The Father Jose Stakes

Seven sophomores are in attendance for this year’s running of the Father Jose Stakes. It’s a dirt affair at 8.5 furlongs with a total purse of $75,000.

1 K’S DOLCE VENETO Kuovadis 5/2

This Forestry colt has won four of his six starts and finished third in the other two. He just routed for the first time and responded with a win and a terrific 97 speed figure, the highest in the field. I’d like this frontrunner better if he had a better jockey, but that route last time out arguably makes him the one to beat.

2 KONPAKU Rowdy 17/1

Bandini filly earns her keep by hitting the board in weak stakes fields. This one is stronger than others she’s been to and her speed figures in the high 70s are not going to be good enough, despite the small field size.

3 CYDONIA Ceclaim12 3/1

Rock-solid Araafa filly has been first or second in each of her nine races so far, several of them ungraded stakes. She has never routed before, so that is the huge question for this young mare. She’s been quick so far and has a good jockey aboard, so she’ll have no excuses. Her sire has leaned to sprinters so far in the sim, so she’ll have to hope that granddaddy Unbridled gives her the extra bit of stamina she’ll need. A very nice filly; she’s just searching for the right distance.

4 ZABIMARU Orosto 30/1

This gal is nicely bred, but so far hasn’t shown what it takes to succeed in a stakes race. She’s just barely managed to get numbers into the 70s and that is not going to get the job done. She’s managed to get paychecks in a couple of small stakes, but this is looking tougher than those races.

5 TRYING TO DO Kaif021 6/1

This colt by the obscure sire Cat’s Career has had a good career so far, with three wins and two seconds in five starts. All but one of his races have had small fields and this will be his first stakes, so this will be a definite step up. He ran very well in an allowance last time out, scoring a 93 fig at a mile. Other races so far haven’t gone above an 82, so one has to wonder if he’s improving that much or if it was a bit of a fluke. Either way, that race earned him a shot at a stakes race.

6 PERFECT HAACK Otto 3/1

This colt, who has won five of six, looked awfully good stretching out to seven furlongs in his last outing. He looks like he might well be even happier in this race. He’s improving steadily with distance so far, and although this will be his first stakes, he looks like he’s positioned to do quite well. Watch for him to go straight for the front while his trainer hopes he can stick around through the additional turn.

7 SHERIDAN Winstar 5/2

While this guy is a morning-line cofavorite, he isn’t as appealing in this race as some of his competitors. He’s hit the board in only one of three routes and hasn’t won anything in quite a while. Ultimately he’s just not running like a horse who can take this race right now.

There are some promising young horses in this race. Good luck!