G3, The Crown Roys: Which Turfer Will Get Their First Graded Win?
| Kentucky (KY) Saturday, May 1, 2021 — 1:20:00 PM EST | Race ID : 2615465 | |
| The Crown Roys | |
| Grade III / Group 3*CPU – Purse : $150,000 | |
| Restricted to 3 Year Olds | |
| 8.5 Furlongs | ~1700 Meters | One Mile and One Sixteenths | Firm Turf |
It is Bluegrass Derby and Bluegrass Oaks week here in Kentucky. The races on the card for both Friday and Saturday are exceptional and you will be seeing a lot of exceptional horses, trainers and owners in attendance. The race I will be covering will be the G3, The Crown Roys which runs on Saturday. Last year in this race we saw Markkus get up for the win by a head bob at the wire, Markkus is owned and stabled in the nycowboy master stables. This year we will crown a new champion in The Crown Roys as they travel 8.5 furlongs across a Firm Turf track here in Kentucky to see who can get to the wire first and pick up this G3 win. There are fourteen 3 year olds that have entered this race and none of them has ever won a Graded race. This will change for one of them if they can cross the wire first and make their way to the winners circle to collect their prize. The odds makers have formed their morning line for this race and the post positions have been drawn. Let us now take a preview of this field of 3 year olds that are entered in this year’s running of the G3, The Crown Roys.
| 1 | SHEER MOMENTUM | KY | 3M | rollingr2 | C Snowden | 7 | 2 | 86% | $94,256 | 2.50 | 8/1 |
Breaking from the inside gate will be this Bay Colt sired by Quality Road who in seven career starts has hit the boards in six of those races. This colt started out running on the dirt and performed very well for his owner. But in his most recent race the owner gave him a run across the turf surface. He seemed to like this and made a nice jump in his speed rating. That most recent outing came on 03/27/2021 when he ran 8.25 furlongs on the turf in California in a $48700 NW2x Allowance. He crossed the wire in second just missing by a head and ran a 100 speed rating. This horse has no stakes experience, but the owner liked what he saw in this horse’s last trip and is bumping him up in Class for this race. The owner has made the call to jockey, C Snowden to come in and take to the saddle in this race. This pair will be headed out at post time representing the Universal Racing Club residency.
| 2 | EXCEL MAKERS | AUS | 3M | windsong93 | O A Haack | 10 | 1 | 40% | $40,395 | 3.00 | 31/1 |
This is a Bay Colt that was sired by Thronum and he has eleven career starts with four hits on the boards. He has a lot of Graded experience to his credit, but has never hit the boards at the Graded level. He has multiple hits on the boards in Listed Stakes races and the owner is going to give his turf runner another shot to move up in Class. This horse last ran in New Zealand on 03/20/2021 going 7.5 furlongs in a Listed Stakes, Barbs Java Again Turf Sprint. He found his position in third after breaking from the gate and he held that spot the entire race and that is where he finished up when he crossed the wire. For this race the owner has made the call to jockey, O A Haack who will be coming in from Florida to take the mount up top. This pairing is looking for their first Graded hit on the boards when they break from their post draw to the sounds of an excited crowd.
| 3 | FINANCIAL RESOLVE | KY | 3M | capeblanco | T Loesch | 9 | 3 | 78% | $116,981 | 22.28 | 10/1 |
This is a stakes placing Bay Colt sired by Palace Malice and in his nine career starts he has found the boards seven times, all of which were at the Allowance level. He has two second place finishes in Listed Stakes races and after those nice performances was moved up in Class for his most recent race that came on 03/28/2021 here in Kentucky. He traveled 8 furlongs on this date in the G3, Dracula Stakes. This horse likes to run at or near the front and he could never find his preferred spot when he broke out of gate number eleven. He remained well back the entire race and was never a factor. He gets another shot at a Graded run here in Kentucky on Saturday and will have jockey, T Loesch flying in from South Africa to take the ride up top in this race. This horse will need to show up with a better performance than in his last outing if he is to hit the boards. This pairing will be headed out of the paddock and toward the turf representing the East-West Connection residency.
| 4 | SIRO’S HERO | KY | 3M | 2020massatoga1 | N Lawton | 9 | 2 | 44% | $108,790 | 5.00 | 15/1 |
We come to this Brown Colt who is a scratch bred (BERNARDINI x DANZIG x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY) who is a prior Listed Stakes winner from back in October of last year when he won in a residency restricted Listed Stakes, URC Hopes and Dreams Stakes. This horse has been running on both the dirt and turf surfaces in his career with some of his better showings being across the turf. In his most recent trip to the track we saw him run on the dirt in Minnesota on 03/19/2021 in a Listed Stakes, Morph The Cat Dirt Sprint at the distance of 7.5 furlongs. He failed to perform in this race as he came up with an 88 speed rating that insured him to finish way back. He will need to show much improvement here if he is to remain competitive in Kentucky and he will get the services of jockey, N Lawton from New York back in the saddle to help guide him. They have paired together in the past and hopefully this familiar face in the saddle will spark the interest in this horse when they head out to their post draw representing the Universal Racing Club residency.
| 5 | URBAN PHAROAH | KY | 3M | urbanoz4 | GD Mate | 8 | 3 | 62% | $97,971 | 5.25 | 14/1 |
Next we come to this Bay Colt that was sired by American Pharoah who has eight career starts with five hits on the board to his credit. The owner of this horse starting him out running on the dirt, but in his last two trips to the track he has transitioned his colt over to the turf surface while running in Louisiana. This horse was last seen out at that track on 03/06/2021 when he ran 8 furlongs in a $48700 NW3L Allowance. In this race he was able to run down the front runner and nip the wire first by a neck. This was his second win in a row on the turf of Louisiana and now the owner turns his eye toward Kentucky to move his colt up in Class for this race. This will be this horse’s first Graded start and he will get the services of jockey, GD Mate from New Zealand to make his way over to take to the irons. This jockey and horse have paired together in the past and they will have their work cut out for them again when they break from their gate draw representing the Only Stayers residency.
| 6 | AUSSIE JUNE CHILL | NZ | 3M | fdllodgec | L Habib | 7 | 2 | 86% | $84,715 | 10.00 | 9/1 |
This is a Bay Colt who is a scratch bred (ACE HIGH (AUS) x ALL TOO HARD (AUS) x KODIAC (GB)) who has seven lifetime starts and has collected six trips to the boards. His only miss came back in January of this year when he ran in Vermont in the Z Celebre Turf Route when he finished fourth in that race. That was his first Listed Stakes attempt, but the owner gave him another run at it when he sent his horse back out in Oregon on 03/21/2021 to travel 9 furlongs in the West Tarbash Turf Route. He was slightly improved in this race as he ran a 100 speed rating and was able to get up for a third place finish. This horse is moving up in Class to run for the first time at the Graded level and he is going to try and show he can continue to improve. To help him in this effort the owner is calling in jockey, L Habib to come in from out of Michigan to take the mount in this race. This pair will saddle up in the paddock and come out in the post parade representing the All-Stars Racing residency.
| 7 | PERSEUS KRACKEN | KY | 3M | jastables18 | T Ace | 6 | 2 | 100% | $95,030 | 8.00 | 12/1 |
Breaking from gate number seven will be this Bay Colt sired by McCraken who has six career starts and that has never missed the boards in any of his races. The owner started this colt out on the dirt surface, but last October gave him a trip across the turf for the first time. This colt seemed to like the surface and has continued to race on the turf since that time. This colt will be moving up in Class for this race at the Graded level for the first time. His last trip out he ran on 03/24/2021 in Pennsylvania at the distance of 8.5 furlongs in a $43800 NW2L Allowance. By the third call this horse had taken control in this race and went on to get up for the win by one and a half with a 94 speed rating. He will need to show a little more fire power in his stretch run and the owner has called in jockey, T Ace from Texas to come in and take to the saddle for this trip. This is a familiar pairing and the jockey should know how this horse likes to run when they break from their gate representing the Empire State Racing residency.
| 8 | SALUKOIR | SAF | 3M | saluki9999 | K Friar | 7 | 3 | 71% | $98,080 | 10.00 | 10/1 |
Next up we have this Bay Colt who was sired by Duke Of Marmalade who has seven career starts and five hits on the boards. He has two prior Listed Stakes starts, both of which were fruitless and constituted the two misses on the boards that this colt has. He will be taking a jump in Class for this race on Saturday and will need to show he can gracefully make this move of which he has struggled with in the past. His last trip to the track came on 03/26/2021 when he ran 8.25 furlongs in Iowa in a $39000 NW4x Allowance. He was attempting to make a gate to wire run in this race but was caught coming down the stretch as he crossed the wire in second and was two and a half back. He ran a 99 speed rating in that race which was much improved. He will need to show more of that kind of improvement when jockey, K Frair from Minnesota comes in to take to the saddle and guide him around this turf course. This pair will be headed out in the post parade and on to the turf to the cheers of an excited crowd.
| 9 | DARKSIDE DREAM | ENG | 3M | knightcat | H Artack | 8 | 4 | 62% | $212,190 | 34.13 | 9/1 |
This is a Bay Colt sired by Frankel has eight career starts with five hits on the boards, one of which earned him his Graded Place badge back in October of last year when he ran second in the G2, Knick Knack Juvenile. This horse has continued to improve, but in several attempts a Graded win has eluded him. His last time out we saw him run on 03/28/2021 here in Kentucky in the G3, Dracula Stakes. This horse seems to like running at or near the front in his best races, but he never found his place when he broke from gate number ten in that race. He was never a factor here even with his improved 99 speed rating. The owner is giving his horse another run at it here on Saturday in the hope of finding a Graded win. To help this colt along will be jockey, H Artack who will be making the long trip from Turkey to ride up top in this race. This pair will be headed out at post time representing the Bargain Bred Racing Series.
| 10 | FULL TANK | ENG | 3M | zenyatta10 | D Givins | 9 | 4 | 56% | $121,225 | 24.00 | 11/1 |
This Bay Colt is a son of Kingman who has nine career starts and that has hit the boards in five of those trips. This colt is a Listed Stakes winner and he found that win in February of this season when he ran in Norway in the Believable Tie Turf Route. He had a nice trip with a 100 speed rating in that race. Then the owner moved him up in Class for his most recent outing in Paris when he ran on 04/04/2021 going 10 furlongs in the G3, The Force Stakes. He did not take kindly to the distance in this race and failed to perform. He ran a dismal 82 speed rating and lingered to the wire over twenty-four lengths back. The distance here in Kentucky looks to be better for this horse and I think we will see some improvements out of him at 8.5 furlongs. Up in the saddle jockey, D Givins who is a local fan favorite jockey here in Kentucky will take the mount. With this jockey in the saddle the fans may reward this pair at the betting window. They will be headed out in the post parade for this race representing the Blazing Saddles residency.
| 11 | CRASH IMPACT | IRE | 3M | horsechic7 | K Ledwith | 6 | 2 | 67% | $85,790 | 12.00 | 10/1 |
This is a Bay Colt who was sired by Night Of Thunder and he has six career starts and four hits on the boards to his credit. This colt had been doing very well at the Allowance level for his owner and the decision was made to bump him up in Class for his most recent trip to the track. He would be sent out to run on 03/21/2021 in New Zealand to travel 10 furlongs in the G3, Manatee Classic. He had several things working against him in this race, the jump in Class and making a long trip from Kentucky to get to New Zealand for this race. He was never really a factor and showed up at the wire in fifth. He now makes the long travel back to Kentucky for Saturday’s race. He will be dropping back down in distance for this race which should be okay for him. The owner has put in the call to jockey, K Ledwith who will be traveling over from Japan to take the mount. This horse looks to get back on track and show some improvement here when they break from their gate representing the East-West Connection residency.
| 12 | PERSEIDS | IRE | 3M | trotking4 | F Gossett | 6 | 3 | 100% | $129,665 | 16.00 | 6/1 |
Here we have a Bay Colt that was sired by Galileo and in his six career starts he has never failed to hit the boards for his owner. This horse has shown improvements and he will need to keep improving when he runs here on Saturday. This horse last ran in Florida on 03/14/2021 when he traveled 8.5 furlongs in a Listed Stakes, Prospect Learn Turf Route. He put in a lot of effort in this race and was able to get up for a second place finish when he crossed the wire with a 96 speed rating. He is going to move up in Class for this race here in Kentucky and jockey, F Gossett from California will be in the saddle to see if he can find another good trip for this horse. This pair will be coming out of the paddock together representing the Empire State Racing residency.
| 13 | BLACKBURNIAN | KY | 3G | danzigmoon5 | B Carley | 15 | 6 | 80% | $262,968 | 38.75 | 9/2 |
Next out will be this Bay Gelding that was sired by Sharp Azteca. He has fifteen career starts and has twelve hits on the boards which include six trips to the winners circle. He is the top money winner in this field and will be going off as your favorite in the morning line. He is a prior Listed Stakes winner from when he got up this past March in Delaware in the For Glory And Fame Turf Route at 8.5 furlongs. He then went back out for his most recent trip to the track on 04/09/2021 in Louisiana where he ran 9 furlongs in a Listed Stakes, Single At The Pro Turf Route. The distance in this race seemed not to favor him as he took a dip to a 97 speed rating, but was able to hold position and cross the wire in fourth. This drop back down to 8.5 furlongs here in Kentucky could be favorable for this horse and he will have jockey, B Carley in the saddle who is a local jockey here in Kentucky. They have paired well together in the past and we will need to see if they can once again find the winners circle together. I know this horse has run well on short rest periods before, but this will be his first race at the Graded level and he is again coming into this race off a fairly short rest period again. If he can do that successfully he certainly could be a factor in this race when they head out in the post parade to the cheers of an excited crowd.
| 14 | FLINTLOCKE | KY | 3M | alibilane39 | F Allen | 5 | 1 | 80% | $22,161 | 2.00 | 22/1 |
Coming out of the far outside gate will be this Bay Colt who is a scratch bred (FLINTSHIRE x BE MY GUEST x CARO). He is a lightly raced colt with five career starts and four trips to the boards. His last three races have all been at 9 or 9.5 furlongs so he will be backing down in distance for this race. The odds makers have not been kind in there morning line as they make this lesser experienced horse one of their longer choices in this field. His last time out this horse ran in Victoria going 9.5 furlongs in a $48700 NW3L Allowance race of which he finished up in fourth when he crossed the wire with an 89 speed rating. He is going to need to show much improvement against this field to show up a contender. In his efforts to do this he will have jockey, F Allen who will be coming in from California to take to the saddle for this trip. He will be looking to get the best of efforts out of this horse when the break from their gate representing the Universal Racing Club residency.
Good luck to all owners and horses!
Skippy’s Watch List
5-Urban Pharoah: Last two starts on turf look good. Can he move up in Class for this one?
6-Aussie June Chill: Has never missed the boards. Will that trend continue?
13-Black Burnian: Can he come off another short rest and succeed?
Tarton’s Long Shot
10-Full Tank: This 11/1 choice in the field had a rough trip his last time out and I feel this was due to the distance. He is backing down to 8.5 furlongs in this race and he has shown in the past that he can win at this distance at the stakes level. I am going to put him on some exotic tickets when I head to the betting window and give this horse a shot.