Sixth Running of the G1 Penn Dash
Sixth Running of the Grade 1 Penn Dash
Last chance for the General?
Welcome to chilly Pennsylvania for the sixth renewal of Del Penn Champions Day. As in years past, the turf festival takes place here at Penn, while the dirt races are a short trip down the road in Delaware.
A solid if unspectacular field has lined up for the $3,000,000 Penn Dash. Several of the top turf sprinters recently ran in the Japan Sprint, diluting the field a bit. Nonetheless, it will be a highly competitive race, and any of these in here can more than hold their own against any other horse in the division.
One of the oddities about DPCD is that, perhaps due to its’ positioning at the end of the calendar year, sentimentality sometimes wafts through the air. A couple of years back, it was about the Hall of Famer Allied Assault (and for those of you who haven’t read Sand’s old BTB articles “Farewell to a Legend” and “How a Legend Says Goodbye”, I’d strongly urge you to go revisit those sensational articles), who made his final start on DPCD IV. This year, we have Horseshoe Bay nearing the end of the road in the Allied Assault Handicap later on the card. Rumor has it that this may be his final start. And in the Penn Dash, General’s Chariot lies in waiting, coming back a third straight year for a try at the final, elusive jewel still missing from his treasure chest.
Here’s a little known fact…way back in 2004, on a frosty December day, General’s Chariot secured his two year old Eclipse Award trophy with a win right here at Penn in the Grade 1 “Four More Years Stakes”. That race, which has never been run since, flew under the banner of DPCD III- replaced today with the Digging the Grave Handicap. So, the General has been here on Del Penn Champions Day before- this will be the fourth year in a row, in fact- but in perhaps the greatest of irony, the juvenile sprint G1 on the card is named for- Digging the Grave? The General’s rival? Who’s never won an Eclipse Award? Never mind TWO of them? Hmmm…that one must have slipped my mind. Oh, the irony….
At any rate, General’s Chariot has not yet been able to duplicate his success from 2004 in the following two tries at the Penn Dash. He’s been close- sometimes tantalizingly close- but just hasn’t quite been able to get there. Your failures become magnified later in life. Perhaps “failure” is a poor choice of words, when you’ve been able to accomplish what General’s Chariot has been able to- twelve Graded stakes wins, six of which are Grade 1’s, nearly $5,000,000 in the bank, two Eclipse Awards, a near certain first ballot Hall of Famer- perhaps “regrets” is a better word. Some have said that you don’t live if you don’t regret. I suppose it’s the price you pay for playing the game of life. Still, as the General’s career draws to a close- and can the end really be that far off?- he’s been teased, taunted, tortured and tormented by the Penn Dash. Loses by a length in 2005. Length and a half in 2006. Torture. So close, yet so damn far off. And one more chance goes by the wayside. How many bullets does he have left? How long before Father Time steps in? I don’t pretend to know, but the reality of the situation is that General’s Chariot hasn’t lost much just yet. He’s still fast and dead game. Maybe he can’t pop the 110+ figs anymore, but he can go 108+. But 41 starts…all those Grade 1’s…..wear and tear isn’t far off.
The competition isn’t going to make it easy for him. The defending Penn Dash champ, Northern Pirate, is back to defend his crown. Cronus, itching to avenge a narrow loss in the BB Turf Sprint, is here, and seven furlongs looks just like his best game. The red hot Otto Vashar is here. Super is bringing two arrows to sling at the General’s chariot. It might not be the toughest field the General has ever seen, but it still might be his toughest task to date- to hold off the in their prime monsters and the up and coming youngsters- all gunning for the throne, with nary a concern of who gets trampled on the road to the Promised Land.
So, is this sentimental journey going to have the Allied Assault fairy tale ending? Or does it end with a thud? Does he prance back to his stall, eyes bright, ears pricked, neck bowed, the proud General heading off into the sunset the way he was meant to, with nothing but open ground in front of him, only the finish line in sight……or does he trudge back, eyes dull, head down, body and legs covered with grass and mud, looking like the tired, old, beaten man that so many of his competitors want him to be come Saturday night…..it’s a tough, tough game. Mercy doesn’t figure into this language. The tale is soon to be told.
The field for the Sixth Running of the Grade 1 Penn Dash:
PP1 STARFALL (Giant’s Causeway-Sadler’s Wells) Up and down sort from the given3 barn at the GR Simsters headquarters….can fire big, as seen on Smackdown III day, but often follows those promising efforts with a real stinker or two. Worse yet, this guy has a nasty, nasty habit of not just losing his graded stakes tries, but he simply gets clobbered. He’s got one ITM finish in graded ranks. Mid pack/stalker type who can get seven furlongs, but he’s chosen a very tough spot to get his first Graded stakes win. At least Chirimbes isn’t on this one…..he won’t need an excuse.
PP2 PAPER JESUS (Quinton’s Gold-Unbridled) One of two sharp sprinters that hail from the kbsweet stable. Rather obscurely bred three year old appeared poised to tear down the division in mid summer. But he has yet to take that next step forward that thrusts him to the top of the heap. He’s always close, always competitive, and he’s another that looks to adore the seven furlong distance. He’ll settle near the back of the pack before launching his move. Already G1 placed (by a whisker), mulitple G-placed….has reason to improve, and could be right there at the finish.
PP3 SAMURAI MIKE (Singletary-Danehill) So…..the horse takes the man’s name……and now the offspring of the horse takes the man’s nickname. Nice touch. Late developing three year old comes in on fire. He’s won seven of ten sprints, including six of his last seven races. The only smudge on the record is his last start, finishing a rather dull sixth in a G2 race. First time facing elders, this G2 winner has a tall order ahead of him….he likes to come from the back, so he’s going to have to match strides late with some real ferocious closers…in with a shot, but it’s going to take a career effort to get it done.
PP4 NIGHT’S DESIRE (Night Shift-Unbridled) The second from the kbsweet group, and actually a stablemate of Paper Jesus. This one is the slightly more accomplished of the two. He’s a Grade 2 winner, and has been on the board in three grade 1 races, including heartbreaking losses by a nose and head in two of those. Not quite as good as when he was here for DPCD V, finishing a close up fourth. Remains ultra-consistent, and always gives a top effort. He’ll be stalking the leaders, and look to get first pounce on them. Like the angle of turning back to seven furlongs from a flat mile.
PP5 TREE GUEST HOUSE (Forestry-Be My Guest) If this race had been run three months ago, this guy would be a HUGE favorite. In mid-summer and early fall, he looked like a world beater. He won three stakes- one a Grade 1- and finished second twice in five race streak. The seconds came by a sum total of less than two lengths. And he was running sensational figures- 112 in the Liar’s Poker G1 win, another 112 in a narrow loss in the G3 Capital Spring Sprint, toss in a 110 in a listed stakes that he won in a romp- I’m telling you, this horse looked like he was poised to be the NEXT one. And then…..well, some bad things happened. Normally a stalking sort who’s never more than six lenghts or so off the lead, he got wiped out at the start of the BB Turf Sprint, dropped to the back of the pack and trotted home next to last. Must have been an aberration, right? Wrong. LTO, listed stakes, as the favorite, he breaks timidly, gets shuffled way back and spits out the bit, again finishing next to last. Holy cow, talk about losing the luster fast- was this guy in the Mitchell Report or something? He can’t be done- he’s only made 19 starts. So? I have no clue. He’s better than he’s shown his last two, but I just can’t bet anything on him coming off those two stinkfest efforts.
PP6 MR. C. SONG (Forest Wildcat-Carson City) Looks like another that the Liar’s Poker took a round out of. He finished a nose behind Tree House Guest in the Liar’s Poker, getting run down at the wire. After that? Poof. Bounce to the moon. He’s rounding back to form in his lat two races, but this four year old is facing a formidable task. He’s not only trying to win, but it looks as if he’s trying to change his style while he’s at it. Formerly a front running blazer, it looks like trainer focusforce has been trying to get Mr. C. Song to rate in his last two. That could be imperative to him going seven eighths….on the flip side….who in here wants the early lead? I haven’t found that horse yet……front runners have been treated kindly in the Penn Dash.
PP7 CRONUS (Giant’s Causeway-Forty Niner) Chilcoat…chilcoat…chilcoat…what’s with chil and all the great Giant’s Causeways she keeps tossing out there….remember Cader Ydris? Came thisclose to taking down the BB Turf Sprint two back, with a 109 figure…G2 winner likes to charge from the back of the pack late, and pretty much just ran out of ground in the BB. Capable of a giant run, and it looks like seven furlongs is his best distance. Worried about the last race crap fest? Don’t be. Last time he did that, he rebounded with a career top in the very next race. And he did it again just before that. The Movieland Turf Express was too short for this guy. Don’t be fooled. That race was a prep for this race all along. Expect Cronus to be razor sharp here. Cronus, by the way, I believe was the God of Saturn who ate his children. If this guy fires on Saturday, expect a lot of other horses to get chomped on big time.
PP8 OTTO VASHER (Seeking the Gold-Unfuwain) How evenly matched is this field? Well, here’s your favorite at a tepid 6-1. On fire in his last three, including an impressive romp LTO, garnering a 110 figure with something left in the tank. Just how you want to see a horse come up to a big race. Lightly raced five year old, who’s a G2 winner, has never been better in his career. He seems to have found a level of consistency that he lacked in the past. Versatile sort can sit mid-pack or launch a rally from way in the back. Will benefit from a fast pace, but won’t be hurt by a slow one- he’ll simply lie closer to it. Lots to like with this one.
PP9 THE FAST LAYNE (Rahy-Sadler’s Wells) Winner of the G1 St. James Tavern this year is looking for a bit of a shakeup to help him not only win here, but erase some bad memories of DPCD V, where he got crushed in the G1 Epiphany Too Handicap (refer to Given’s article on that race, as this is one of those horses from the Epiphany to move on to Classic glory at age 3). Going almost exclusively at a mile or slightly later, this son of Rahy, whom you’d expect would relish even more ground, he’s found success, but has faded a bit lately. After a sharp second in the 2000 Guineas, he won the G1 St. James Tavern. That took something out of him, and it took him until the Mospe Cup to really wake up, and wake up he did, finishing second with a 115 figure, covering the mile distance in 1:33 3/5. But again, that beat him down a bit, and he sort of drifted right a bit to the slow layne, getting abused in the BB Mile and the G1 Kingab Mile. So, to shake him up…back to sprints? He’s one for three lifetime there, so it’s not a total reach, but with the Penn Mile out there, one wonders how much confidence seacadet has in him here? Yet another who likes to come from the back of the pack, he needs to find his old rocket shoes, or he’s in for a long haul Saturday.
PP10 FLUSHING WATERS (High Chaparral-Monashee Mountain) You want verstatile? You got it. Flushing Waters has finished second in the G2 Battle of Saratoga at six furlongs, and also finished second in the G1 Prince of Whales- at TEN furlongs. In fact, he’s all over the distance board. He’ll come into this after running a 107 at ten furlongs which was good for a fifth place finish in the G1 Eclipse Stakes. Nothing seems to bother this guy. He goes three quarters, next time he goes a mile and a quarter…..never fazed. While he’s done most of his running in routes, he’ only been off the board once in sprints. Perhaps more importantly is the buzzsaw style performance he gave in the World Cup, where he fired a 113 at this very seven furlong distance, missing that G1 win by a rapidly diminishing nose. Sort of a strange way of managing a horse, but hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? If he brings his A-game Saturday, he’ll be very, very dangerous.
PP11 SEEKIN DESTROY (Mineshaft-Danehill) Half brother to Anticosti has really woken up over the last six months or so. Won a G1 five back at seven panels with a 111 figure, and acquitted himself well in the BB Turf Sprint, finishing third in a race that’s probably a bit too short for him. Tuned up nicely by crushing a 7.5f listed stakes field in fast time with plenty in reserve. Yet another stalker who will be tracking the leaders and waiting to make his move….in with a very solid shot.
PP12 GENERAL’S CHARIOT (Gone West-Storm Cat) Here’s the star of the show. Not much more to say. We all know the style…stalk, pounce and charge for the wire. Last “W” came in the G2 Battle of Saratoga. Still running 108+, but can’t seem to find that 110+ that put the finishing touches on his opponents earlier in his career. Still consistent, will need to call on every ounce of his considerable reserves to summon up one last big late run. It doesn’t get any easier after this….the big sentimental favorite.
PP13 FRENZY (Forestry-Grand Slam) Second of the super entries (along with Seekin Destroy), this guy may actually be the better of the two…he’s been ultra consistent, and his figures are slowly climbing…witness the back to back 108’s in his last two races. Looks most effective at seven furlongs, and should be sitting close to the catbird seat with a great stalking trip…more upside to this one than Seekin Destroy, and he ranks the best shot for the Supers in this race.
PP14 NORTHERN PIRATE (Belong To Me-Kingmambo) A year ago, Northern Pirate was all that. He capped a highly successful 2006 with a rousing score in this very race. So, the champ is primed to defend his title? Right? Yes? Well…..maybe not. Jockeymax, who was sooooo confident last year, is mysteriously silent this year. Perhaps that’s because Northern Pirate has run more like Northern Pimp in his last two- three races, in fact. After a score in an owner restricted Smackdown III race, in which he looked as good as he ever had, the wheels suddenly began to fly off in all different directions. He hasn’t finished better than seventh in his last three. His figs have gone 110/104/99/97. He’s lost his late charge. Has he lost interest? Don’t know. Safe to say that it’s going to take a total change in form to have him even catch a sniff in the lane. Yet another late closer. Does ANYBODY want the lead in this race?
SUMMARY Who wants the lead? Anybody? Nobody? Hell, a front runner with some class could steal this whole race. But is there one out there? Looks like Mr. C. Song will inherit the lead. If he gets off soft- look out. I don’t see anyone wanting to pressure him, so….
the wager is a straight trifecta Mr. C. Song- Frenzy-Otto Vasher.
Good luck to all!