G1, The Big Apple: Can Let Me Be Cadet successfully defend his title?

New York (NY) Saturday, December 11, 2021 — 3:00:00 PM EST | Race ID : 2618769
The Big Apple
Grade I / Group 1*CPU – Purse : $750,000
Restricted to 3 Year Olds and Older
14 Furlongs | ~2800 Meters | One Mile and Three Quarters	Fast Dirt

We are headed to New York this weekend where we will find headlining the card the G1, The Big Apple.  We have twelve entries that will travel 14 furlongs across the fast dirt track come post time.  This race is restricted to horses that are 3 year olds and older.  The post positions for this race have been drawn and the morning line odds have been announced.  Let us now take a quick preview of the twelve horses that will start on Saturday in the running of the G1, The Big Apple.

1

IN ALL HIS GLORY

KY

4M

mtk76hold

M Kelly

14

5

57%

$260,735

12.00

10/1

This is a 4 year old Light Grey Colt that was sired by Tapit.  This horse has multiple Listed Stakes wins and only one Graded start of which he finished well back earlier in the season.  The owner is jumping this horse back up in Class here on Saturday with the hope that his horse has matured and can rise up to meet the challenge.  His most recent start was on 11/06/2021 when he traveled 14 furlongs in California in a residency restricted Listed Stakes, GRS Breeders Bowl Marathon.  He maintained the lead in this race until he got caught in the stretch run for the wire and was run down.  He did get a second place finish in this race over four strides back with a 109 speed rating.  The owner sends his horse out on Saturday here in New York and has called upon a familiar jockey, M Kelly from Delaware to saddle up again as he did in this horses most recent trip to the track.  They will come out in the post parade and head toward their inside gate draw representing the GR Simsters residency.

2

SNUGGLEPUFF

AR

4G

teacherlay9

V Jennings

15

5

67%

$264,560

13.25

12/1

Next out we have this 4 year old Bay Gelding who is a scratch bred (BRAHMS x MONTJEU x DEEP IMPACT).  He has shown up at the wire with some pretty good races for his owner this season.  In August he ran 10 furlongs in a Local Championship Stakes in Arkansas and was closing fast and finished second.  He then went out for his most recent race on 10/04/2021 when he went 16 furlongs in another Local Championship in Arkansas of which he made a gate to wire trip and best this field by four and a half lengths with a 107 speed rating.  The owner now turns his sights on New York for his champion and giving him a big jump in Class in hopes he can prove to be a contender as he sends him out at the Graded level for the first time.  Jockey, V Jennings from Arkansas will again ride in the saddle as he did in this horse’s last race in Arkansas.  They will come out of the paddock in the post parade to the cheers of an excited crowd.

3

MALUMA

KY

4M

puracrema

O A Haack

15

5

53%

$233,642

8.00

20/1

Here we have a 4 year old Chestnut Colt who was sired by Awesome Again.  Two races back in September this horse went 16 furlongs in Kentucky in a Local Championship Stakes and closed from 8 lengths back to get up for the win by four and a half with a 107 speed rating.  He then came out for his most recent race on 11/07/2021 in Virginia to travel 16 furlongs in the G2, The Rocky Top Derby.  He would not have the success he found in his previous race as he crossed the wire off the boards in fourth with a 101 speed rating.  He is being sent back out here in New York on Saturday and the owner has contracted with jockey, O A Haack from Florida.  He has ridden this horse in one prior start that did not end well, but they are giving it another shot together to see if they can get this horse to the boards in this race.  They will come out of the paddock and head over to their post draw representing the Latinos Del Mundo residency.

4

COSMIC CORRECTION

GER

4M

empirez

N Bonus

21

7

57%

$440,678

52.00

10/1

Coming out next we will see this 4 year old Chestnut Colt who was sired by Adlerflug.  This horse has shown up well for his owner traveling in longer races.  He has three Listed Stakes wins on the season and his only start against Graded company he finished fourth.  His most recent trip to the track came when he went out on 10/22/2021 in the Czech Republic going 13 furlongs in a Listed Stakes, Prince Murf Dirt Endurance.  He made a big closing effort in his stretch run which was good enough to get him on the boards in third with a 108 speed rating.  He comes to New York this weekend as he moves back up in Class to see if he can find his first hit on the boards at the Graded level.  He will get the services of jockey, N Bonus from out of Illinois in the saddle to mount up and take the trip with him.  This pair will saddle up for the first time together and make their way to their post draw representing the Elite Racing Club residency.

5

CUSTOMIZER

KY

4G

vodka7

R Hansen

17

7

65%

$370,351

98.00

7/1

This is a 4 year old Roan Gelding that is a scratch bred (MEDAGLIA D’ORO x MR. PROSPECTOR x SEATTLE SLEW).  This horse has had his share of success this season and has only missed the boards one time and that came back in January.  Two races back he ran in October in British Columbia going 14 furlongs in the G3, The Molson Export of which he made a nice gate to wire trip to cross the wire first by three with a 113 speed rating.  He was then sent out for his most recent race on 11/05/2021 where he went 14 furlongs in California in the G1, Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Marathon of which he came in third with a 111 speed rating.  The owner is in hopes of a big run out of his horse on Saturday and has called in familiar jockey, R Hansen from California to come in and take the mount up top.  This pair will make their way over to their gate at post time representing the Drunken Jockeys Club residency.

6

LET ME BE CADET

KY

5M

cadetrx

F Gossett

24

10

67%

$2,530,530

392.00

4/1

Here we have a 5 year old Bay Horse that was sired by Maclean’s Music and that is out of HOF mare, Cadet Cat.  This horse continues to run well this season for the owner and I must point out that this horse won this race last year in the G1, The Big Apple and is back again this year to defend that title.  This horse’s most recent trip to the track came on 11/05/2021 when he traveled 14 furlongs in California in the G1, Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Marathon.  He made up a little ground after the third call of the race and weaved his way into a second place finish with a 112 speed rating.  He now comes back to work on Saturday here in New York where the owner is in hope of his horse successfully keeping his crown.  This year the owner is calling upon jockey, F Gossett from California to come in and saddle up in the paddock with his horse.  They will make their way onto the dirt and break from their post draw representing the Empire State Racing residency.

7

PUMARES

IRE

4G

lightng122

Ko Williams

19

3

42%

$157,021

0.00

23/1

Next out we have this Bay Gelding who was sired by Invincible Spirit.  He has been running on the turf thus far in his career and come Saturday he will make his début on the dirt.  He has not hit the boards or found a win since October of 2020 and perhaps this change in surface is what he needs to spark his interest.  His last time out he ran on 08/27/2021 in Arizona going 16 furlongs on the turf in a Listed Stakes, Cincinnati Soup Turf Stayer.  He ran far back throughout this race and crossed the wire in seventh well over thirty-one lengths off the lead with an 86 speed.  He is going to need to show up much improved over that last start here in New York and the owner will get jockey, Ko Williams to come in and take to the irons with his horse.  They will head out to their post draw on Saturday to the cheers of an excited crowd.

8

IT WAS THERE

KY

4G

kurvin

M Zeus

20

5

45%

$218,748

12.00

9/1

This is 4 year old Light Grey Gelding sired by Mizzen Mast.  This horse has been running at various levels this season from Claimers to Graded races.  In October he ran 11 furlongs in British Columbia in the G2, The Premier which has been his only Graded start and he finished in sixth well back and was never really a factor in this outing.  He then came back out for his most recent race of which he went 10 furlongs in Kentucky in a Local Starter Allowance.  He was in third through the first two calls of the race but then started falling off the pace and crossed the wire in seventh with a 100 speed rating.  He is going to need to show up much improved on Saturday to prove to be a contender in this field.  He gets jockey, M Zeus from Spain who will be flying in to take the trip with him when they break from their gate representing the All-Stars Racing residency.

9

WOULD BE UNIFIED

KY

4M

abargain1

T Rharfoman

17

3

59%

$170,455

10.50

14/1

Next out we have this 4 year old Bay Colt that was sired by Unified.  Two races back in early October he went 10.5 furlongs in Minnesota in a Listed Stakes, Toxicsuperfreakout Dirt Route.  He had a pretty good trip in this race as he closed strong down the stretch from ten lengths back to chase for the lead as he crossed the wire in second just three quarters off with a 110 speed rating.  Then came his most recent race where he was sent back out on a short rest on 10/22/2021 in West Virginia going 10 furlongs in a Listed Stakes, St. Niner Dirt Route.  He would not have a good trip that day when he failed to fire and ended up crossing the wire in seventh well back with a 101 speed rating.  His eye is on New York now as his owner jumps him up in Class to run in this Graded race for the first time this season.  He will get jockey, T Rharfoman from New Zealand to come in and saddle up.  They will come out in the post parade and make their way to their gate draw representing the All-Stars Racing residency.

10

OUTBACK CALASH

KY

5G

yozgeld02

M Scott

23

11

61%

$1,261,180

192.00

5/1

Next out we will see this 5 year old Bay Gelding that is a scratch bred (MALIBU MOON x MEDAGLIA D’ORO x DEPUTY MINISTER).   Two races back in August this horse ran in Washington going 16 furlongs in the G1, The Seattle Stayer.  He made a beautiful gate to wire trip to get the win by four and three-quarters lengths.  He was then sent back out for his most recent trip to the track on 11/05/2021 to go 14 furlongs in California in the G1, Breeders’ Bowl Marathon.  He had the lead early but started to fade in his stretch run and ended up crossing the wire well back in eighth with a 106 speed rating.  He is coming to New York on Saturday and his owner is in hopes he can rebound from that last race and get back on the boards.  He is calling in jockey, M Scott from Thailand who is a very familiar jockey that has ridden this horse several times in prior races.  They will be making their way out of the paddock on Saturday and to their gate to the cheers of an excited crowd.

11

TRAFFIC HUNTER

KY

5G

tarton16

Z Kentucky

29

5

59%

$234,738

13.50

8/1

This is a 5 year old Light Grey Gelding that was sired by Cross Traffic.  This horse is a non-stakes winner, but two races back he ran in August over in Delaware in a Listed Stakes, Wild Stab Dirt Endurance.  He closed late in this race down the stretch and was able to move up into second but could never come close to catching the leader in this race.  He was then sent out for his most recent trip on 10/09/2021 in British Columbia going 11 furlongs in his first Graded race, the G3, The Premier.  He was never a factor in this race with a disappointing trip as he crossed the wire way back in eighth with a 106 speed rating.  The owner is giving him another shot at a Graded run here in New York and at a distance he has never been asked to run before in the past.  Jockey, Z Kentucky from Ireland has been contracted to come in and take the mount up top for this race.  Jockey and horse will head out of the paddock and over to their gate draw representing the Only Stayers residency.

12

SKILL SLAM

KY

4G

givenelite2

Q Cassell

21

7

71%

$395,455

60.00

5/1

Breaking from the outside gate in this race will be this 4 year old Brown Gelding that was sired by Awesome Again.  He is experienced at this 14 furlong distance and should have no issues making the trip.  He is a prior G3 winner from back in May of this season when he got up in Japan in the G3, The TV Stakes.  Skipping forward to his most recent trip to the track we saw him run in California going 14 furlongs in an owner restricted residency Listed Stakes, GRS Breeders Bowl Marathon of which he made a big closing run in the stretch for home to get up for the win by four and a quarter with a 112 speed rating.  He is now coming into New York with that recent win under his belt and the owner is moving him back up in Class with jockey, Q Cassell from Dubai in the saddle who rode this horse in his most recent race in California.  They will again saddle up together and break from their gate representing the GR Simsters residency.

Good luck to all owners and horses!

Skippy’s Watch List

5-Customizer:  He was third in the BB at this distance.  Does he find the boards in New York?

6-Let Me Be Cadet: He is the defending champion and coming off a second place finish in the BB. Looks Dangerous?

10-Outback Calash: Gate to wire two races back.  Can he rebound from his last time out?

Tarton’s Long Shot

2-Snugglepuff:  He has been running well all season for the owner, but this will be his first time out at the Graded level which does bring a little concern as he is unproven thus far in his career in a big race.  He gets that opportunity on Saturday and will have a familiar jockey in the saddle with him on the trip.  At 12/1 he looks like a good choice in the field with double digit odds and thus will get a chance to prove himself and make it on some of my exotic tickets at the betting window.