EWC Showcase Turf Stakes Race
The EWC has been running a residency competition for a few years now which features 2 year olds. The EWC supports a number of tracks and at the beginning of the year, residents are challenged to find a sire from one of these tracks and breed it in any manner they desire (to a mare, he-mare or scratch-bred). They then make their debut against each other in February in the Sire Showcase Futurity with two races, one on the dirt and one on the turf. In October, the horses are invited to reunite in a stake race, the Sire Showcase Stakes. We can see how the horses have advanced since the Futurity and the residents at the EWC have a chance in a friendly competition with the same horses going head-to-head. Out of the original 17 horses, 10 are returning to battle in this turf race, which will be held in Californian at a distance of a mile.
Unlike the Dirt stakes race, this one has 6 females running as opposed to none in the dirt. Also, one horse has three wins (Financial Literacy) which is the most between the two races. Lets look at this field:
1 SHOW PROMISE 9/1 (Owned by Denovo) has raced five times with the only grass run which came in the Showcase Futurity and was disappointing as the 7/1 second betting choice and finished 15th and ran on the back end of the field the entire race. She moved to the dirt after this race, but has not improved with a best finish of forth and career earnings of $500. Her last race, she marked a 65 speed, equaling her career best and was the first time she raced with girls only and finished in 6th at 7 furlongs. She flips back to the turf and was really bred for the grass and she may have some upset potential if her debut race was just a toss away.
2 CLASHING ACTS 4/1 (Owned by Neonshadow) put in a fine effort in the Futurity race, finishing second at 12/1. She has raced three times since the debut appearance and collected a pair of seconds and sits with the second highest earnings in the field with $61,000. She likes to be on the lead or darn close to it. In the Futurity race, he ran second behind the race winner, Showman Fury throughout the entire race. Showman has bypassed this race and Clashing has every opportunity to get to the front and try to run off and get the win. Speeds have held in the 70 -75 range and the only concern is if she can handle the mile.
3 EXCEPTIONATELY 12/1 (Owned by Smittie684) has the fewest starts in the field with only three and she is currently penniless in the purse category. The Futurity race was not gentle on her as she took to a 12th position early on and just fell back from there to finish 16th. She did not fare better in her May start, with a similar fading throughout the race. She did race a mile in her last race but the results were consistent with her prior two starts. Speeds have not hit the 60 level and this lady has her work cut out for her.
4 NINELIVESCATSEYES 8/1 (Owned by Crawf68) has shown signs of improvement since appearing in the Futurity where he ran a speed of 59 and an off the board 9th place finish. His start after that saw the speed boost to 67 with a third. Speed in his last two have been recorded at 72 with a win at 7-furlongs in the first, however, finished 8th in his last start. He looks like he enjoys stalking the leaders and has had some success with that as indicated by his $30,000 in earnings. It just has to work and twice it has getting on the board 2 of 4 races, meaning twice it has not worked.
5 EWC MILLER FOUR 8/1 (Owned by Cuetec) had no luck in the Futurity finishing 11th and losing ground throughout the race. She has found some recent promise in her last two starts finishing second in both and notching her career best speed of 68 in the process. She has nearly $6,500 in lifetime earnings but my concern is on going the mile distance. She has demonstrated tiring before the wire going no more than 6 furlongs in the past and the longer distance could be a challenge.
6 SKYLINE HF 17/1 (Owned by Hemarfarms) has the most races in this field with seven but the earnings have not piled up as she has only bankrolled $3,200 to date. In the Futurity, she was never a threat and ran in the back quarter of the field the entire race, concluding in the 14th spot. She’s raced a mile once back in August and finished in the basement. She does have a victory to her credit which came in early September where she was dropped into a bottom level maiden claimer and showed she can be a late runner in the proper race class. Her best speed to date came in June at 7 furlongs with a 65 clocked. I liked the late close that she had in the cheap claimer and although it is unlikely, if she can replicate that going back to the mile, she could be pocketing some more cash. But this will be her third start in just over a month and weather she’ll be sharp enough needs to be factored into the equation.
7 SEPOY TWENTYTHREE 12/1 (Owned by Jm23stable) showed some promise with his 6th place (out of 17) finish at steep 34/1 odds. He has had a top three finish once in four career races and has taken $4,400 in earnings. That one top three finish occurred in his last start at 4.5 furlongs where he rallied late from eighth and got to the line to take second. That was a nice finish with a career best speed of 68 but at about half the distance of this race and he has never gone more than 5.5 flanks. He could benefit with the longer distance if he can replicate the late close he demonstrated in his recent start.
8 FINANCIAL LITERACY 6/1 (Owned by Atthewire) has both the most individual wins in the field with three as well as being tops in earnings with just over $100,000. Unfortunately, none of the wins occurred in the Futurity where he finished in the second half of the field in the 12th spot. But after the Futurity, he went to win his next two starts with a fifth after that. His last two races yielded a second place finish (on a yielding surface too!) and most recently with a win and a 73 speed in his longest distance to date at 7 furlongs. He’ll be close to the front pace and I don’t expect that he will have any issues going the mile distance.
9 LIVE OFF THE LAND 7/1 (Owned by Kashbarns) ran an 8th in the Showcase Futurity and was never in contention. The two starts following this were on the grass with a fourth place as his best finish. He shuffled over to the dirt in August and earned a win going 5 furlongs and a career best speed of 70. His last race was a let down on the dirt, finishing 7th and going 6.5 furlongs, his longest distance. He returns to the grass and will be asked to go a mile this time. So far the grass has been a let down for the turf bred horse and it is questionable that the distance will suit.
10 ELI MANNING 5/2 (Owned by Sjmeola) put in a fine effort in the Futurity as he trailed itn the 13th seat early on and closed nicely to finish fourth. He has picked up paychecks in all five of his starts with fourth or better finishes which has netted a total of $47,000 in revenue. He broke his maiden in July, with a nice late run in a 7.5 furlong race. He enters this race coming off a third place finish while competing in his first route at a mile where he blasted a career best speed of 84. He looks like the one to fear but be aware that his recent race happened just two weeks ago and he may not be fully recovered from the wear of that effort.
SELECTTIONS
Of the top 5 finishers in the Showcase Futurity back in May, only two have returned to compete in this stakes event. My top pick is with Financial Literacy. He’s had adequate rest and the mile distance may be right in the cards for him.
Clashing Acts has performed well this year and I think she will be able to handle the extra distance and has been well rested for this race.
Eli Manning , if not for the short rest, would be my top pick. As such, I’m still picking him and he may be just good enough to get the win here.
Good luck to everyone!
Thanks Ken !!