Fourteen Set To Play In The Arcade

The highlight race this week on the card in Queensland is the Grade II Arcade Handicap. The Race is run over a mile over the turf and is open to four year olds and up. The purse for the mile long race is a total of $150,000. The weather has been pleasant so far in the week so expect the track to be listed as firm at post time on Saturday. A full field of fourteen horses drew into the race. Let’s take a look at the horses running in this years Arcade Handicap.

Drawing the post on the rail was Hollow Sun (GB) (Beat Hollow (GB) x Fantastic Light x Manlove), who is out of the race-winning dam Emerald Beacon, and is trained by favorite, owner of Goody Stables. The five year old chestnut horse has had a total of twenty-three career starts. All of these starts have come on the turf of which the hose has five wins. The horses most recent start came in January during the Race 5 Ramblings Stakes (G3) in Kentucky. Here the horse broke out of the starting gate and shot towards the front sitting just off the pace in third. When the field reached the stretch the chestnut horse ran out of steam in the mile long race and finished five lengths off the pace in seventh while recording a speed figure of one hundred eight. The horse has not finished on the board since the Ytankin’ Your Molars Out Stakes (G2) in Upper New York in October of last year. While there has been no great decrease of the horses speed figures, if recent starts are an indication it would be unlikely for the horse to win on Saturday, through we have all seen upsets before and perhaps the chestnut horse has found his form again.

In the second slot will be Duke Of New York (Pulpit x Danehill x Caro (IRE)), who is owned and trained by shiekabner, owner of Shiekabner Stables. This four year old chestnut Kentucky-bred colt has been lightly raced throughout his career with just a total of fifteen lifetime starts. The colt has won eight times out of these fifteen starts, with the majority of these wins coming over the turf, though the versatile colt has also won once going over the dirt. The colts most recent start came in January during the eight furlong listed Huge Table Handicap. Here the colt broke out of the gate and hung towards the back of the field in eleventh. He slowly made a move on the outside going around other horses before he made his big move at the turn. The colt was urged forward in the stretch and went flying by the other horses like they were standing still on the track. The colt won going away impressively by four lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve, a speed figure he duplicated from his win the Coalmine Mile Cup (G2) from later the previous year. The chestnut colt is an obvious shoe in for Saturdays race and very well may be the horse to beat on Saturday at post time.

Up next in the field will be Torch The Flame (Kingmambo x Seattle Slew x Alydar), who is out of the Graded race winning dam Gordie’s Seattle, and is trained by super7, owner of More Evil Than The Evil Empire. This bay four year old filly is the only filly entered to run in Saturday’s race. The Kentucky-bred filly has had a total of twenty-two career starts, of which she has crossed the wire nine times in the lead. All of the spectacular fillies wins have come over the turf. In addition to her nine wins the filly has also brought home three places and five shows, one of which came over a dirt track. To date she has career race earnings of $1,212,200. Her most recent start came in January urging the eight furlong Sexy Muffins Classic (G1) against the other fillies. Here she broke out of the gate and moved into second just off to the outside of the leader. She made her bid for the lead in the turn but was caught wide and ended up finishing a nail-biting third off the pace of the leader by just three-fourths of a length while setting a speed figure of one hundred five. If you’re wanting to root for the fillies this Saturday this may be a filly to watch and with on the board placements in last years Breeders Bowl Mile (G1) and a win in the Storm Dog Stakes (G2) she will certainly bring a lot of class to the race on Saturday.

Next is a late entry in the hoshaba owned and trained Highasakight (IRE) (High Chaparral (IRE) x Seeking The Gold x Nijinsky II). The Irish-bred four year old colt is out of the race-winning dam Be Consistent. The colt has ha a total of seventeen lifetime starts in his career and has won five of these starts to date. His most recent start came in the eight furlong His Brooks Challenge over eight furlongs where the colt ultimately finished second after settling back in eleventh but challenging other horses early on in the race and setting a speed figure of one hundred six.

In the fifth slot will be Zanzabar (IRE) (Galileo (IRE) x Blushing Groom x Nureyev), who is owned by peeps8, owner of Cobra Kai Racing Stables. This bay five year old colt has a total of twenty-nine lifetime starts so far in his career. Of these the colt has accomplished eleven wins throughout his career, all of which have come over the turf. The impressive colt has also earned lifetime earnings of $1,256,445. The colts most recent start came last month in the listed Your Sap Stakes over eight and a half furlongs on the turf. The colt broke out of the gate and was held back in eighth and then urged forward at the turn. The colt flew under the wire just off the board in fourth while setting a speed figure of one hundred six. The bay colt will be making a return to graded stakes caliber races this weekend after two off the board finishes in graded stakes late last year. Owner peeps8 is hoping the colt has returned to his winning form as he displayed in the Utah BB Mile (G2) after the brief layoff and detour to listed stakes.

The early pre-race favorite at odds of 5/1 is Seekin Destory (Mineshaft x Danehill x Fappiano), who is out of the stakes-placed dam Your Hill, and is owned and trained by super4, owner of More Evil Than The Evil Empire. The chestnut colt of five years has had a total of thirty lifetime career starts. The blue-blooded horse has won a lucky thirteen of his races, ten of which have come over the turf along with two places and one show over the turf. The horse has also been somewhat accomplished over dirt with three wins and a show to his credit. The impressive horse has career earnings of $2,527,290 most of which has been earned over the turf. His most recent start came last month in the seven and a half furlong Vermont Is 4 Lovers (G2) where the colt broke out of the start gate in seventh and was immediately sent after other horses. By the time the horse was up in the stretch he was in second and closing in on the leader. However, the horse ran out of ground and ended up coming home in second just off by three-fourths of a length while putting up an impressive speed figure of one hundred fifteen. This horse is definitely impressive and may be one to look out for in the race. The astonishing colt has not finished out of the money in any race since February of last year.

Following will be Mr. Inconspicuous (Aptitude x Forty Niner x Nijinsky II), who is out of the Graded race winning dam Bring Me Joy, and is owned by foxon4, owner of Foxon Stables. The four year old bay colt has had a total of twenty-four lifetime starts during his career, of which all but one has come over a turf track. The colt has won a total of nine races in additional to six places and five shows so far in his racing career. His most recent start came last month in the seven and a half furlong Vermont Is 4 Lovers (G2) where the colt was urged forward and kept just off the pace in third. He made his move in the turn but didn’t have enough left in the top class field and crossed the wire in third where he started, through posting an impressive speed figure of one hundred twelve, a speed figure that had previously earned him a win in the listed EAAA Division Inter-Residency Challenge Owner Restricted over six and a half furlongs. The colt looks to be peaking at about the right time for the Arcade Handicap and this may be one to keep an eye on during the race.

Next is Awesome Song (Unbridled’s Song x Awesome Again x Storm Cat), who is owned by goldcity, owner of Stevemunoz Stables. The striking dark gray colt has had a total of nineteen lifetime starts thus far in his career. Despite the colt being relatively lightly raced for his age the colt has won in his races eight times, all of which with the exception of one has come over the turf. The colts most recent start came last month in North California during an eight furlong allowance caliber start. The colt broke out of the start gate on the turf track and went right for the lead, at one time leading the field by an impressive five lengths going into the stretch. He did lose some ground in the stretch but still managed to cross the wire in front by one and one-fourth lengths with a speed figure of one hundred eleven. With similar runs in his recent race history as well as a Grade II win last year in the NC Mile this could be a horse to watch out for on Saturday if he has his day.

In at odds of 27/1 is Mull OF Glanoich (Mull Of Kintyre x Sri Pekan x Alzao), who is owned by stallcorio, owner of Dupre Stables. The four year old bay colt has had a total of twenty-nine career starts so far in his racing career. Six of these starts have ended in wins, all of which have occurred over a turf track. The colts most recent start came last month in the mile long listed His Brooks Challenge where the colt took off out of the gate and moved into second just to the outside of the leader. The colt was only a head behind the leader in the turn before he started to fall back and ultimately finish fifth with a speed figure of one hundred three, the best speed figure recorded of the colt this year. The colt returns to graded stakes caliber races this weekend after a step down to listed stakes and allowance caliber races after some disappointing finishes in some other graded stakes late last year. Despite the improvement in speed, the colt has not scored a win since January of last year, this in the listed Project Thor Handicap. Saturday will be the the definitive as to whether the colt has bounced back.

Drawing the tenth slot is P Parazi (Pleasantly Perfect x Arazi x Mr. Prospector), and is out of the Graded race winning dam Blushing Bride, and is trained by wispa, owner of Willow Stables. The four year old colt has been fairly lightly raced so far in his career with a total of fifteen lifetime starts. The colt has won six of these starts, all of which have been over the turf. The colts most recent start came last month in an eight furlong allowance caliber start in Vermont where the colt broke out of the gate in fourth and began to pick off other horses ahead of hime immediately. The colt went on to win the mile long turf race by just one-fourth of a length but posted a speed figure of one hundred eleven. This was a brief step down in class for the colt who finished disappointingly his previous start, the Strange Brew Turf Handicap (G3). With the improvement of placement in the race as well as speed figure, perhaps the colt is on his way to perform nicely this weekend.

Up next in the field is American Werewolf (Storm Cat x Fappiano x Nijinsky II), who is trained and owned by kensei, owner of Ozsteve Stables. This striking brown four year old son of top sire Storm Cat has been fairly lightly raced throughout his career with a total of nineteen lifetime starts. Eleven of these starts have come over the turf for the brown colt. The colt has won eight times, with six of these wins coming over the turf, but with the colt also accomplishing two wins over the dirt track as well. The colts most recent start came just last month in the eight and a half furlong listed Kong’s Redhead Handicap. The colt broke out of the gate and trailed most of the field in thirteenth and didn’t make his move until late in the stretch. Perhaps urged to make his move too late, the colt only manage to cross the wire in sixth, a slight disappointment compared to his previous three straight victories in which the colt also posted top speed figures of one hundred ten and one hundred thirteen respectively. Look for this colt to be back on track this Saturday and to make a bid for the win in the stretch of the race this Saturday.

The longshot of the bunch is George W. Loser (Polish Precedent x Personal Flag x Stage Door Johnny), who is out of the race-winning dam Wingo Door, and is owned and trained by monimonica, owner of Monimonica Stables at odds of 99/1. This chestnut horse has the distinction of being the oldest horse in this Saturdays race at the age of seven years old. The horse has had a total of fifty-six lifetime starts in his career with only a total of three career wins. Two of these wins have come over the turf with a single win on the dirt for the chestnut horse. The horses most recent start came last month during the eight furlong listed His Brooks Challenge here the horse broke out of the gate in ninth. However, the race was all downhill from there as the horse continued to drop back and finished last in the field, a well distanced fourteenth with a speed figure of just forty-four was recorded for the race. With a lifetime top speed figure of seventy-eight record in last years Laffit Handicap and a top finish of seventh in a graded stakes, one must wonder if perhaps the horse would be better suited to race in the claiming ranks rather than in graded stakes company. However, stranger things have happened and Saturday will reveal the outcome for the chestnut horse.

Following will be We Hardly Knew Ya (Dynaformer x Carson City x Round Table), who is trained and owned by doctahg1, owner of Dentition Stables. The four year old colt has had a total of nineteen career starts. Seven of these starts have ended in victory for the Kentucky-bred chestnut colt. All of these wins, along with two places and three shows have come over the turf. The colts most recent start came in January during the eight furlong Race 5 Ramblings Stakes (G3) where the colt broke out of the inside start gate and was pulled back into ninth. He started to make a move in the turn and was urged in the stretch but only managed to come up fourth in the race, though setting an impressive speed figure of one hundred twelve. The colt has been coming up to the race nicely with triple digit speed figures headlining his last six starts. Though the colt hasn’t won since October of last year during the DelPenn Breeders Cup Mile Restricted, he may have a shot this Saturday if he continues to improve.

And drawing the far outside post position in gate fourteen isBannaby (Unbridled’s Song x Hennessy x Darshaan (ENG)), who is owned by zalduendo, owner of Rafa Stables. This light gray colt has had a total of sixteen lifetime starts so far in his racing career. Six of these starts have ended in victory for the four year old Kentucy-bred colt. Four of his wins have come over the turf with two of the wins over the dirt. His most recent start came this past January in the eight furlong Laffit Handicap (G3) where the colt broke out of the start gate in sixth and was held just back in that position but was urged to go after other horses early on in the race. The colt ultimately won the eight furlong race by two and one-fourth lengths with an impressive speed figure of one hundred fourteen. Along with the distinction of already having one Grade 1 victory under his belt the colt has finished no worse then second in his last five starts and has not finished out of the money in any race since April of last year. If past race history is any indication this colt is definitely another one to watch on Saturday.

Out Of Nowhere (Rahy x Green Desert x Kris S.), who is trained by jesterjist, owner of Terptime13 Stables. The five year old bay horse has been lightly raced for a five year old with a total of twenty-seven career starts. The horse has won five of these races with career earnings totaling just over $100,000 to date. The horses most recent start came in January during an eight furlong allowance caliber start in China. Here the bay horse broke out of the start gate and got up into sixth setting back just a length and a half to the outside of the pace setter. At the turn the bay horse took control of the lead and went on to win the race by one and a half lengths with a speed figure of one hundred nine. The horse may be slightly outclassed in this field with the bay horse having a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred five and a top graded stakes finish of tenth back last year in last years Arcade Handicap (G2). Perhaps the second attempt at the race will result in a better finish for the brown horse.