Gravestone (G III) Full of Desert Dandies

Gravestone Cap

Grade III

A mile and one sixteenth

Fast Dirt

$125,000

All horses, 3 years old and up

This is a serious group of handicap horses.  All but two ran triple digit speed numbers last out, with many at the 110 level.  The two exceptions had run several triple digit races in a row before their bounces in their last races.  Let’s meet them:

1 98877 THE LAKE EFFECT  grandslam  A Cross  8/1

Good to see the lesser-used sires Salt Lake and Timeless Moment represented in the graded stakes.  This 4-year-old has been around the edges in several stakes recently.  He came in to Dubai from California in November for the Silver Blood Cap; a winter rainstorm left the track good, and he could only manage sixth under the leading jockey.  Now Harzheim switches to HALF A WORLD AWAY, and this colt gets the low-average A Cross.  The track is dry again, and that may help his mid-pack run.

2 130792 SPANIARD(KY)  spqr  G Ayso  14/1  

One of the 3-year-olds in here, this Awesome Again product is just getting good.  He arrives off a good second in a Grade 2 event in New Mexico and his first stakes win just before that.  He has been making powerful stretch runs since June, and with two straight at the 110 speed level he should not be ignored at this price.

3 92097 ALYCZAR  jedi  V Carpenter  9/1    

Like SPANIARD(KY) to his inside, this colt is out of an Alydar mare.  This one is also around the 110 speed level, but there the similarities end.  He is 4 and a Silver Deputy; he likes to gun for the lead and try to hold.  It worked in the BLACK TIME(IRE) Bonanza two back, but in the ALYGROOM Special last out he gave up a big lead to limp home third.

4 106812 SPEIGHTSBAND  stoneface  N Huhn  9/1    

You guessed it, he’s a Speightstown/Dixieland Band, and he’s been very consistent in the high 100 range when not asked to go beyond nine furlongs.  He will likely look for his first graded win from a stalking position.

5 74401 A.P. PRECEDENT  squirrel3  C Kato  8/1 

He may be last early, but watch out!  He’s won his last two from way back, the last with a big 112 speed number.  The 4-year-old A.P. Indy comes from a Chester House mare, but he is mom’s only winner.  He scored a Grade 3 victory this summer and is dangerous here.

6 59502 HALF A WORLD AWAY  foxvbullet  H Harzheim  17/1    

The 2005 front-running Breeders Bowl Juvenile winner couldn’t get it done from midpack in the 2006 Bluegrass Derby, but he did bag another graded victory this summer in the Jerzey City.  Since that time, the Belong to Me 4-year-old has not been at his best, although he moved back into the century range when trying his pacemaking style again in a Thanksgiving week stakes in Ohio.  Despite $1.7 million in the bank and the leading jockey, this does not look like his race.

7 109104 MANIUS THE MIGHTY  waremblem1  P Chute  8/1

The proud Kingmambo 4-year-old trounced HALF A WORLD AWAY in Ohio last time, and his recent speeds are among the fastest here.  He doesn’t need the lead and has won his last two, but we will have to see if he has truly outgrown his tendency to hang in the stretch – he has been known to take the lead at the third call and wait for someone to catch him.

8 18808 ANCESTRAL VISION(KY)  steller4  D Lakencher  9/1

The Smarty Jones sophomore also comes in with two straight wins and looks ready for the big time.  He just got his head in front in a California stakes at the beginning of December, so he may need racing luck if he encounters traffic in a big field while making a late run. 

9 102590 IN PERFECT STRIDE  dixiedotco  T Tippett  8/1    

This 4-year-old has been running tough in open allowances lately and moves back to graded company.  He has black type from earlier this year and solid speed numbers, but you have to wonder if he will be intimidated by these horses.  Another one with a late run, he too could hit a traffic jam late.  His sire, Pleasantly Perfect, won his biggest races at 5 and 6, so he has a right to just be hitting his peak.

10 3757 MR.EKO(IRE)  pointe  Q Belfatto  8/1

The Street Cry 3-year-old won derbies in Texas and Oklahoma this year and crosses the pond in solid form.  He hasn’t won since his Winchester Park Derby score in September, but he could find himself in just the right position behind the leaders when the running starts in earnest.  Neither a standout nor a tossout.

11 120271 AUTOMATION  simsters6  Y Jones  13/1    

Another Kingmambo 4-year-old from the best of families, he had his four-race winning streak snapped last out in the GR Simsters Dirt Mile.  Prior to that he was a win machine with big speed numbers.  If the mile try was a fluke, he could have this race handed to him on a platter with his tactical speed, but he does run under one of the lowest percentage jockeys on the grounds.

12 116120 EPHRATA(PA)  pennfarm  J Cool  16/1 

This Lancaster County product ain’t no buggy horse.  The 3-year-old also represents underloved sires: Real Quiet x Alysheba.  He got good in Missouri late this summer, then shipped to Malaysia for a stakes victory.  He couldn’t get on the board in the EL BRASS Memorial last out in Ireland, and he’ll need his best game to beat this strong bunch.

13 116907 HENIANLAUCH(KY)  crandyiv  Q Cassell  16/1   

Hennessy sophomore nearly got it done in the Bluegrass Derby, losing a heartbreaker in the stretch to ATAUN and PASSING STONE.  His frontrunning ways did not serve him well in the rest of the Triple Crown, and like many in real life he needed most of the summer to get his groove back after the Derby.  At this point, he looks more likely to finish towards the back with superior speed to his inside and plenty of closers in the field.

14 117169 MALACHI CONSTANT  ih8u  S L Ledwith  8/1    

This 4-year-old by Cozzene won the Grade 1 Bob Woodward and was given a break after a creditable fifth in the Jockey Guild Gold Cup.  He’s likely to be dead last, so the post is not much of a concern.  In addition, Ledwith wins over 20% and certainly knows what to do here in the desert.