Sand Castle Preview
Sand Castle Race Day might be the second biggest (non player sponsored) racing event on the sim schedule. There are four grade one races included in the series that brings together some of the best runners the sim has to offer. The Classic drew a very competitive and outstanding field of runners. The two turf events always bring out big performances in runners and sometimes produce upsets. The Sprint is the other grade one and we have a contentious bunch lined up for that race.
Race: 3532.5115
Track:
Restrictions: All horses, 4 years old and up
Distance: A mile and one quarter on the Dirt
The defending champion of this race is once again the morning line favorite. This race has brought together an outstanding field of older dirt runners lead by Ermington Pegasus. I do not care how the voters voted this horse had the best year of any older horse last year. But like College Football his losses came at the wrong time of year and voters get caught up in the present ignoring what was accomplished at the beginning of the year.
Ermington Pegasus started this year off on the right foot by winning the grade two Toilet Scrubbers for the second year in a row. He opted this year to skip the California Handicap meaning he comes into the race on a few extra weeks of rest. That may help him as he ran a grueling campaign as a four year old with out much time off. Ermington is a deep closer and will be well back in the early stages of this race. With only twenty-five career races under his belt he looks to be a serious contender in this division and will be very hard to beat this weekend.
Gracepoint Prayer took advantage of no Ermington Pegasus and won the California Handicap pretty impressively. Gracepoint Prayer has shown flashes at times but for the most part does not compete well with the top runners in this division. His last race could be an indicator that those days are over. He stalked and pounced earning a 117 speed figure in the California Handicap. His running style will be feared by every closer in this race. Gracepoint Prayer will have the jump on the closers and an opportunity to prove he should be considered a top runner in this division.
What will the four year old season of Passing Stone hold in store for him. He has already finished behind the top two runners in this race in his two starts this year. His three year old year was very solid and as he matures there is a very good chance he takes over this division. If that is going to happen you might expect him to step up in this spot. He has not really settled into a running style yet. Sometimes he is on the lead, sometimes he stalks so we could see either here.
The longest shot in the field is worth keeping an eye on. At nineteen to one The Kid Stu would seem to have his work cut out for him against this field. This horse got a late start to his racing career with only seven career starts thus far. He has won six of those starts finishing second in his only loss. He has an impeccable pedigree (Seeking The Gold X Northern Dancer X Hail to Reason) and could be the lone speed in this race. He has back to back 111 speed figures. His last was just a listed stakes but he was nine lengths better than reigning three year old eclipse winner Awesome Force. If he gets loose early there could be a new Kid on the block.
Others making up this out standing field are reigning Horse of the Year Solar Song. He makes his forty-fourth career start and has not threatened in either of his two races this year but maybe he has one more run in the tank. Reigning Three Year Old horse Awesome Force is here. After some time off after the Breeder’s Bowl he has not found his form. The filly Black Tuesday will be facing the boys off on an impressive listed stakes win. She was a three time grade one winner last year including the final leg of the filly triple tiara.
Race: 3532.5114
Track:
Restrictions: All horses, 4 years old and up
Distance: A mile and one eighth on the Turf
This race always brings together an interesting group of runners. It can be a tough decision to stretch a miler out or shorten up a mile and a quarter horse. Our favorite this year has proven adept from a mile to a mile and a quarter. Sip of Saki does a lot of middle distance racing and does it very well. He was a two time grade one winner at this distance last year. He made a run in the Breeder’s Bowl Mile last year having to settle for second in that event. He made his 2008 debut in a listed stakes running away with the race earning a 112 speed figure. He can find himself well off the pace at a mile but at this distance he is usually closer up. Look for him mid pack early and making a move late.
Culinary Cutie is the filly that stole the show at the Breeder’s Bowl winning the Breeder’s Bowl Mile. She flashed her early speed and never looked back, a very impressive feat for a three year old filly. She is a grade one winner at this distance but most of her experience is at or near a mile. She will also be facing a tough group of boys. This race appears to have a couple of other speed horses which should make for an interesting race. If Culinary Cutie flashes the speed she showed at the Breeder’s Bowl she will be in the thick of things here.
Synchronization is a runner that has mostly run at a mile and a quarter and is dropping back in distance a bit. A couple of races back he ran gate to wire in the grade one
Conceive is a middle distance runner. He runs mostly at this distance and started this year off with a very nice win in the grade two Sanders Stakes where he earned a 112 speed figure. He is a deep closer and this race appears to have some solid speed to run at so the race could very well set up for a big run from Conceive. He does appear to be improving as a four year old so this could be the stage where makes that move to the top of his division.
Race: 3532.5113
Track:
Restrictions: All horses, 4 years old and up
Distance: A mile and one half on the Turf
In years past this race has eluded the top turf runners. Allied Assault and Sunnybank Memorial for instance never won this race. This year the race looks to be full of runners that want to go to the lead and that could set up for a closer.
Rosenthal is one of the co favorites that has shown an ability to come from well off the pace or just off the pace. He has success at this distance with a nice grade one win a few races back in the grade one Allied Assault. His last race was not impressive. I like the fact it was at a longer distance which I think could spark him to a nice performance in this race. I would look for him stalking the leaders but with so much pace here he could be further off the pace.
The other co favorite is Rapid Grey. He is an outstanding mile and a quarter horse but when he stretches out this distance he is not nearly as impressive. He is a deep closer and he has a stable mate in here that has a ton of speed so the race could set up for him. He has not won at this distance since February of last year. If the race turns out to be a little dull where the winning speed figure is near 105 he has a real chance. If the race is fast and the winner runs a 110+ he will likely not figure in the race at all.
Lex Luthor won the Breeder’s Bowl Turf and is the reigning turf horse of the year. He will be a part of the speed in this race. The other speed could challenge him and help to over come his outside post position. Some may say post position does not matter in the sim however Lex Luthor has only lost eight times in turf races, and in six of those losses he broke from gate number ten or more. He has won only three of nine races from post positions greater than ten only one a grade one win. He has prepped in listed stakes but should be ready for a good performance.
Rainband is the deepest closer in the field. He is younger than most of his rivals and starting to come into his own. He prepped for this race over this very course at a furlong longer in a grade three which he won impressively. He was runner up at last years Ark de Triumph. He will fall way off the pace maybe as many as twenty lengths but he can fly late and has room to improve.
Race: 3532.5112
Track:
Restrictions: All horses, 4 years old and up
Distance: Six furlongs on the Dirt
A very contentious bunch of sprinters are lead by co favorites Lannister Gold and Wonderboy DJ. Lannister Gold is the young up and comer while Wonderboy DJ is the grizzled old veteran. Many of the horses in this field are the older more accomplished type runners with on a couple of the younger four year olds. Still Lannister Gold looks very good in this spot.
Lannister Gold really started to blossom late last year. In his first start this year he won the grade two Wicker Sofa stakes earning a 116 speed figure. In his last race he prepped in an open allowance over this very course where he ran a solid second while earning a 112 speed figure. He has won three of his last four starts and appears to be primed for a big effort. His running style puts him off the pace. He is never very far off the pace so no matter how fast the front runners go he will be in striking distance. He looks poised to make a big run this weekend.
Wonderboy DJ is a gizzled six year old veteran. He only has thirty five career starts so there is still some left in the tank. He ran second to Lannister Gold last time out only losing by half a length. Wonderboy had a good run at the Breeder’s Bowl finishing third in the Sprint. Last year in this race he ran a solid fourth only two lengths behind the winner. His biggest knock is the fact that he has not won a race in over a year. He does not race that often and always puts in a good effort so do not discount him. He comes from just off the pace and should make a stretch run today.
In a simply Rhyme ran big in the last half of last year. He won the grade one Tri City Sprint before going on to run second in the Breeder’s Bowl Sprint. He took some time off after a race in December. This will be his second start off the layoff. His first start this year was a solid effort in a grade three race. He probably needed the race fitness wise. In a Simple Rhyme is a closer so look for his burst in the late stages of the race.
The very outside post might contain the speed of the race in Fernando Storm. He is now riding a six race win streak that has seen him go from allowance winner to a multiple graded stakes winner. He has found the best form of his career at age five after thirty career races. There is no question about his running style during the streak and really his entire career. If he shakes loose in the early stages he is a real danger to the favorites.