Welcome to the ATC Champions Day ‘07!

The Alpine Turf Club is a small but friendly resi nestled in the glorious mountains of central Europe.  Club members hale from, literally, all over the globe.  Owners’ homes include California, South Africa, England, Oklohoma, Switzerland, New Zealand, Texas(proving they’ll take ANYBODY!), and Australia. 

The group stays relatively small and allows only two member stables per owner.  From it’s humble beginnings with mostly claimers in the club stables, the resi’s runners have really jumped in class in recent years, with several Grade 1 winners to it’s credit.  But this resi is as much about community as it is about racing!  I guarantee that owners will be cheering just as strong for their mates’ horses as for their own!

Let’s have a look at some of the Champions Day cards and check out some of the favorites in each race.

1.  3434.3515– 2yo 8f dirt

          This looks like a two horse race…but hey!  We’re a TURF club for cryin’ out loud! Newcomer to the ATC, snowchief, looks the favorite with her colt, Garden Society(ENG).  He is a G2 winner with a nice career high 96SF under his belt.  The other horse in this race is foxon’s Change of Scenery(IRE).  With only three starts, this is a major step up for this young colt, but he seems to have the speed to give Garden Society a nice challenge.

2. 3434.3516– 2yo 8f turf

          The 2yo turf race looks to be a much tighter affair.  Foxon has the favorite in this one with Franklin Terrace(IRE).  This colt is something special finishing no worse than second in his six starts!  OkDavid’s PivotintheSaddle will try to run down the favorite from off the pace!  Punter’s will like the odds on Stlcards’ Alpine Wonder(IRE).  This ‘wonder’ mare has been dominating in the ATC 2yo Series this year, but it’s been hard to read just how much she’s got in the tank.  This race should give us a better idea!

3. 3434.5815- 7f turf

          Germany is home to the two sprints on the Champions Day race card.  In the turf sprint Givelovetheboot is the major favorite.  Dragnil’s horse boasts a career best 111SF and won his last Stakes race.  He’ll be looking over his shoulder for the customary late charge of Muadib, trained by the worst trainer in the ATC, eddieboo.  This could be the last race in what has been a rock solid career for the son of War Chant.

4. 3434.5816- 6f dirt

          Surprisingly, the dirt sprint looks to be a tight affair with some high quality horse in the mix. Eddieboo’s mare, Southern Twang, is the 7/2 favorite.  This is surprising because of the 111SF lto posted by alphonso’s SAT Test.  It will be interesting to see if this 3yo son of Aptitude can get it done against older horses.  For those betters looking for more bang for their buck, look no further than Alpine Pinnacle trained by one of the club favorites, pekays.  Pekays always has a cheery remark for everyone, and I’m sure the owners in the clubhouse will be pulling for an upset for his mare in this one!

5. 3434.6316- 8f turf

          The Turf Mile features another clubhouse favorite of the ATC, Mr. Inconspicuous.  This 3yo was last year’s dominate horse in the ATC 2yo series and has certainly continued his form in his sophomore campaign, including a career best 112SF in his last race.  Foxon will be hoping for continued success for his colt in this one.  To do so, he’ll have to nose out Dragnil’s mare Blue White.  Blue White managed a second place finish in the World Cup two starts ago.

6. 3434.6216- 9f turf

          The main event for the ladies features three girls with speed to burn!  This may be the most hotly contested race on the card.  The field is led by eddieboo’s Indy Rock Senor, winner of the World Cup F&M 9f turf race.  This daughter of Rock of Gibraltar is running at her favorite distance and will present a tough task.  Miswaki’s Last, trained by worldview, has the speed to handle just such a task.  She won the ATC Turf Mile last year, and is riding a red-hot streak right now! Dragnil’s Bling(SAF) has all the speed it takes if the two favorites stumble.  This blazing daughter of Horse Chestnut is a stalwart for this awesome South African trainer!

7. 3434.8716- 12f turf

          The crown jewel in the Champions Day card is the Turf Classic.  This year it looks like the ATC founder, DeltaTiger, might just run away with the whole thing!  The sentimental and odds-on favorite is her 4yo colt El Fredo.  Fredo carries the hopes of the DT stables and the legacy of his namesake, Fred the cat.  You can be sure that this writer will be standing on the rail cheering Fredo home on Saturday!  If Fredo stumbles, Delta’s is covered with second favorite, Cozy Delta.  With all that she does for the SIM, much less the ATC, nobody deserves to win the big one more than DT!  If you’re looking for some longer odds, try daisymaisha’s The Gas Guzzler.  At 9/1, this son of Fantastic Light will leap to the front and try to hang on against DT’s double-barreled assault!

So that’s it! It should be a great day in Europe this week, so I hope you stop by the clubhouse to toast the winning trainers on Saturday.  It’s been another great year in the Alpine Turf Club, and 2008 looks to be even better.  Drop by the ATC anytime to join in the fun!

GO ATC!