Good, Evil, and Horses Face off in Smackdown Turf Route

The days leading up to Smackdown IV found this reporter learning much about the three residences running in the challenge that seemed to have nothing to do with the race previewed within.  Items such as the GR Simsters and DelPenn National seeming to have a very real and somewhat brutal rivalry between them came to light.  Beyond the expected smack talk, there have been discussions of high priced super horses being bred and exchanged from loser to winners.  This is not to discount Minnesota Downs by any means, but the northern residence seems to be the nice guy of the group.  No real threats, or bets, were found on the Minnesota site, and with home stable names such as Worldwide and Oneworld Stables, one envisions the Minnesotans handing out flowers and driving VW microbuses.  These home stable names seem even more docile when compared to names such as Cobra Kai Racing, Fire and Blood, The Evil Empire (all GR Simsters names) and Black Label Stables, More Evil Than the Evil Empire (touché GR Simsters) courtesy of the DelPenn Nationals.  Maybe this explains the GR and DelPenn tension; they both seem to want to control the underworld of the sim.

With these ramblings in mind, we look at race #6 in New York.  The mile and one half (12f) turf route for 4 years olds and older is one of eleven turf stake races to be run in New York as part of the Smackdown IV showdown, all of which will be run upon a firm track as it appears the weather will cooperate.      

Team GR Simsters

PP #2      CIRCLE OF SOLACE (KY)            weller1                  N. Lawton             8/1

The highest rated turf horse for long routes in this race (#9) finds himself sitting forth with three other horses according to the odds makers.  This seemingly low position may be a result of CIRCLE OF SOLACE’s last start which resulted in a disappointing 8^th place in the G1 Arkansas Turf Classic (12f).  Prior to the Arkansas race, the horse either won or placed in its previous 10 starts including winning the G1 San Francisco Captain Handicap (12f) over another runner in this race, CRIMSON SECRET.  The trainer, weller1, looks to jockey N. Lawton to bring the four year old back to this G1 winning form.  That winning form normally is to allow others to set the pace, but not to let them get too far away.  At about the 6f mark, CIRCLE will make his move and run down the tiring leaders to the wire.

PP#3       STRONG BELWAS                          asoiaf                     N. Painter              7/1

Even though the asoiaf trained horse has not won a race in over a year, does not mean STRONG BELWAS lacks success on the turf.  This can be seen with four second place finishes in the five year old’s past five races including a place finish in the G1 Little Guppy Classic (11f).  N. Painter has been placed in the saddle to guide a horse that prefers to break to the front out of the gate attempting to win from gate to wire.  Couple this desire to take the lead, with the four second place finishes (thus fading at the end), and the fact that STRONG BELWAS hasn’t ran 12 f since October 2007, and one wonders if the 7/1 odds may be slightly generous.  Of course, that extra 1/8 to 1/4 mile that STRONG hasn’t run in a while may be meaningless and the odds makers could be proven geniuses too.

PP#5       SEEKING AN EMPIRE (KY)         fairhaven              R. Foster                9/1

The four year old chestnut colt is in the midst of a two race ‘slump’ that it hopes to break out of.  It is not like SEEKING is running poorly, in fact he posted a SP of 108 the last outing, but he has been out of the money these two starts.  Prior to this, the colt was on a five start streak of finishing in the top three.  When running well, SEEKING AN EMPIRE will push out of the gate and if he can’t get the lead initially, he will push again at about the half way mark of the race.  Normally one of these two bursts of speed gets him to the front and in the money.  R. Foster has been assigned by fairhaven to decide when these pushes for the lead should occur, and hope the horse doesn’t run out of gas.  If all this falls into place, SEEKING should be able to score some points for his home residence if not make some money for his trainer.

PP#12    DARKDOUN (IRE)                            peepsclaim            B. Child                 6/1

DARKDOUN out of the Cobra Kai Racing stables looks to ‘sweep the leg’ of the competition quickly by pushing the pace of the race out of the gate and break the competition’s spirit in the process.  This technique has proved successful in the past by finishing in the money four out of his last five starts and winning the Crassly with Drill Challenge (St.) back in February.  The mile and a half length should be no problem for this brown horse and could actually prove a benefit as he tends to get caught at the very end of races if he is caught at all.  The odds makers seem to agree as DARKDOUN will enter the gates with B. Child in the saddle and the favorite to win.

PP#15    DIDIBUYTHISTOSOON (KY)       willyam38             T. Johnson            53/1

Trainer willyam38 enters the four year old chestnut colt into his first career stakes race.  The outside post runner and one of two long shots in this race just broke his maiden last December, but he has been running well since winning three of his past four starts in Allowance races on the turf.  DIDIBUYTHISTOSOON relies on a second half kick to run down the leaders.  In fact, the only race he has lost in his past five starts saw the colt take off with the leaders out of the gate instead of laying back.  It will be up to jockey T. Johnson to ensure that the more successful race tactic is carried out in this one.

Team DelPenn National

PP#1       ROADHOUSE BLUES                     twinoaks                                J. Barba                 8/1

ROADHOUSE could possibly be the most tested horse in this race as his past five starts have all been against graded competition, and he was in the money on two of those.  The winner of the DelPenn Breeders Cup at this distance last year looks to bring home the win with a nice kick over the second half of the race.  The key appears to be not allowing the front runners to get too far away as the five year old tends to start at or near the back always.  Sometimes, there just isn’t enough race left to make up this large amount of ground.  It will be up to J. Barba to determine how far back is too far, and when to unleash that second half kick.

PP#9       MOTORCITYMADMAN (JPN)     sdmfclaims            B. Dirks                  17/1

Many questions arise when looking at this entry.  Questions such as, why isn’t this horse a Michigan bred? Was T. Nugent unavailable to ride this week (Is he – Nugent that is – still riding in Europe)?  And can the four year old chestnut colt hunt?  The last question can be race related as MOTORCITYMADMAN’s most successful running style is to lay back at the beginning of races and begin picking off the pack as it progresses.  This style has resulted in a stake win in The Your Nijinsky Handicap.  One more question that could be answered Saturday is will the sdmfclaims trained horse handle a large field better than he has in the past as races with over ten entrants seem to cause the colt trouble.  B. Dirks will be trying to navigate the MADMAN through the traffic on Saturday better than others have before.  If successful, the horse is capable of running down the field better than the Great White Buffalo himself – LOOK OUT, LOOK OUT!!

PP#11    BARB’S CONFORT (IRE)               marybarn              R. Haffner            8/1

 At six years of age, this brown horse is the oldest entrant of the race.  The extra years does not seem to be a problem though as BARB’S CONFORT has been running well enough against the younger competition to place in the money in three of his past five starts.  This includes a win in the G3 – Florida Turf with a blistering 115 SP.  One question with the marybarn trained horse is will the mile and one half distance be too much as BARB’S normally runs 9.5 to 10.5f.  In fact, the colt is rated higher as a classic distance turf runner (#83) than a long route runner (#226).  The last start at 12f came in December where the colt was able to catch all but one runner (fellow race participant SILENCER) en route to a second place finish.  R. Haffner is called upon to help get another quality quarter mile out of BARB’S closing kick.

PP#13    GOOD TO BE KING                        super21                 A. Sailor 16/1

The winner of last year’s G2 – Horseshow Falls Stakes has been struggling as of late getting on the board in only two of his last seven starts.  In fact, trainer super21 dropped the five year old to an allowance race last time out to get back into the money.  The brown horse normally falls way off the lead out of the gate and attempts to make up the ground during the second half of the race.  It will be A. Sailor charged with making this strategy successful, apparently A. Jockey was unavailable for riding services this weekend as he is on his boat over the holiday weekend.

PP#14    SILENCERS (KY)                              super1                    E. Cunningham    13/1

The third racer out of the home stables of More Evil Than The Evil Empire (the other two, GOOD TO BE KING and ROADHOUSE BLUES), SILENCERS won the DPCD Turf Stakes last December over fellow racer and teammate BARB’S CONFORT with a tremendous kick at the end.  Unfortunately, this winning kick has failed to show up much since then with the four year old colt managing one second place out of five starts.  If E. Cunningham can coax the horse out of his current slump, SILENCERS is cable of running down the best during the stretch.

Team Minnesota Downs

PP#4       RIDIN’ SHOTGUN (KY)  jrodneyg                                L. Gunn                 58/1

The long shot of the field will be running not only his first stakes level race, but also his first race not on the home track of Minnesota Downs.  Trainer jrodneyg has ran the four year old brown colt’s entire eighteen starts in the Minnesota Sire Series, a series of allowance level races.  SHOTGUN has shown to be quite a versatile runner making the board in fifteen of these eighteen lifetime starts on both dirt and turf and at sprints, classic distances, and routes.  The only 12f run on turf the horse has ran was a win with SHOTGUN closing strong in the end to take the victory.  L. Gunn will be riding this jack of all trades on what must be considered the most unknown of all the entries.  If the colt’s turf success (eight wins, one place, in nine starts) translates to the stake level though, that unknown status will disappear quickly, and some rail bird will be cashing a fat ticket.

PP#6       FOZ DE LUMBIER (IRE)               sansebas                J. Migliore              15/1

The FOZ is on a roll of late landing in the money his last five races, all stakes level, including wins in The Judge Fourteen Special and The Allen’s Door Memorial.  Normally, the four year old displays an explosive burst of speed midway in his starts that runs down the leaders.  With this recent success, one may wonder why the seemingly high 15/1 odds are on the board.  The answer may lie in trainer’s sansebas’s decision to run the brown colt just two weeks ago (The Judge Fourteen Special) leaving the horse the least rested in the field.  While lack of rest may affect the FOZ, he should benefit from running one eight to one quarter of a mile shorter than he is used to.  It will be in J. Migliore’s hands to decide when to unleash the colt’s vicious kick and then hope that there is enough stamina remaining to make to board.  Whatever happens, the FOZ will most likely be getting a nice little vacation after this start.

PP#7       HIGH SPEED QUEST (IRE)          pegasus                 W. Jenkins             13/1

A relative newcomer to the stakes level, HIGH SPEED QUEST is certainly showing signs that he has no intention of heading back to the allowance anytime soon.  In three stake starts, the brown horse has a place and two shows, and has displayed the ability raise his game to meet the level of the competition posting his three best SP numbers during these runs.  The five year old is the only runner in the field that attempts to run a steady race from start to finish.  He has the ability to use a small burst of speed when needed to make that pass, but hasn’t shown the desire to sustain this burst too long.  Not that it has mattered much as by running a steady pace, he is not in a position of being very far back from the leaders.   W. Jenkins gets the ride for this Saturday.

PP#8       SEEKING NESSY (KY)                    rlogan                    J. Dundey              7/1

While other horses in this field are looking for an EMPIRE, rlogan’s runner is just looking for a plesiosaur.  Well, that and maybe the four year old’s tremendous ability to run down the leaders seemingly at will that mysteriously disappeared in SEEKING’S last start.  Prior to that, the brown colt used this huge kick to land in the money four straight times in stakes level races including a G2-Confederate Stakes win.  While capable of running a mile and a half, the colt appears to be more apt to the classic routes being rated higher for those than this long route (#36 classic / #100 long).  J. Dundey will be in the saddle hoping that the additional distance will not affect the horse too much.  If the jockey is able to find that missing kick, the distance may not matter at all, it will be the competition wondering what just rocketed by, a horse or a plesiosaur?

PP#10    CRIMSON SECRET                         nightracin             P. Davis                 8/1

A consistently strong runner has found himself in the money four of his past five starts including a win of The Red Polish Memorial Stakes.  CRIMSON tends to run similar to that of fellow competitor CIRCLE OF SOLACE in that he will not let the leaders get too far away at the break and then close strong.  Trainer nightracin looks to P. Davis to guide the five year old chestnut horse in the money and earning precious residence points.