Anticosti, Fly For Buda Top So Cal Headliner

Grade I
A mile and three sixteenths
Fast Dirt
$500,000
All horses, 3 years old
 
PP  Horse ID  Horse  Owner  Jockey  Odds 
1 38533 KIKI’S ROCK SHAFT  gd  J Bryson  16/1 
2 53870 HOLD THE PICKLES  tbreds2002  J Pimental  20/1 
3 93511 REAL PLAYER(IRE)  burn1down  K Evans  9/1 
4 91007 INDISPENSABLE  stretch  J Nabbs  9/1 
5 2146 FLY FOR BUDA  gg  F Gossett  4/1 
6 1700 ORCA  afc3  T Bates  13/1 
7 89345 ARNO HOLLANDIA  tote  A Lewis  14/1 
8 95353 HARDER TO CATCH  blakentra  B Rahill  16/1 
9 62022 UPPER MANAGEMENT  slowhand  R Simcox  13/1 
10 13242 ST. KILDA  opcon  C Mecklenburg  10/1 
11 68233 DROMEDARY(GB)  danbury  C Euler  15/1 
12 95525 ACT OF GOD  lenny13  P Incay  12/1 
13 89197 ANTICOSTI  champions4  M Staples  4/1 
14 35775 PRINCIPLE SKINNER  roelke  O Brim  14/1 

 

A full field of fourteen three year olds will meet at the starting gate for Saturday’s half million dollar Grade I Citation Cup.  Here’s your field from the rail out.

 

Kiki’s Rock Shaft is back on the racetrack following a seven month break.  Trainer Gd did his promising Mineshaft colt no favors as the colt could not possibly have found a more difficult spot for his return.  Later against easier.

 

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  And trainer Tbreds2002 picked up a good one at auction in the superbly bred Hold The Pickles.  Not that the A.P. Indy x Storm Cat x Sadler’s Wells colt came cheap, 3.8 million is a lot of money.  But when you consider that the colt won a stake in his career debut and had never been tested over a distance of ground at the time of sale, that price is not too bad.  In pretty tough here but he’s very sharp and has a chance to outrun his 20-1 odds as the longest price in the field.

 

The late running Real Player(ire) tries graded company again after getting braved up in allowance competition.  Burn1down’s gray Manndar colt looked solid knocking off allowance foes in Utah and Louisiana.  But he has failed to hit the board in three previous graded outings and needs to step up to get a share on Saturday.

 

CO-third choice with Real Player at 9-1 is Indispensable who has been a solid allowance colt for Stretch.  But, as with Real Player, he has never been close in graded company.  I can’t quite figure the odds on those two.  We’ll just have to see what happens on Saturday.

 

CO-favorite Fly For Buda loves Southern California.  The spectacular Sadler’s Wells colt has a win and a place in two grade I tries over the surface.  Trainer Gg has once again engaged leading rider Frank Gossett to guide her charge.  After compiling a 3-2-1 record in six consecutive grade ones, Fly failed to fire in the Haskell last time out.  But the Middle Jewel hero came out of the race well and looked razor sharp Tuesday morning as he drilled a bullet half in :46.27 handily.  Appears ready for this test.

 

Reporters are supposed to be objective.  And, Lord knows, it ain’t easy sometimes.  I plead guilty in regard to Orca.  I love Orca.  Afc’s colt is one of the flat out fastest colts I’ve ever seen.  He was scary fast at age two and in his very impressive winning Grade I three year old bow in Vermont.  Then he blazed through torrid fractions in The Grade II Corkscrew before giving way grudgingly only to the unstoppable Anticosti.  Although the flashy chestnut has failed to hit the board in five subsequent dirt starts, I think he’s still got another big race or two in him.  Maybe more.  Not a throw out at 13-1.  Not by any means.

 

Tabbed at 14-1 is Arno Hollandia from Robert’s Tate barn.  The handsome son of Lycius from the lightly raced Storm Bird mare Ignorantly Take ships in off a sparkling allowance tally in Alabama.  Yochem’s main problem is that, as with several others in the field, when the graded money is on the line, Arno is nowhere to be found.  Was third in the Texas Derby earning a GP designation which puts him a step above some others.

 

Multiple stakes winner Harder To Catch has never come close in five graded tries.  Finished far behind Arno in the Texas Derby and well beaten by Orca in his seasonal bow in Vermont.  Nice colt but light years below the top pair.

 

Upper Management has earned a half million dollars by winning the Grade I Arizona Ruby at age two and chasing home a few graded winners at three.  Prepped for this by narrowly beating a short field of conditioned allowance foes in Arkansas.  Was crushed by Anticosti in The Bluegrass Derby and no threat versus Fly For Buda in Maryland.  Shot for minor spoils with a good trip.

 

Opcon’s St. Kilda has been a model of consistency.  This colt runs his heart out every time and has earned close to a half million dollars as a result.  The Miswaki colt won his last, a listed stakes in Ontario, in impressive fashion.  The race before that was a sharp second in the Grade III Colorado Sophomore Classic.  Fits well in here and has a realistic shot at some cash.

 

Dromedary(GB) won a minor stake last year and has been stakes placed twice at three.  But the Beat Hollow colt has raced poorly in a pair of ungraded stakes recently.  Needs a complete reversal of form to threaten here.

 

Act Of God has been no worse than second in seven of his last eight races.  That impressive streak includes a pair of stakes wins.  Unfortunately, the son of Empire Maker’s only graded appearance resulted in a bad beat behind Fly For Buda in the California Derby.  One of many with a shot at the leftovers.

 

Anticosti is far and away the best three year old dirt runner of 2005.  Stoners’ handling of his colt has raised a few eyebrows, but there is no arguing with the results.  The grey son of Unbridled’s Song has crushed everything in sight except for his slip sliding away performance over a rain soaked and slick Ontario strip in the Princess Cup.  And Anticosti rebounded from that excusable gaffe with a lights out romp in The Swamps.  If Anticosti continues to dominate throughout the fall, it will be interesting to see what happens in regard to year end honors.

 

Rounding out the field is Principle Skinner.  The son of Sahm was graded placed earlier this season but has missed the board in four successive graded races.  Looks to have a future in long distance events both on dirt and grass.  But no match for Anticosti today.

 

Come out and watch a true champion.  The best dirt three year old of 2005.  Maybe the best ever.