The KING’S DECREE Special

This week’s District of Columbia feature is the KING’S DECREE Special, named for a retired horse who was a stakes winner and Grade III stakes-placed. Six three-year-olds will go six and a half furlongs on a fast dirt track for a purse of $30,000.

1 – NO HYPE (3/1) has both talent and consistency. Ever since owner/trainer Johnscall switched him over to dirt, he has hit the board in every race except one – the unusually tough Little Boxes Memorial. On their best days Tank of Sugar and Seek de Lago are probably faster than him, but there’s no question No Hype will be fighting for a piece of the purse.

2 – Favorite TANK OF SUGAR (2/1) won last time out with the second-highest speed figure in the field. If he regresses a little here, he still has a very good chance, but it’ll be hard to separate him from No Hype, Seek de Lago, and Materialistic, all of whom are are better prices. At least Tank of Sugar doesn’t have to worry about the high cost of gasoline.

3 – Second-choice SEEK DE LAGO (5/2) has run speed figures consistently in the 90s since late in his two-year-old season. He ran huge in an allowance race in late April (where he garnered the best career speed figure in the field), but the victory clearly took some zip out of him – his next start was lackluster. If Seek de Lago can bounce back to his usual form, he can easily hit the board. If he runs another 108, he’ll leave all the others behind. This colt likes the lead, but he has shown the ability to rate and win before.

4 – BAILLARGEON (8/1) is making his stakes debut here. Less than two months ago he was running in the claiming ranks, but owner/trainer Blindmelon has already won an starter allowance and an open allowance race with this horse. He could be competitive if he runs as well as he did in his last start, but he’s probably a step slower than the best horses in this race. No matter where he finishes here, Baillargeon was well worth the $7,500 purchase price.

5 – MATERIALISTIC (3/1) is already a stakes winner, and narrowly missed hitting the board in a Grade II stakes race. He has primarily raced on turf, but he’s run twice on the dirt and did win an allowance race on a sloppy track. The 92 speed figure he earned on a fast dirt track in the Brandy Springs Handicap is slightly lower than his subsequent starts on turf, but that may be accounted for by the fact that he’s steadily matured and improved since that race.

6 – The longest shot on the board, DEPUTE (14/1), was a stakes winner at two is is stakes-placed at three. Unfortunately, he hasn’t moved up much since his stakes win last October, and the others in his crop are leaving him behind. It’s hard to envision him being a factor here.

My picks: Seek de Lago (3) – No Hype (1) – Baillargeon (4)