Seven To Answer The Pricey Courage Challenge (written by Kbsweet)
Article written by Kbsweet.
PRICEY COURAGE CHALLENGE
Ascot, 13F turf, $75,000, 4&up open
Stakes Record: 2:47 2/5
(Strategic Allicance, 2005)
WELCOME!
This is the 3rd running of the Pricey Courage Challenge. The inaugural running of the young stakes race February 5th, 2005 and showcased a short field of 6 runners; 3 were stakes winners, one was graded placed one was stakes placed, and the last was a winner of claiming races. Surprisingly enough, that race houses the stakes record, set by Strategic Alliance in 2:47 2/5; the horse wired the field, winning by 3 lengths with a 96 speed figure. The Pricey Courage Challenge was not run in 2006. Last year, a mere 5 runners entered the starting gate, 2 were winners, one was stakes placed. Flying Academy stopped the clock in 2:49 1/5 with an 85 speed figure after taking the lead early in the race and running home by nearly 5 lengths.
In 2008, the race has 3 graded winners loading into the gate on Saturday and what appears to be a lack of early speed which may force one or two of the stalkers to take command which in my book could only mean trouble for those deep closers of the field. Let’s check out the horses by post positions first…
PP1: WESTERN SCULPTURE (6yoH by Statue of Liberty, out of Vacheron, Gone West x Unfuwain): G1 Winner
Breaking on the rail is co-2nd-choice Western Sculpture. The weathered bay son of Statue of Liberty reigns from the Ridgecrest Champion Stables, trained by dorrin. He is a co-entry of Camaron. Western Sculpture does his best running when the jockey keeps him within 4 lengths of the frontrunners. He last ran on December 29th, 2007 in the overnight Stormy Sea Adle Challenge where we saw him racing close up early on before fading through the deep stretch to finish 4th. The 12F specialist is capable of getting 13F as he demonstrated back in September. If he can repeat his performance from two back then he will be in the mix at the finish. However, it appears that good old age has caught up with Western Sculpture with 43 starts to his credit. Can he find his fountain of youth?
PP2: SIMULATION KING(ire) (5yoH by Desert King, out of With Approval x Alleged): G1 Winner
Coming out of the gate as the 2/1 favorite is the light grey Simulation King(ire). Simulation King is now trained by champions4 after a stable transfer from legends2 back in the August auction. Both stables are listed under the It’s A New Day stables. Simulation King has a mere 16 starts to his name, 10 of which have been ITM finishes, however, the last 5 races have been out of the top money spots. It appears that the colt needs a bit of a push from his jockey sooner rather than later in order to make up the distance between him and the wire. Simulation King lasted raced 10 weeks ago in the Japan Classic-G1, finished 6th. Prior to that race, the colt closed from nearly 22 lengths back in the Breeders Bowl Turf-G1 to finish 4th. Oddly enough, five starts ago he attempted to wire the field, darting off to an 11 length lead at one point before fading to 4th in the Sword Swallower-G1. The 10 week layoff may either prove to be the downfall of Simulation King or it may prove to be just what the doctor ordered after his past 5 lackluster performances.
PP3: DUBFLY’S WELLS (6yoH by E Dubai, out of Mike’s First, Sadler’s Wells x Seattle Slew): Stakes Winner
This regally bred horse is trained by charliefly and owned by Brundlefly Stables, a large stable operation of 50 working stables and 466 horses. Dubfly’s Wells is one of only two horses in this field coming into this race off of a trip to the winner’s enclosure; the chestnut took the 13F Senior Rizzo Challenge by 1 ½ lengths after keeping close company early on in the short 4-horse field. Dubfly’s Wells prefers to keep within 7 to 8 lengths of the leader prior to making a quick bid for the lead. He has brought home a paycheck in 5 of his last 6 trips to the starting gate, 3 of the last 5 have been ITM. Coming into this race in winning form is a plus, however, 42 races under his belt is a minus.
PP4: SAGE(ire) (5yoH by Great Pyramid, out of Storm Angel, Storm Cat x Lyphard): Allowance Winner, Stakes Placed
Trained by sterlingra, Sage(ire) is relatively new to stakes company & marathon distances. Two back in the 12F Ridge Coming stakes, the colt only managed to pass 4 horses in the stretch to finish 6th after racing in last most of the way. Last time out, on January 5th, Sage(ire) took on 3 other horses in the 14F Desert Warrior stakes; he raced much closer to the pace and closed quickly to finish 2nd beaten 3 ¾ lengths with a 94 speed figure. The horse will need to flash much faster speed figures in order to keep up with some of the others in this race, however, Sage(ire) appears to have heart, having finished ITM in 4 of his last 5, including a win in a restricted 10F allowance.
PP5: FREEZE(nz) (5yoH by Zabeel, out of Barathea x Saint Ballado): G1 Winner
Loading into the 5-spot is the co-2nd choice, Freeze(nz). Trained by aggots and owned by Briant Breeding & Racing Empire (ladofmanor). It appears that the big bay may have been injured last time out on November 24th in the Japan Classic-G1, finishing a distanced 13th with a poor 73 speed figure. Freeze(nz) has had 10 weeks to recuperate and may be needing Saturday’s race to get back on track. Prior to the Japan Classic was a dismal performance in the Coffeefields Cup-G1 which was run over an off-track. In order to see his last top run you have to look all the way back to September 8th – Freeze(nz) fought hard to finish 3rd in the Man of War-G1. To his credit, he did finish 1st in the Sword Swallower-G1 by ½ length and with a 108sp after a furious late charge down the lane, beating Saturday’s favorite, Simulation King. All-in-all, however, the colt needs to rediscover his 2007 summer form to steal the show. Freeze(nz) is definitely the class of the field based on performances in graded company.
PP6: CARAMON(ire) (4yoC by Desert King, out of Sadler’s Wells x Mr. Prospector): Stakes Winner
The youngest horse in the field is Caramon(ire), trained by cyprus, and owned by Ridgecrest Champion Stable which makes him the co-entry of Western Sculpture. The strapping chestnut colt was introduced to stakes company last time out in the 12F Mambo Jumbo Special. It proved to be just the right move as the colt raced within 8 of the leader before displaying a gritty fight for the wire to win by ¼ lengths with a 101 speed figure. Two back was another victory for the colt in a restricted 10F allowance against 11 other entries; Caramon(ire) raced within 1 ½ lengths of the leader before taking command and pulling off by 3 lengths for a trip to the winner’s enclosure with a 97 speed figure. This will be his first race of the New Year. Positives for Caramon(ire) are that he has youth on his side with only 15 starts to his name, and he is riding on a 2-race-confidence-boosting win streak Another plus is Caramon’s running preference, as most of the others prefer to close from 15 to 20 lengths back, Caramon(ire) will have a few steps up on the field racing within 2 to 6 lengths behind the leader. A minus is the fact that the colt’s speed figures must improve in order to match strides with the 3-graded winners in this field. Could be the upset winner…
PP7: OFF THE BLOCK(fr) (5yoH by Highest Honor, out of Woodchip, Woodman x Nureyev): Allowance Winner, Stakes Placed, Graded Placed
Loading into the last stall is Off The Block(fr), the 14/1 longshot of the field. The roan is trained by lgbost2yo and has been racing in restricted allowance company of late in attempts to rebuild his confidence after several so-so runs in stakes company. Off The Block(fr) is a deep closer that appears to run out of ground – he may be another that needs a little pushing to move sooner rather than later in order to improve. The nearly white gelding has finished ITM in 4 of his last 6 starts; however, he has not seen the winner’s enclosure since March 24th of 2007 – nearly a year ago. Off The Block(fr) will need to see at least a 20 point jump in his speed figures before he makes a dent in the top 3 finishing positions.
BY SPEED FIGURES…
Freeze(nz) followed by Simulation King(ire) and then Western Sculpture lead the field by speed figures. Next in line is Dubfly’s Wells who’s seen speed figures in the low 100s much more frequently than Caramon(ire) and Sage(ire); however, Caramon(ire) is showing signs of being on the improve… Off The Block pulls up the rear with speed figures that average in the 80s and low 90s.
RACING PREFERENCE…
As I’ve mentioned earlier, there is a large lack of early speed in Saturday’s line-up and a plethora of deep closers. Western Sculpture looks to inherit the early lead (unless Simulation King(ire) pulls another 180 and tries to wire the field as he attempted in the Sword Swallower). Caramon(ire) and Dubfly’s Wells look to keep pressure on Western Sculpture in the early going. The other four will be hanging back in the rear bidding their time. They will have to make their runs early to run down the leaders who will most likely dictate a slow speed up front, saving energy for the run to the wire.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a new stakes record set on Saturday. Happy racing/betting to all & Good Luck!!
~Keely ☺