The Cannonball Run – Grade III
Race : The Cannonball Run – Grade III – $125,000
Track : N. Florida
Restrictions : Fillies and mares, 4 year olds
Distance : A mile and three eighths on the Turf
Since this is the inaugural running of The Cannonball Run I don’t have any past race history to share with you. So, I thought I would share a little history of the original Cannonball Run. In 1933 Erwin George “Cannon Ball” Baker drove coast to coast in 53 and a half hours, a record that wasn’t broken for nearly 40 years. In 1971 Car and Driver editor Steve Smith and race car driver Brock Yates hatched a plan to break Erwin Baker’s record. The first Cannonball Run, which began on May 3, 1971, was originally called The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. There were a total of four Cannonball Runs in the 1970s, all unofficial and probably illegal, starting in either New York City, NY or Darien, CT on the Atlantic Coast and ending at Redondo Beach, California on the Pacific coast. The record is held by Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in their April 1979 effort. They drove the 2863 miles from sea to shining sea in 32 hours and 51 minutes (averaging 87 mph) in a Jaguar XJS.
There are some obvious and huge differences in the original Cannonball Run and the highlight race here in North Florida. J I would suspect that the stakes record set here today probably won’t stand for 40 years, although I could be wrong on that. Today’s racers should have clear, beautiful weather and a firm track as opposed to the snow in the Rockies that impeded Dave Gurney and Brock Yates in their cross country attempt. The distance is just a little bit shorter, by about 2862 miles. And instead of racing in one direction on the United States’ new interstate highway system the race today will be around an oval turf track for 11 furlongs. Oh, and did I forget to mention that this is a horse race for fillies and mares 4 years and older, not an automobile race?
So, ladies and gentlemen, start your engines and let’s have a look at the field.
PP 1 MAGPIE STEPS (GB) (FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND (GB) x GREEN DESERT x RAHY) bred and trained by punter41 (Phantom Pharms, 16%) Odds: 5 to 1
This four year old mare out of Soft As The Hills is making not only her graded debut here, but her stakes debut as well. She is coming off a 3 race winning streak and two of those wins came at this distance. She has won over half of her 22 career starts and finished in the money 72% of the time. So, it is obvious that she knows how to race and how to win, the big question for her is whether or not she will be able to hold her own in this class. Her speed numbers have been increasing (slow, but steady) since last October and her career high of 103 was in her last race. Her speed is another indicator that she should be competitive here. This will be her third race in 6 weeks, so rest could be a factor.
PP 2 THE DEUCE (KY) (GONE WEST x NUREYEV x BUCKPASSER) bred and trained by fairhaven3 (The Evil Empire, 20%) Odds: 5 to 2
The Deuce’s first two races came with disappointing results on the dirt and so formidable trainer Lenny made the wise choice to switch her to the turf. With the new surface The Deuce went on to win 4 of the next 8 races and finish in the money 75% of the time, including two G1 places. Although she didn’t finish 2007 with a bang (a 9th and 11th place finishes in G1 races), this 4 year old has had a great start to 2008. She has not finished worse than second and is coming off a win her last time out at The MACH II Memorial 5 weeks ago. Her speeds have been consistently in the low 100s and she looks to be in great form to take on graded company again. The Deuce will have top jockey O A Haack (25%) and is the highest ranked in the field at 12th.
PP 3 BALD REASON (IRE) (HIGH CHAPARRAL (IRE) x STORM CAT x CARSON CITY) bred and trained by olebaldy (Olebaldy Stables, 13%) Odds: 4 to 1
Bald Reason is going for her first graded win today. She has a pair of stakes wins and has never finished out of the money in her 5 career stakes races. Her best finish in this class was her 4th place finish at the G3-Matress Stakes late in 2007. She was close to finishing in the money, but was just beat out by graded winner Desert Alley. This four year old brown mare has won at 10 furlongs and placed at 10.5 furlongs, but this will be her first try at 11. Bald Reason’s sire, High Chaparral has produced multiple G1 winners. Bald Reason doesn’t have a consistent racing style, sometimes racing at the front and other times hold back until later in the race. It will serve her well her to stay back and make her push for the lead coming down the stretch.
PP 4 BUDA AT THE SHORE (KY) (SPEIGHTSTOWN x A.P. INDY x SUMMER SQUALL) bred and trained by fats (Topicount Stables, 15%) Odds: 9 to 2
Buda At The Shore is another horse in the field trying for her first graded win. She has only tried graded company once before and it was on an off track so we can chalk up her disappointing results to that. In her last three races out this 4 year old out of Fly Like The Wind put up her two high speed factors of 102 and 104. Unfortunately in between those races she tried a stakes race with a dismal 10th place finish. If she is able to hold her own with this class I think she is in good form to be competitive here.
PP 5 AVARICE (CAME HOME x ALYSHEBA x TIMELESS MOMENT) bred and trained by rotton (RottNRoll Racing, 9%) Odds: 61 to 1
Avarice is the longshot of the field. She is making her stakes and graded stakes debut here. Her last time out she brought home the win, although it was a fairly weak and small field. It was her first win since she broke her maiden late last summer. She started her career on dirt and didn’t find any success until trainer rotton switched her to turf. She is going to need a great start and a jump in speed(her career high is 86) in order to be competitive with the other horses in the field. You never know, stranger things have happened. Sarava won the 2002 Belmont Stakes with 70 to 1 odds.
PP 6 SISSON’S MINER (KY) (MINESHAFT x DANZIG x DOYOUN(IRE)) bred and trained by taztiger (Binzaman Stables, 12%) Odds: 3 to 1
Sisson’s Miner seems to be quite the versatile horse. Half of her 22 races are on the dirt, half on turf. Her wins, places and shows are pretty evenly split as well. Most of her in the money finishes have been routes, but she also threw in a handful of sprints. It will be her fifth try at graded stakes. This 4 year old out of Danica Anne finished career high 3rd against graded company last time out at The Ascot Turf Distaff Stakes three weeks ago. Her two previous races were a pair of wins and her career high speeds of 104 and 105 (also highest in the field) both at this distance. She is a late closer, so I expect her to let others fight it out for the early led and then storm up the stretch for an exciting finish.
PP 7 DRUNK IN DIXIE (KY) (DIXIELAND BAND x TIZNOW x JOHN CASEY) bred and trained by jbfarms (Knightmare Stables, 11%) Odds: 9 to 1
Drunk In Dixie is making her graded debut here in Northern Florida. She tried stakes the last two times out with mixed results. In her first stakes try she put up her career high speed of 98 and finished second. Last time out she looked to be holding strong in second most of the race, but wasn’t able to hold on and finished 6th. This race is shorter than both of those and I think the decreased distance will be a benefit to this 4 year old based on Drunken Cat. Although she broke her maiden on the dirt after 4 attempts, since then she has experienced more success on the turf. With most of the field posting speeds over the century mark, she will need a great race, the best of her career to take home the win.
PP 8 POWERFUL PRAYER (GB) (POWERSCOURT (GB) x LE FABULEUX x CREME DELA CREME) bred and trained by pazone (PazJazz Music City Stables, 12%) Odds: 10 to 1
Powerful Prayer is also making her graded debut here today. She is coming off a three win streak, two of those wins at this distance. She ran a strong race in her stakes debut last time out at The SERPENTINE FLEET Special where she finished ahead of two GP horses. Trainer PazJazz decided to see what she could do against graded company. Her high speed is one of the lowest in the field, but I think she looks ready to make another jump in speed and definitely could do that here. She has only had 2 weeks rest since her last race, hopefully that won’t be an issue for her. This four year old definitely seems to like her new stable. After being claimed for $5000 last September she has only finished out of the money once in 7 starts. I would love to see a horse come out of a claiming race to become a graded winner. If Powerful Prayer doesn’t do that today I think she will soon. I would say that was a very well spent $5000!
I anticipate Magpie Steps and The Deuce to start strong out of the gates from PP 1 and PP 2 and fight for the early lead. I think Powerful Prayer will be close behind. What they all need to be watching for is Sisson’s Miner. I expect her to burst up the stretch with sizzling speed and challenge the leaders for the win. The oddsmakers say it will be The Deuce, Sisson’s Miner and then Bald Reason. My picks are Sisson’s Miner and Powerful Prayer followed by Magpie Steps, with The Deuce finishing just out of the money. Good luck and happy racing. J