Budget Day morning line fave for DelPenn mirror meet’s Transylvania(G3)
Eastern Kentucky– A full field of 14 sophomores head to the post for the Grade 3 $125,000 Transylvania Stakes over 8.5 main track furlongs for sophomores. This grade kicks culiminates Week #1 of the DellPenn @ Keeneland mirror meet. Any DelPenn resident who wins this race gets a big point bonus in the residency-restricted contest. There are 4 other races for only DelPenn residents here on the Eastern Kentucky card and they’ll continue throughout the month of April.
1 68876 ALBERTA INDYSTORM(KY) titleist J Caves 7/1
Royally bred AP Indy colt joins the pacesetters hunt up front. The little guy ended his freshman season on a good clip, pocketing a black type score wire to wire over a mile. As a 3yo, ‘Alberta has since broken through the 90 SP# barrier, but barely at that. He finished 5th in the traditional Giant Slayer(G3) over 8.5f, tiring a bit down that lane. The colt then stretched out another sixteenth five weeks ago in Grade 3 company, but wound up outclassed as a big also-ran. There’s a lot of upseide to this colt — he’s still learning the ropes and could easily be switched back to one-turn. Gotta see him try the grass too with that pedigree. This is a weaker field than he’s been facing recently, so I’d expect him to do well on the board, if not win. That is, if he indeed is a dirt short router. Lots to prove especially those speed figures.
2 150800 FAN MA HALO(ARG) mirkin68 B Obwan 11/1
Southern Halo youngster was a late foal last year in the ranks. He’s since been in stakes company this season and has yet to hit the black type board. Both tries were over 8.5f with low 90 SP#s. I don’t like how he “hanged” in the stretch in both of those efforts. Can’t tell if the midpacker was outclassed in those races or needs to turn back to one-turn. Odds indicate that he’ll factor in the hunt again this time around, but he’ll need to show up with his A-game. Improving sort.
3 148621 CHANGE OF SCENERY(IRE) foxon4 R Zamora 7/1
Sired by Diamond Green(FR), this little guy threw his lifetime best effort LTO in a 99 SP# runnerup performance. He just missed by a whisker after setting the pace in the 8.5f black type contest. I’m struck with this colt’s steady improvement. He gained through 80 SP#s last year and was stakes-placed first time out over 9.5f this season. Foxon has since kept the colt a furlong less and he’s shown that he can be competitive. There’s substantial speed in Saturday’s field, but the colt can stalk the lead when asked. Good shot.
4 150601 BUDGET DAY(KY) hollofly E Sabatinez 5/1
Awesome Again blueblood also joins the sepeedsters up front. The colt made his stakes debut LTO after going 2 for 5 through the ranks. He keeps on climbing the numbers ladder too and you just gotta love to see that in a stakes hopeful. Hmm… that was a decent pretty good 96 SP# LTO despite his kind of tanking a tad dowen the lane. The race was over 9.5f. The bookies like him in this spot and you can’t argue against that. Hopefully he can relax a bit behind the very early speedsters and take over by the far turn. The one to beat on paper, but he’s green and must prove he belongs.
5 56448 LORD OF SONG(JPN) slammin58 A Ramirez 8/1
Experienced Stravinsky son checks in with a dozen starts already in his young career. The colt wasn’t much last season, but he’s really enjoyed stretching out to 9f+ as a sophomore, winning 2 of his last 3. I like how he ran the 95 SP# when testing stakes company LTO. Something about “stepping up to the level” and improving after the ALW schooling. We’ll see if he can extend that maturity with the cutback in distance. A live midpack sleeper at a modest price.
6 92170 DEJA’VODOO(KY) zewango J Joseph 7/1
Recent graded experience of this Pulpit colt hasn’t exactly been easy pickings. On the contrary, the colt was well beaten in both the Giant Slayer(G3) and Gary Asher(G3) this year. Deja’vodoo was a stakes winner last season and multiple stake splaced including a hot 96 SP# on DelPenn Champions Day. Don’t count this closer out though — sure he’s not in great form, but this is a far softer field than those other Grade 3s. We might see some marked improvement in this fella, especially agfter he cracked the 90 SP# again in his loss LTO. Could come away with all the marbles for SDMF if the pace sets up for him up front.
7 8542 NEAR THE KNUCKLE(KY) firebird P Thorson 13/1
Second career attempt at a route for this Dayjur colt. ‘Knuckle was well-beaten in his lone two-turn try last year. He’s since won 2 of his last four back sprinting, including a 91 SP# stakes score. Difficult to tell if the colt just had a bad day in the route try last year. He did try 7.5f LTO and ran even-steven. Looks like a litmus test then. He sure has the pedigree, but it’s tough enough in Grade 3 company to be trying a distance experiment. Has to show up with his best stuff.
8 136502 SABIN DU LOIR(IRE) peachman2 M Liddleski 43/1
Cape Cross colt is 2 for 5 so far. one of those victories came on the grass. The colt finished 3rd in his lone stakes debut over a mile after pressing the pace. Saturday will be his 3yo debut. Gotta wonder if he’ll be anywher near fit for the Grade 3 mucho-leap. Odds indicate he doesn’t factor in here. He’s just an unknown quantity. Likely he’ll tank but ya never know.
9 79158 GOOD RAHY(KY) bayooherd T West 52/1
Trainer Bayooherd won the $10k claimer shake for this Good Reward filly earlier this year. The filly has yet to break out of the 70 SP# range. A huge reach. Will factor in for a short while on the pace.
10 135026 PANHANDLING(KY) dixiedotco W Desantis 7/1
Dixiedotco sends out this graded-experienced AP Indy royal bred. The colt was pretty good last season with lots of black type to his resume. No vicotires though, but a 97 SP# runner-up effort in the Club Stakes(G2) is nothing to sneeze at. The stalker won his 3yo debut over a short 9.5f field, but promptly tanked when asked to go the same distance versus Grade 2 company. Saturday is a much better situation for this colt. He’s got a lot of talent — you can really just throw out his last effort. My pick for at least the board.
11 103273 K’S RHAPSODY(KY) verdugote W Mauriello 12/1
Another blueblood by AP Indy. This guy’s still pretty green with a 2 for 4 lifetime record. He’s won 2 of 3 over the main track. Interesting because he ran an even speed figure in his last race (a stakes company contest over 9f), but finished well also-ran. That race was over an off track though, so up to you whether you want to toss that race out. Speedster should hopefully improve. Can’t fault the entry in this soft graded field, but would like to see another listed effort to consider for the win. Possible for board.
12 147853 SIXTY TWO(KY) nijinsky4 P McGaunn 16/1
Flower Alley youngster makes stakes debut. The colt finally broke his maiden in his 5th start last year which closed out his freshman season. He’s 0-for-2 this season in ALW company so far and even lost in a 4-horse field LTO. STill, it was a 91 SP# which factors in here. Flip a coin. We’ll see if he can successfully press the pace.
13 33621 TRYING TO DO(PA) kaif021 J Sorrell 16/1
Wow! I haven’t seen a horse sired by Cat’s Career in a while. This little fella indeed loves two turns — he broke the 90 SP# barrier two back over an ALW mile. That victory provided a springboard to the stakes level and the colt threw another 90, albeit as a distant also-ran. Must prove that he belongs. Still, it’s great to see a bargain baby sire compete tough versus the bluebloods. Chance for some dough if he can strike from midpack.
14 73252 RODE ME HARD(KY) 40oz J Gomez 8/1
Rahy colt boasts the fastest speed figure in the field. The colt ran a 100 SP# on Minnesota Festival Day last December, a strong ALW victory over 8f. However, that race was over the turf. He made his 3yo debut 5 weeks later in the Fainting Goats(G1) and bounced badly. Switch to the dirt followed and the downtown closer rallied over a ton of ground for a second place ALW finish. Hmmm…. I’d like to see a regular stakes or at least a win over the dirt first, but, then again, it’s obvious that this colt can run. With an expected speed crunch up front, this guy’s a live chance for all the marbles and could surprise.
Snowchief’s Picks:
I’ll take Panhandling by a whisker over Rode Me Hard and K’s Rhapsody.
Good luck to all and especially DelPenners!