Evenly Matched Milers Whiz in for Cheese Steak Turf
Philly Cheese Steak Turf
Grade III
One mile
Firm Turf
$150,000
All horses, 3 years old and up
Wow, what a closely matched set of turf milers for this Grade III bout. If you don’t believe it, just check those odds – the favorite is 5-1, and the rest are mostly clustered from 7-1 to 15-1. They are regular triple digit performers, and many are bred from the best sires in the game.
PP Horse ID Horse Owner Jockey Odds
1 26096 ROCKABILLY ROCK(IRE) marusha
The speedy five-year-old is by Rock of Gibraltar. He carried his speed in the
2 117205 CAT FIVE CYCLONE(KY) ydracing3 L Bailey 9/1
His recent Asian forays have been a mixed bag, with no stinkers, but the 7th place in the Kasuda Yinen last out must have been a disappointment. He possesses good tracking speed and five wins since being switched to turf ten races ago. He’s as good as a Greeley-Cat-Dancer should be, so the question is whether the step down last time was a blip or the end of his positive form cycle.
3 23571 ROCK BALLAD(KY) opinora J Piotrowski 7/1
Grade I winner of the Mospe Cup has been up the track at that level in his last two. You can blame the competition, or maybe he’s just off. Trainer opinora had a right to expect the now four-year-old by Seeking the Gold to continue top shelf performances from the son of stakeswinning Dixieland Band he-mare LYRIC POET. He can lead the way, but some of his best performances come when held just off the leader. Jockey Piotrowski wins at 25% and likely has some clever strategy up his sleeve.
4 110195 ARTIFICIAL CRISIS nowitsdark M Pringle 8/1
This judiciously raced six-year-old is by Machiavellian. He hasn’t visited the winner’s circle since the Grade III Royal Calm back in March of 2007, but he was just second in the same race this year in a fine performance. He’s likely to have just a few horses beat in the early stages, but if he can repeat his Royal Calm runs he can find himself toward the front at the end. There are probably longer shots more deserving of your betting dollar, however.
5 45347 PSYCHOLOGY(KY) chinobear L Wilkinson 25/1
This is a tough spot to make one’s graded debut, and this one finished second to last in his only stakes action. To be fair, the Proud Citizen four-year-old just keeps improving in a steady diet of allowances. The last out was a 109 speed, so if he can stay out of trouble in mid-pack, he’s got a shot. Consider for trifecta boxes.
6 127729 SADLER SEEKER tenpin6 Q Miller 9/1
He’s SEEKING THE GOLD x SADLER’S WELLS x NIJINSKY II, bred from scratch, and a multiple Grade II winner, but his only win this year as a five-year-old was in a February allowance. He’s not been running badly overall, but he’ll need to show he’s back to his best 2007 form to win this contest.
7 131122 BELISARIUS(KY) spqr3rd R Johnston 10/1
The Afleet Alex-Cat-Slew product has turned into a very, very nice four year old turf performer. That said, he hasn’t yet even won a stakes like big half-sister NINE BUDAS. He did give them all they could handle in the Setanta at Epsom last month before settling for second, and I’m going to rate him as a serious chance to take down his first stakes here. Another with good tactical speed, if under 10% jock Johnson knows what to do with it.
8 48335 UNPREDICTABLY T xtchamps S Camp 15/1
He went into March’s Crock of Gold Grade I off of two sharp victories, but it’s been a string of defeats since then. Trainer xtchamps would rather run ‘em than rest ‘em, as evidenced by the five-year-old’s 46 starts, but it doesn’t look so much like he’s wearing down as meeting faster foes. There’s no respite from that here, so I think his trifecta-less streak continues.
9 88366 GOLDEN CALF boeufcake K McMillan 13/1
A six-year-old Holy Bull, he really took to the trainer change after being claimed (I think) for $50k back in November. He spent the winter marching through four straight wins in allowance ranks at more classic distances, followed by creditable runs in stakes company since then. His last was the only recent race at a mile, and while he finished fifth, it at least was a Grade I (at this track). Not out of it at those odds, but no sure thing for finishing in the money either.
10 96017
Top bred by Dynaformer-Kingmambo, the six-year-old has just reached his potential in the last six months. He’s a specialist at the distance, regularly reaching the upper 100s in speed. He’s likely to fight for the lead, and most of his recent performances seem to suggest he will fade at the end. Needs to pop a big one near the front end.
11 121321 SHUHEI(IRE) adrian5 C McDowell 5/1
Sire Bach’s only stakeswinner from just 16 foals, he looks ready to establish himself one of the up-and-coming four-year-olds in the turf mile division. He exits three straight stakes wins near this distance, plus an allowance score before that. He’s got a tractable style and three straight speeds over 110, so who’s to say he shouldn’t be 5-1 on the step up to Grade III?
12 131757 BUSY QUICK(KY) youlostha A Jeffires 15/1
So what’s happening here? DISTORTED HUMOR x STORM CAT x AFFIRMED four-year-old posts a 113 and a 111 in allowance wins sandwiched around a 97-speed loss this winter, then it was a 106 in his first stakes score in Alabama. Last out was a 92 in a short-field 9.5 furlong stakes, so which BUSY QUICK will show up? Maybe the cut back a furlong and a half helps; maybe he pairs up poor races. When he wins, he often does by daylight, so he might be a worth a flyer.
13 109273 GARGAMEL(IRE) lopo87 A Mannion 8/1
Another nicely bred one (GALILEO (IRE) x KINGMAMBO x MILL REEF), this is our only entrant with recent dirt experience, including his last, a Grade III in
14 129804 RELAXED LOOK(IRE) briel I Pollara 21/1
Outside gate goes to a four-year-old Daylami, and here’s a shocker: claimed for $125k in his last. It could prove to be a sweet move for briel, because that was a 107 at 8.5 furlongs and the fifth win in a row, all on turf. He’ll probably lope along toward the rear, but what fun they’ll have in the cheap seats if he steals it all. I’m definitely throwing him into my trifectas.
Good luck!