he had the extra furlong in his last run, he could have brought the win home in that one, in a very fast field. He comes off a pair of career best speeds, and he is the only real deep power closer here. He should definitely be threatening late here, and might be worth a bet in your trifecta box at least.

PP 9) Footsteps On Grass(GB) Sired by Footstepsinthesand(GB), Trained by robroe. Footsteps On Grass(GB) is running in his three year old campaign, making his thirteenth career effort here. He has two previous stakes wins, both coming this year. Overall in his last ten starts, he lays claim to a record of 3-1-2-0-1, with a best speed of 108.8 in his last start. That start was an eight and a half furlong stakes on yielding turf in Rhode Island, where he smoked a field of nine by nearly two lengths, behind a masterful second half run. All twelve career starts have been on turf, and he has eight top three finishes, four of them wins, to show for it. He has raced from six to ten furlongs, with an increase in speed every time his owner stretches him out farther. In this distance range, he has two wins and a show in four starts. He runs as a midpack to deep closer, and seems to have his best luck when he can stay somewhere within about six lengths at the half. He has shown the ability to close from a deeper position, but that was against much less speed than he faces here. His last race was a real anomaly, where he posted his best speed by ten and a half points. Looking over his performances to date, everything seems to point to the off track as reason for the breakout race in his last. If this race was on an off track, I couldn’t help but recommend him, but I can’t confidently do so here until he shows me some more speed than he previously has on the firm turf.

PP 10) Informer Sired by Dynaformer, Trained by knowlton. Informer is a well bred four year old colt, stepping to the track for the thirty fourth career time. He gets the oddmakers’ nod in this one. He has twelve career victories over his first thirty three, in some tough allowance competition, but this is only his second stakes try, and he is still looking for that elusive stakes victory. He carries a four race winning streak into this one, and overall in his last ten, he sport a record of 6-1-1-1-0, with five 100+ speeds, crowned by a 111.6 in his last outing. That race was an open allowance at ten furlongs in Wisconsin, where he romped over a field of some very good horses by nearly two lengths, while posting his career best speed number. Turf is definite his surface of choice, after posting only a pair show out of seven dirt tries throughout his career. He has run great anywhere between eight and ten furlongs, finishing out of the top three only twice in eighteen starts and never worse than fifth. Ten furlongs is his big race, with five wins in six tries, and he is knocking on the door of that distance here. He is a midpack closer, and for the most part, his close has been very good recently. Some might say he has a stakes jinx, finshing out of the money for the only time in nineteen starts since June of last year, but there were several contributing factors to that finish. It was well beyond his usual distance, on an off track, and he broke like a shot from the gate, rather than biding his time as he usually does. After his last three performance, it is hard to disagree with the oddsmakers here. He will definitely figure in the trifecta, and if he performs as he did in his last, he should walk away with this one.