IT MUST BE THE END OF THE YEAR WITH THE TURN THE CALENDAR MILE ON TAP THIS WEEKEND
Well folks, the 2007 racing season comes to an end this weekend and there is no better fitting way to take it all in then by going to New South Wales to watch The Grade I Turn The Calendar Mile which goes off as the last of 16 races on Saturday. A field of 9 ladies 4 years old plus have entered the 8 furlong turf race and will be vying for the winner’s share of the $500,000 purse.
Let’s take a look at today’s field:
1)THIRTEENTH DATE—5/2—congie5 sends this 5 year old mare out of GONE WEST with a record of 30-12-5-4 and lifetime earnings of $2,336,802. She is out of the mare DYNACAT FORM who was 9/21 at the track and who has 4 foals on record, all winners including 1 Graded stakes winner. This 17th divisional ranked mare races for the Congie stables based at the CR Racers residency. This mare won 2 allowance races in her 2 year old season and won 4 races in her sophomore campaign including 2 stakes hilited by a Grade I event in Queensland. She won 5 stakes races last year including 3 Grade I events and a Grade III race hilited by The Queen Ascot Stakes. This year she has 2 stake wins in a limited 4 race schedule with a Grade II win in Upper New York 2 starts back where she posted a 111 speed rating just 1 point off her lifetime best. Her last start was in The World Cup so she comes into this race on a 14 week layoff. She is a late closer and it will be interesting to see how sharp she is off the elongated time off but her back class and record do speak for themselves. The rider for today’s race will be Bangs (22.7%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—105.
2)GONE DEEP—11/1—tntfarms sends this 5 year old mare out of GRAND SLAM with a record of 29-5-7-4 and lifetime earnings of $286,138. This 1359th divisional ranked mare races for an unafilliated and independent stable. This mare did not race as a 2 year old and was 0/3 in her 3 year old season. Last year she picked up 4 allwance wins but they all came on the dirt surface. She was stakes placed on the turf last year and this year has a turf sprint allowance win for her only victory this season. She posted her top speed rating of 103 last November in a turf sprint stake and her best mark this season is a 101. While she has run 8 furlongs on the dirt recently she stretches out from turf sprints to a mile on the grass for the first time since November 2006. She is a closer who’s recent performance indicate she may enjoy the extra distance in today’s race. She will be looking for her first stakes win here today and her most recent try in a Grade I Turf sprint was not a very good effort on her part. The rider for today’s race will be Walker (5.1%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—93.
3)RAHY SET GO—20/1—royalybred sends this 4 year old mare out of RAHY with a record of 22-8-4-2 and lifetime earnings of $164,653. This 2151st divisional ranked mare races for the GR Simsters division of the Clement-Migliore stables. This mare was 2nd in her only 2 year old start and picked up 4 allowance wins before winning a $50K claiming race where her current connections grabbed her out of the claiming box. She has picked up 3 allowance race wins this year but is 0/4 in stake starts and will be making her Graded stake debut today. She posted her lifetime best 104 speed rating in an allowance win this past June. She will be stretched out to a mile for only the 2nd time in her career with the first being her second lifetime start last year. She is a speed horse who likes the front end and hopefully she will have the stamina to carry her speed the extra distance in today’s race. The rider for today’s race will be Gabanski (3.8%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—100.
4)NORTHERN PULP—2/1—theogbarn sends this 4 year old mare out of PULPIT with a record of 25-14-5-1 and lifetime earnings of $1,001,458. This 6th divisional ranked mare races for Robscoobi stables based at the CR Racers residency. This mare broker her maiden in her third and last start as a 2 year old on the dirt but was switched to the turf early in her 3 year old campaign. She won 8 races last year including 3 overnite stake races. This year she won her first 3 races of the season to extend her winning streak to 7 consecutive wins and has added 2 more since and just recently joined the millionaires club in the sim. She has won 3 Graded stakes races this year hilited by the Grade II Black Betty Handicap in North Florida. She posted her lifetime best 113 speed rating last year in a CR Racers restricted allowance race but has twice posted 110 marks this season including her last start where she finished 2nd in The Grade II Trash Can Mile. This mare can either close or stalk from mid pack and is sharp right now with 5 straight triple digit speed ratings to her credit. The rider for today’s race will be Dowell (20%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—109.
5)POINT OUT(IRE)—7/1—tcrowell sends this 5 year old mare out of SINGSPIEL(IRE) with a record of 38-9-4-4 and lifetime earnings of $465,210. This 46th divisional ranked mare races for an independent and unafilliated stable. This mare broke her maiden in her lifetime debut race as a 2 year old and picked up 3 allwance wins in her 3 year old season. Last year she won a pair of overnite stake races and has added 3 more added money event wins to her record this year hilited by The Grade II Independence Day BB Stakes in Kentucky where she posted her lifetime best 107 speed rating. She is a closer who usually sits at the back of the pack early on in the race. The rider for today’s race will be Arsham (11%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—101.
6)AURUM PRADO(IRE)—6/1—jkj2 sends this 4 year old mare out of EL PRADO(IRE) with a record of 29-9-5-4 and lifetime earnings of $288,665. This 108th divisional ranked mare races for the Great Plains Residency division of The Rock River stables. This mare was unraced in her 2 year old season and ran twice on the dirt before winning her turf debut race last year. She added 4 more allowance wins to her record last year and has 4 wins this year including an overnite stakes race. She posted her lifetime best speed rating of 105 back to back this October. She has shown versatility in her running styles by being able to get out of the gate quickly with some speed as well as close from well of the pace and that may help her as the race unfolds today. The rider for today’s race will be Owen (13.4%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—103.
7)SEEKING STEPHEN—9/1—earthsong sends this 5 year old mare out of STEPHEN GOT EVEN with a record of 49-20-10-6 and lifetime earnings of $848,008. She is out of the he-mare SEEKING THE CAT who was 5/26 at the track. This 186th divisional ranked mare races for the RASH division of Barndog’s Dog Pound stables. This mare had 2 wins as a 2 year old, one on the dirt and another on the turf and after winning 2 allowance races on each surface as a 3 year old closed that year off with 3 consecutive overnite turf stake wins. She won 6 races last year including 5 stake races hilited by The Grade III Scuzzy South Stakes in Ontario. She has posted 5 overnite stake wins this year but will be stretching out from sprinting distances to a mile for the first time since May of 2006 in this race today. She is one of the speed horses in the field today and will ensure a lively pace but will need to improve upon her last race where she tired after showing some brief speed in The Grade I Rock of Cashel. She has posted her lifetime best speed rating of 106 four times in her career with the most recent coming 3 starts back. The rider for today’s race will be Brown (12.3%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—100.
8)TENACIOUS V—6/1—peeps4 sends this 4 year old mare out of VINDICATION with a record of 29-8-4-3 and lifetime earnings of $1,796,434. This 44th divisional ranked mare races for the Cobra Kai stables based at the GR Simsters. This mare broke her maidein in a $50K maiden claimer on the dirt in her second lifetime start and was switched to the turf later that same year where she won 3 of 4 starts including 2 stakes hilited by The Grade I Storm Dog Handicap in New Jersey. She would win 3 times last year including The Grade I 1000 Guineas and The Grade I Del Webb Oaks in California where she posted her lifetime best 106 speed rating for the second straight race. This year her only win came 2 starts back in an overnite stakes race in Argentina. She is a late closer who appears to have tailed off a bit lately but with $1.7 million in the bank you always have to be warry of her talents. The rider for today’s race will be Fontain (8.5%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—102.
9)KID ICARUS—27/1—pudj1 sends this 5 year old mare out of LEMON DROP KID with a record of 36-7-3-7 and lifetime earnings of $380,663. She is out of the mare MAXIMUM MILLENIUM who was 2/24 at the track and who has 4 foals on record, all winners including 1 Graded stakes winner. This 618th divisional ranked mare races for the Pilgrim stables based at the GR Simsters. This mare was winless as a 2 year old racing on the dirt and after switching to the turf in her 3 year old season won her debut race on that surface. She would add 2 more allowance wins that year and would win 2 stake races last year hilited by The Grade III Freezer Burn Stakes at Epsom. She has won a pair of overnite turf stakes this year posting her lifetime best 103 speed rating in the latter, both on off tracks in long route races. In fact she is dropping back in distance from long routes to a mile for the first time today since January of 2006 as this mare has usually made her mark in the long route turf division. How she responds to the distance change is anybody’s guess but she has won at the mile earlier in her career. The rider for today’s race will be Philp (13.9%). PROJECTED SPEED RATING—91.
A very varied group of girls entered here today and with her main competition here coming in off an extended layoff I am going to have to go with the chalk today and lean towards #4 NORTHERN PULP who looks awfully good here today.
GOOD LUCK AND GOOD RACING
HAPPY NEW YEAR
THEO