The Tommy Wayne Johnson Stakes
It is a full day of stakes racing in California this Saturday. The 4 year olds will have their chances in The MINSTREL TRADING Stakes and the G1 California Handicap and then after the 3 year old girls race in the G1 California Oaks the 3 year old boys will finally have their chance in the G3 tommy Wayne Johnson Stakes. With a full field of 13 boys and 1 girl the horses will race 9 furlongs on the fast dirt to see who will take home a share in the $125,000 purse. 6 have tried graded stakes before, but none in the field have ever won a graded stakes before. Who will walk away with the win? Let’s have a look at the field:
PP 1 EXTERMINATE (ENG) (RED RANSOM x FUSAICHI PEGASUS x RAISE A NATIVE) bred and trained by younggroup (Tees Stables, 14%) Odds: 8 to 1
Exterminate is coming off a pair of wins and an impressive speed jump of 12 points to just break the triple digit mark at The CAROLINA NINER Stakes (where he beat Hookah and Rashomon). The only time Exterminate has finished out of the money in his 7 starts was at the G2-North Fork Stakes, also held here in California, (ITM 86%). Like many in the field, this will be his first try at 9 furlongs. He is also one of our horses with early speed who will need to watch out for those putting on the pressure down the final stretch.
PP 2 ALBERTA INDYSTORM (KY) (A.P. INDY x STORM CAT x DANZIG) bred by homestretc and trained by titleist (Balata Stables, 15%) Odds: 9 to 1
This will be Alberta Indystorm’s second try at a graded stakes. Last time out in the G3 – Giant Slayer Classic he finished fifth after leading the pack until third call, where the late runners began to overtake him. The fifth place finish is one of only two races where this brown colt hasn’t finished first or second. Early in the year Alberta Indystorm raced to a second place finish against competitor Gartelmann who finished fourth. This will be his first race at 9 furlongs. With jockey A Lewis, who is having a great year, Alberta Storm will need to hold on to his early speed to be a top finisher here.
PP 3 URBAN STORM CAT (KY) (STORM CAT x FORTY NINER x NIJINSKY II) bred and trained by triscay (OzSteve Stables, 14%) Odds: 6 to 1
After breaking his maiden with a speed figure of 90, trainer stevesutto sent Urban Storm Cat straight to the stakes where he has a win and two places. He looks to be on the verge of posting a triple digit speed, having run 99 and 98 in his previous two outings. With 5 races under his belt, he looks to be a late runner, usually not making his move until after third call and then he chases down the competition, never finishing worse than second. This will be his first race at this distance and also his first race since late in 2007. Urban Storm Cat comes into this race with the most stakes points, the highest ranked and was mentioned in the BTB’s Bluegrass Derby Watch.
PP 4 HOOKAH (KY) (UNBRIDLED’S SONG x GONE WEST x SADLER’S WELLS) bred and trained by zwango1 (Black Label Stables 18%) Odds: 6 to 1
In his first start in graded stakes and his first try at 9 furlongs, Hookah has history with 3 of the horses in the field. In The CAROLINA NINER he lost to Exterminate, but beat out Rashomon for a second place finish. He also lost to Well Groomed in August in his second career start. This grey colt just missed the 100 speed figure mark in his last two races where he won and placed. Over his 6 career starts he seems to be alternating his wins, if he continues with this pattern he will be looking for a win here. Hookah has also brought home the most money, making just over $370,000 in his career.
PP 5 WSOP (KY) (APTITUDE x RUBIANO x DEPUTY MINISTER) bred by trifecta and trained by texasace04 (Lone Star Racing, 26%) Odds: 10 to 1
Coming into today’s race with an impressive record, winning 50% of the time and finishing in the money 75% of the time is Wsop. This dark grey colt out of Texas Hold’Em has won both times he has tried this distance, although both of those wins were in allowance races. He has raced stakes before, but never a graded stakes. The trainer at Lone Star Racing definitely seems to know what he is doing with remarkable 26% win percentage for the stables he manages.
PP 6 CAT CHARM TED (JPN) (SILVER CHARM x STORM CAT x HAIL TO REASON) bred by tedsbarn and trained by ted (Tsyndicate Stables, 8%) Odds: 11 to 1
Cat Charm Ted is a last minute entry here where he will try graded stakes for the first time. He has a place and show in other stakes tries, but never a win. His last win was at this distance, but he is racing here with just two weeks of rest. The “cats” in this field have faced off before at The FINANCIAL SLAP Memorial where Urban Storm Cat took home the win.
PP 7 PLAYOFFS (KY) (A.P. INDY x SEEKING THE GOLD x IN REALITY) bred and trained by 2totango (Twoofus Stables, 14%) Odds: 10 to 1
In his maiden race Playoffs posted an 80 speed figure for the win and trainer 2totango moved him straight to stakes races. The son of Hide and Chic had a spectacular wire to wire win in his stakes debut with a 13 point jump in his speed. After a rough race late last year Playoffs pulled off a second place finish in his last race, the G3-Silver Fence Derby. One of the field’s many horses with early speed Playoffs will be fighting to take the early lead.
PP 8 WELL GROOMED (KY) (SEEKING THE GOLD x BLUSHING GROOM x RIVERMAN) bred by afc3 and trained by super3 (More Evil Than The Evil Empire!, 16%) Odds: 6 to 1
Well Groomed’s top finish in a graded race came in his debut in the stakes, a show at the G2-End Of The Line Futurity in October. After two more unsuccessful graded tries Super dropped class levels and Well Groomed finished second in The BIG MAC special with an impressive 102 speed factor. Well Groomed comes in to this race with the highest speed figure, but also the fewest wins, only 1 and that 6 months ago. This homebred horse likes to chase down the leaders, which is what he will have to do to win this race.
PP 9 GARTELMANN (GER) (MONSUN (GER) x ZABEEL (NZ) x NORTHERN DANCER) bred and trained by ladofmanor (Briant Breeding & Racing Empire, 9 %) Odds: 22 to 1
Gartelmann is the least experienced in the field, this being only his 4th career start. In those three races he has a pair of wins, one coming on the turf. He has tried stakes before (never graded though) at The MALT CAPOTE Handicap where he lead through most of the race only to finish fourth (behind Alberta Indystorm who placed). With a career high speed figure of 87, he will need to be a lot faster if he wants to be a factor here.
PP 10 IN HOUSE SLEW (KY) (INCLUDE x CHESTER HOUSE x SEATTLE SLEW) bred and trained by graywolf9 (Wolf’s Den, 12%) Odds: 20 to 1
After going 3,2,1 in his first 3 races, trainer graywolf9 decided to try him in his first stakes race, The OUR DOLLAR Challenge, where he finished a disappointing fifth and with an almost 10 point drop in speed. The majority of his races have come at an even mile, but he has run 9 and 9.5 furlongs before (finishing third and first respectively). This will be In House Slew’s third race in 5 weeks, so rest might be an issue here. After posting a career high 92 speed factor in his last race, graywolf9 is hoping for a stronger finish for In House Slew’s second try in stakes.
PP 11 LIFELESS PULP (KY) (SMART STRIKE x DANZIG x SECRETARIAT) bred and trained by rori (Pierchinski Stables, 18%) Odds: 12 to 1
There is definitely some life in Lifeless Pulp, only finishing worse than second once (in her first career start late last June). Yes, her, Lifeless Pulp in the only girl in the field full of colts. Since then she has gone on to win three times and place twice. This will be her first try in this class (and at this distance), but after finishing first in second in her first two stakes tries the jump in class makes sense. She is one of the late runners in the field and will need a great race to overcome those who start strong and to fend off the other late runners.
PP 12 TIDES OF DARKNESS (KY) (KINGMAMBO x SKY CLASSIC x SADLER’S WELLS) bred and trained by fairhaven6 (The Evil Empire, 20%) Odds: 21 to 1
Making his debut into stakes with today’s G3 rated race is Tides of Darkness. He traveled here from Argentina and the only track he has ever raced at in his 7 career starts. He will have to increase his speed if he wants to be competitive here, most in the field have hit at least a 90 speed figure and he highest is just shy of that. In his last race (also 9 furlongs) he started slow in the small field, gradually gaining throughout the race until just after third call he shot ahead to finish more than 2 lengths ahead of both of the favorites. Tides of Darkness has finished first 4 out of his last 5 starts and the only time he finished out of the money was on his first two races which were on turf. With an extraordinary record of 4 wins and a show in 5 races on dirt, the only question is whether Tides of Darkness is ready to compete with this class.
PP 13 RASHOMON (KY) (GHOSTZAPPER x SUMMER SQUALL x WOODMAN) bred by db2 and trained by donnyb (Change Is On the Way! (RASH), 16%) Odds: 16 to 1
This will be Rashomon’s first try at not only a graded stakes, but this will also be his first race at 9 furlongs. In his last two outings trainer donnyb tried him in routes where he finished second and sixth. The sixth place came at The CAROLINA NINER Stakes, his first stakes try, where he was beaten by Exterminate and Hookah. Rashomon does have 3 wins in his 7 career starts, but those all came in sprints.
PP 14 DHARMA INITIATIVE (KY) (MINESTAFT x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY (IRE) x BLUSHING GROOM (FR)) bred and trained by willyam46 (Willyam41 Stables, 9%) Odds: 8 to 1
Another horse in the field showing quite a bit of late speed is Dharma Initiative and he is coming off a decisive victory over Golden Fire in his last race, also 9 furlongs and here at this California track. He was over 4 lengths behind at second call and came around the turn to finish strong, 4 lengths ahead. His speeds have only been increasing since his first career start last June where he posted an 83. This will be his 3rd try at a stakes race (G1 – Movieland Futurity, finished fifth and The SORE SLEW Memorial, finished 3rd).
The oddsmakers couldn’t decide between Urban Storm Cat, Hookah, and Well Groomed giving them all the best odds in the field at 6 to 1. All three are late runners so it should be an exciting race to watch. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Exterminate, Cat Charm Ted and Dharma Initiative start strong and lead the pack through most of the race, but after third call the favorites will be charging up the stretch chasing down the win. I am putting my money on Urban Storm Cat for the win with Exterminate and Well Groomed just behind.