Full field for the Grade III Arizona Silver Spoon
Grade III
Six furlongs
Fast Dirt
$150,000
All horses, 3 years old and up
Roger Kahn wrote, “Horse racing is animated roulette.”, and this is exactly the kind of race he probably had in mind as a full field of 14 line up for this prestigious Grade III race under the crisp blue skies here in
Doctor Speights
Trainer: irishcrown
(Pleasantly Perfect x Forty Niner x Storm Bird)
Odds: 22/1 Earnings: 323,629 Runs/Wins: 32/7
A 5 yo from Nickesyd racing club from a D class mare. He won a G3 as a 3yo but seemed to go off the boil afterwards, eventually dropping back into allowances before finding further wins. Has looked pretty consistent recently without really achieving very much and it would be a big surprise if he came up trumps here.
Nwrc Quest
Trainer: subotai
(
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 194,864 Runs/Wins: 27/8
A scratchbred 5yo from Tequila Mockingbird and bred by nwrc. A steady allowance runner who seemed to improve enormously in the second half of last year. Best finish was 3rd in a G2 in December, but he comes here on the back of a terrific stakes win earlier this month so is in very good form. A front runner who hates to be headed so watch for him early in the race.
Trainer: fatattack2
(Sky
Odds: 11/1 Earnings: 753,305 Runs/Wins: 20/7
A 4yo from Lone Star Racing and bred by lasix from an F class mare. Had a good 2yo season, coming 2nd in a G1, but it was as a 3yo he won his first G2 race. His only race this year has been a fine tuning allowance race that he won easily so it’s hard to see if he will improve as a 4yo, but he will be giving it his best shot in the straight.
Sestriere(KY)
Trainer: sansebas
(Awesome Again x Alydar x Roberto)
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 610,055 Runs/Wins: 18/6
A scratchbred 4yo from Rafa Stables. He had a reasonable 2yo campaign, but it was as a 3yo he hit his form winning The G1-Kingab Sprint Cup. He has been slightly disappointing since then but has continued to improve. His first race of 2008 was on an off track and whilst he didn’t perform too badly, this better ground will be far more to his liking.
Sword Breaker(KY)
Trainer: topicount4
(Seeking The Gold x
Odds: 17/1 Earnings: 229,175 Runs/Wins: 21/6
A 4yo from Topicount Stables bred form a G class mare. He won a G3 as a 2yo over 8.5 furlongs but has only managed 1 allowance win since. Two second places in his two starts so far this year, both from well off the pace, shows that he has continued to improve as a 4yo but will probably need to be at his very best to take something from this race – certainly not impossible.
Grand Arbiter(JPN)
Trainer: lender2
(Agnes World x Gone West x Deputy Minister)
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 442,940 Runs/Wins: 18/6
A scratchbred 4yo from Deadinthelane Stables. Won a G3 as a 3yo but has only won 1 race since, though he has placed in a couple of G1’s. He looks the model of consistency, though his alst race was on an off track which he clearly didn’t like, being beaten by Sestriere(KY) in the process. Back on fast going he will be tough to beat and will almost certainly finish in the money here.
Western Romp Ted(KY)
Trainer: apacolypse
(Gone West x Blushing Groom(FR) x Creme Dela Creme)
Odds: 8/1 Earnings: 1,328,742 Runs/Wins: 25/7
A scratchbred 4yo from Tsyndicate Stables. Won a G3 over 8.5 furlongs on an off track as a 3yo but failed to find any further successes until he dropped back to 7 furlongs. Once back to 6 furlongs he won The G1-Scottsdale BB Stakes by a narrow margin but had a nightmare 2 weeks later in the Breeders Bowl Sprint. His final race of 2007 was a successful G1-DPCD Sprint Championship victory, but he has so far struggled to reproduce that form in his 2 races this year.
Cascade Magpie(KY)
Trainer: punter75
(Speightstown x Unbridled x A.P. Indy)
Odds: 8/1 Earnings: 202,513 Runs/Wins: 21/8
A 4yo from Phantom Pharms bred from a C class mare. He’s not been entered in many graded races and this is in fact his first since he was a 2yo. In terrific form just now having won his last 4 starts – but strangely all of them were on off tracks. That fact in itself may be the factor that rules him out of running as on fast dirt he’s never really performed to his full ability.
Trainer: lenny271
(Storm Cat x Forty Niner x Ajdal)
Odds: 15/1 Earnings: 315,749 Runs/Wins: 14/3
A 4yo from The Evil Empire based on an E grade horse. Only lightly raced and plenty of room for improvement after an unsuccessful foray on turf last time. His best performance was also on an off track so on this ground he could be just another also ran – but a nice colt for all that.
Trainer: zambaygo2
(Smarty Jones x Mill Reef x
Odds: 12/1 Earnings: 145,645 Runs/Wins: 17/5
A scratchbred 4yo from Rafa Stables. Was 5th and well behind Sestriere(KY) in The G1-Kingab Sprint Cup in July last year and whilst he has run much better since then he wont reverse that situation easily. This is his first run of 2008 so he should improve and could be up for a minor placing.
Fernando Storm
Trainer: muninn240
(Storm Cat x Seeking The Gold x Danehill)
Odds: 7/1 Earnings: 520,297 Runs/Wins: 37/11
A 5yo from Tees Stables and bred from an E class mare by fersara. He was a stakes winner as a 2yo but that didn’t stop his breeder/trainer entering him in a claimer as a 3yo where he was promptly snapped up. Although it took him a long time to come into his stride it culminated in a victory in the G2-Devil Went Down To Delaware in his last race as a 4yo. Won a restricted stakes in his only run this year and it is no surprise that he is a joint favorite here after 5 wins on the trot. Now if only I had put a claim in for him ….
If Six Was Nine(KY)
Trainer: zewango2
(Seeking The Gold x Saint Ballado x
Odds: 8/1 Earnings: 225,930 Runs/Wins: 11/5
A scratchbred 4yo from Black Label Stables. One of my favorite Jimi Hendrix tracks and certainly one of the favorites to win this race. Lightly raced but no stranger to the winners enclosure he gets his first graded run and has never been out of the top 3 in any of his races so far. he should probably have won his last race but just left his run a fraction too late, so his rider will be aware of that and make the necessary adjustments in this one.
Shades Of Gold
Trainer: sdmf2
(Seeking The Gold x Danehill x
Odds: 7/1 Earnings: 550,191 Runs/Wins: 28/10
A 5yo from Black Label Stables and bred by pg53 from a G class mare. This one was running some excellent races when he was entered in the auction to be snapped up by Black Label Stables – I shudder to think how much he paid. A second entry in this race for them he has if anything improved for his new trainer but has yet to make his mark in graded company. His first race of 2008 was a great start to the year but this joint favorite will struggle against some of the other runners here in my opinion.
Biodynamic
Trainer: super11
(Dixieland Band x Forestry x Arazi)
Odds: 15/1 Earnings: 176,717 Runs/Wins: 18/4
A 4yo from More Evil Than The Evil Empire! and bred by aak based on a D class horse. Just how this one came to be trained by his current trainer is a good question in itself because his breeder never raced him and seems to have retired from the game. He started his 2yo career off with a win and managed a 3rd place in a G3 and has continued to improve ever since. He started 2008 in good form and could find a bit extra here, but he will need all of that and some to win.
Summary
A nice Graded field with absolutely no clunkers – every one of them is a horse you would like to own yourself. Now I know that all graded races should be tough to win (though that isn’t always the case), but just about every one of these runners is capable of crossing the line first, so picking a winner is a real headache for punters. I shall therefore fall back on my old system – pick the one you can sing, so watch out for If Six Was Nine(KY).