2023 G1 Ark De ComicDog

The Ark De ComicDog is a cash-rich G1 race which sports a purse worth $6 million.  It is a 12-furlong turf race and opened to horses age three and up.  Weather conditions should be fine and the local Paris weather woman predicts 0% chance of rain.   Who dares to question her opinion?

Last year, the race was held on a good turf surface, so there was some foul weather and that did not discourage You Have No Choice from winning the race and the champion will be back this year to defend his title.  If he is successful, he will be the third horse to win this race in back-to-back efforts and join the likes of Carnival of Love, Spiced Turtle and Bolden Bidder in this accomplishment (the latter two are Hall of Famers).  Spiced Turtle holds the speed record for this event with a 122.5 which was established in 2018.

The field is loaded with five horses sired by Dubawi and even more Galileo-bred horses with six.  More than half of this field is sired by one or the other of these sires.  Let us look at this year’s field:

1  YOU HAVE NO CHOICE (owned by Given)  9/1  Dubawi x Sadler’s Wells x Deep Impact

Ranked:  12^th

Eclipse winning You Have No Choice gets the inside post and he had a fine season last year with three grade-1 stake wins.  The first was a very sharp win in April, 2022 in the 5-Series, posting an impressive 120 speed with a nice rally in the stretch, to draw away from the field, and win by over three strides in addition to the big speed.   This guy likes to lay off the front runners, but keep them within a reasonable and reachable distance.  In the Kakarazuka Kinen Cup, last year, he dropped further back than what was probably desired and it cost him as he finished fourth.  He made things up big time in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes with a 121 speed and winning by a half-length, also running a more normal effort.  He brought this same effort with him into last year’s running of the Ark De ComicDog and knocked a nice 115 speed figure in his winning effort by more than a length.

After winning last year’s Ark De ComicDog, You Have No Choice fell into a drought and finished off the board in his next three starts (two of which were at the start of 2023) and lost by around 10-lengths in each race, but still getting decent speeds ranging from 111-114.  After hitting this skid, You Have No Choice was steered into an allowance race this past May to rebuild his confidence.  The move gave this colt an easy win and he was then asked to compete back at the G1 level with another run in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes, looking to defend his title.   Just like his previous win in that race, he duplicated his 121 speed (career best) and ran almost an identical race, sitting 7 strides off the lead at the half, and dashing hard down hard through the stretch to win this time by three strides.

The returning Ark De ComicDog champion comes in looking to be back in top form and he’s already proven he can successfully defend his crown with repeat wins in big graded races.  Repeating here would not be a huge surprise.

2  KING OF DUBAWI  (owned by Rubber5)  14/1  Dubawi x Kingmambo x Montjeu

Ranked:  20^th

King of Dubawi is one of two geldings in this field and he has competed seven times with the graded stake level class.  In 2022, he hit the board twice with a third in the G2 Great Volt which was followed up with a second in the O’Neal and was beat by 3 -1/2 strides in both charting speeds of 110 & 112.  He tends to favor running in a mid-field position but has also run near the front in the early going, so his style can fluctuate.  After hitting the board in his first pair of graded races, King of Dubawi struck out in his nest two tries which wrapped up the 2022 season.

In 2023, King was placed back to the Allowance level to refocus his talent and he wired the field in a pair of races at this level.  He then elevated up to a listed stake race, where he finished fourth and well behind the winner.    King scooted back up to graded company in May, improving to a third place finish with a 114 speed.  He advanced up to the G1 level and ran on an off-track in the Milan Grand Prix and found life in the stretch as King took command of the field and ran off leaving the field three lengths behind in his dust and recording a 118 speed.  King improved that speed number in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes to a 119 as he stayed close to the early pace setter but could not fight with You Have No Choice in the stretch who won the race, leaving King of Dubawi three lengths behind.

King of Dubawi is entering this stake race off his best pair of career speed races, so he’s in top shape coming in and that makes him a contender in this race.

3  MAGICAL ANGEL (owned by Sparkit)  19/1  The Gurkha x Danzig x Mr. Prospector

Ranked:  19^th

Magical Angel is one of the oldest horses in this fields and joins four other runners that are all age six.  During 2022, he raced 9 times in grade races, and hit the board in seven of these events.  He loves to be on the lead and wired fields in the Jai Alai Park Turf (February) and in the Japan Classic (December) where he hit his career best speed of 119.  Magical Angel earned seconds in the Guck Dharma Handicap (January), the Grand Brazilian (May) and Grand Carlos (October).  Third place finishes were collected in the Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic (March) and Dawn to Dusk Cup (July).

Magical Angel used his early speed to hit the board many times in 2022 with speeds in the 109-119 range every time he was on the board, but things have gotten cold for him.  After winning the Japan Classic, he chilled out in the Winter Cup (December, ’22) finishing a way back 11^th and the early footing hitting a stone wall late in the race.  Coming into 2023, he continues to be running cold as in four starts, he has hit the board twice, finishing third in the Great Beer Cup and the Einsetein Stakes, and finished double-digit lengths behind the winner in the New Zealand Darby and the Judgemont International.

This race looks like it will be a tough one for Magical Angel as he has been struggling over his last five outings and his speeds have been in the 104-109 range, much lower than he was running for much of last year and others in this field have been posting better speed figures this year.

4  KING KAM GALILEO (owned by Stockswami)  14/1  Galileo  x King Kamehameha x Dubawi

Ranked:  11^th

King Kam Galileo started his career as a turf runner and after a handful of tries and not breaking his maiden, he was moved to the dirt where he immediately broke his maiden as he also started running the longer routes.  He stuck with the soil through the end of last year and even won the G1 (14f) Razorback Route and picked up a second in the Monster Mash (14f) which got him enough points to make an appearance in the Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Marathon where he had a fine fourth.   Speeds hovered in the 114-115 range over this trio of starts.

The King was moved back to the grass at the start of 2023 and stuck with G1 company racing.  After trailing by 14 lengths in the San Francisco Captain Handicap (his first turf stake race), he gained a chunk of ground and finished in fifth, losing by four and erasing much of the large gap.  In the 2-mile long Spring Sup, he was a bit closer 10 strides off the lead at the halfway mark, sitting nicely in third.   He made it look easy as he effortlessly worked his way to the lead, winning by three and a half, overtaking the front running Platinum Wipe Club in the stretch run.  But Platinum Wipe Club would get his revenge as King Kam Galileo would not be able to make up the similar 10-length deficit at the midway point in the Gold Class, finishing third and five strides behind his foe.

King Kam Galileo would find the winners circle once again in his most recent start, in the Sword Swallower.  This time, the same 10-stride gap would confront him but the King would run solidly to win by a narrow ½-length and score a impressive and stunning 122 speed.   The key seems to be how far behind the King will be off the lead at the half.  If he can keep it within 10-lengths or so, he has a shot.  If he falls behind further than that, he could find himself in trouble.

5  TRUMP MAHAL  (owned by MTK76)  32/1  Taj Mahal x Redoute’s Choice x Medaglia D’Oro

Ranked :  2,780^th

Sneaking into this field is the very highly 2,780^th ranked Trump Mahal.  This race will mark his first grade level appearance in his career.  He has five races in listed Local Championship Stakes, of which, three of these occurred this year and all three were his most recent starts.    In April, he used his quick feet to jump out and take the lead of the field and stayed in the top seat into the stretch where he was overtaken and finished second going 11f and finished three lengths behind the winner, but knocked off his second career best speed of 113 in the process (top speed is a 116, recorded in early 2022).  His early speed failed him badly in the May listed stake race, he ran second early but blew a tire and finished some 17-strides behind the winner in fifth in this 14-furlong race.

His most recent start was in early July and he quickly built a 6-stride lead and never looked back, winning by more than a length and a 110 speed number.  It is hard to get too excited about this runner who is tackling an experienced field of grade level runners.  While he does have the front-run ability and desire, there are a handful of others in this field that are just as eager to be in that spot and I feel he will be hard pressed to get on top early on.

6  DOWNDRAFT (owned by AFC)  11/1  Galileo x Kingmambo x A.P. Indy

Ranked:  26^th

Downdraft had a nice run between February, 2022 and April, 2023 where he ran in 9 races (8 graded) and hit the bord in all but one race.  He fired things off by taking a G1 race, first time out in graded company, in the New Zealand Darby, taking the win by a mere quarter-stride, in a second career best speed of 119.   He took a second in his next appearance, the 5-Series, losing by over three strides to You Have No Choice, but scored a strong 118 speed.  His one race that he was off the board, during the previously mentioned time span came in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes where he finished 9^th.    A nice rebound came in the G.P. Von Baden where he kept the speed up at 118 which delivered the win by a convincing 2 + stride margin and outlasting La Playa Bueno who was moving late and finished second.

Downdraft concluded the 2022 season with a third in last year’s Ark De ComicDog and once again behind winning You Have No Choice by over three strides this time.  Downdraft gained a season ending third in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf, this time behind both Sometimes Evil and La Playa Bueno missing the top spot by under a stride.   In four graded races this year, Downdraft tried to defend his title in the New Zealand Darby but came a quarter stride short and placed in second despite scoring a career best speed of 120.   For the second year in a row, he finished second once again in the 5-Series

Things have since cooled down for this mid-field style runner over his last two runs.  He finished fifth in the Grand Brazilian and was a dozen lengths behind the winner and again suffered another 9^th place finish in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes.  Downdraft enjoys the 12-furlong distance and despite having two poor outings in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes, you cannot forget that he did win his first run after his poor outing last year.  Can it happen again?

7 TEXILEO (owned by Kingranch)  8/1 Dubawi x Sadler’s Wells x Deep Impact

Ranked:  3^rd

Texileo quickly established himself as a quality graded stakes runner last August when he won the G2 Shimko Classic by nearly three lengths and a 112 speed in his first effort with the graded company.   This guy is fast out of the gate and loves to have things his way.  He wired the field easily and made it look like “a piece of cake” when he stepped up to the G1 Jockey’s Weapon last October, stealing the race by a very strong 3+ length win and a solid 120 speed to win his second graded win.  He followed these pair of wins with a pair of seconds in the Japan Classic and Kyoto Handicap with nice 119 & 116 speeds to conclude 2022 season and start the 2023 season.  

Texileo overpowered the field in the Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic, winning by over three strides and slightly more than that in the Kakarazuka Kinen Cup with powerful speeds of 122 and 123 as he caught fire tearing the turf apart.   His last start in the King Geoff and Queen Beths’ Emerald Stakes yielded disappointing results as Texileo was unable to build a comfy lead on the front in the early going and was rundown, finishing fourth and beat out by You Have No Choice.

Texileo will be out there on top early on and this could turn out to be another solo trip as he has the talent to go all the way but may find a few other front runners who will put him to the test.

8  ERANGEL (owned by Lenny271)  8/1  Shamardal x Deep Impact x Wootton Basset

Ranked:  8^th

Erangel is a lightly raced five-year old with only 16 starts in his career, the fewest of any horse age 5 or older in this field.  As a 3-year old, he only races twice at the later part of 2021.   He matured well towards the end of 2022 as he put in a decent fifth place finish in the G3 Stockholm International with a 112 speed.  He scaled things back a bit at the end of the season, racing in a trio of listed stakes events.  The first was a winning effort where Erangel took a middle of the field position early on in the race and took off to win by 3-lengths and a 113 speed going 12f.  The next race was a poor finish where he was not competitive to end the 2022 season. 

He held himself in listed stake company for the start of 2023 and kicked things off nicely popping a speed of 116 in his first race of the year and finished second after keeping close to the leader at the start, taking the lead briefly and then surrendered the lead late in the race.  His next two starts were also with listed stake company and winning ones too!  In the first, he went to the lead right out of the gate and amazingly build a 10-stride lead by the third call and took the win by two.  In his April start in listed company, it was his race all the way, this time dropping off the lead a bit at the start and rallying to win by over two.  Speeds in both sizzled at 121 and 119.   From here, he took on the G1 racing level and quickly took a victory in the Tatersalls Gold (10.5f) by over two strides and strong 121 figure.   Erangel, as the 3/1 favorite in the Kakarazuka Kinen Cup struggled a bit to keep up and finished third behind winning Texileo and fired a competitive 118 speed in the process.   In his last start, Erangel dropped well off the lead and ran a mid-field slot for much of the race before finding his groove in the stretch run where he won by over 2 strides and a 116 speed.

Speed numbers have been excellent and Erangel is very adaptable to different racing styles.   He can keep himself near the leader in the early going and relax in mid-field.  He seems to adjust to the conditions at the time and it has worked well for this runner.  Speed numbers are at their very best and all of this can be very advantageous for this entrant.

9  COMBINED EFFORT (owned by NASkippy)  8/1  Galileo x Kingmambo x Nijinsky 2^nd

Ranked:  100^th

With only 11 career starts, Combined Effort has the fewest number of starts of any runner in this field.  Still, he has a fine 4-4-1 career record.  During 2022, he raced only in allowance races and over six races, notched a record of 2-2-1 with speed figures moving upward in every start, growing from 90 to 111.  The numbers continued to grow in 2023.

He kicked off this season with a run in a listed stake race and finished off the board in 8^th.  He returned to the allowance company for one race in March and captured a 9f win by three strides and a 111 speed.  Combined then was brought in to test his ability at the graded level with a run in the G1 His Majesty Philippe Cup (10f).  In this race, he ran off the lead in third for the first half and moved up slightly to finish second, and kicking the speed up to 116.   Combined Effort stayed at the G3 level and in June competed in the G3 His Majesty Carl XVI Gustal Cup (10f).  After drifting 10 strides back at the half, he made up tons of ground and was only one-stride short of the winner, as he crossed the line in second with a career best 120 speed.  The speed was maintained in the G2 New York Stakes in July, as he struck a very good 118 and put in a strong showing as he rallied to take the lead in the stretch and opened up more than two lengths for the win.

Combined Effort is in very good form with big speed numbers coming his way of late.  He will be going against the G1 level for the first time and expanding to the 12-furlong distance, the longest he has ever run.  Despite these challenges, I feel he will be fine at the higher racing level and don’t see the longer distance being an issue.

10  A VANISHING ACT (owned by Spinround)  16/1   Gaileleo x Awesome Again x Dynaformer

Ranked:  23^rd

In the second half of 2022, A Vanishing Act found the longer routes was a thing he liked.  In August, he hit the triple-digit speeds for the first time with a 104 going 10f while finishing third in and allowance race.  He improved to picking up a win in his next start, expanding to 12 furlongs and a 111 speed to boot with the near 3-length win.  A Vanishing Act then appeared in a pair of races at the higher listed stakes level, scoring nice 112 speeds in both, finishing second in his first run and gaining his first stakes win in November.  He finished the season with his first grade level race, the G3 Mantee Cup ending the race in 6^th but with another respectful 112 speed.

The G3 Grand Prix, would be Vanishing’s first start in 2023 and also his first career graded race which came after a three-month winter rest.  He would turn out to be very sharp and after running 6^th for the first half of the race, he picked up the pace and closed within 2-1/4 strides of the winner, boosting the speed figure up to 115.  Vanishing likes to run on the front half of the field and did that in the 12f G3 Ursula von der Leyen Classic and while falling 10 lengths of the lead at the half, found his stride to charge hard in the stretch and win a photo finish to earn his first graded race and bumped the speed up another notch to 116.  He put in a very identical outing in the G1 Coronation Pilsner and rallied once again to win yet another photo at the wire, again, improving the speed to 118.

The G1 King Geoff and Queen Beths’ Emerald Stakes (12f) was punishing on A Vanishing Act as he was never a serious threat and finished 8^th well behind winning, You Have No Choice.   A Vanishing Act looks to make a rebound off this race and has shown that he can run competitively at the long distances.

11  PURPLE RED (owned by Tees)  16/1  Dubawi x Pivotal x Sadler’s Wells

Ranked:  64^th

A five race win streak came Purple Red’s way at the start of the 2022 season where he quickly won a threesome of allowance races.  In the first race he was a far-back 18 strides at the half and powered his way to a two and a quarter length win.   The third win came in a listed stake race where he logged a 117 speed (career best) and followed that up in the August running of the G1 Sword Swallower and he stayed just off the shoulder of the pace setter and made the late drive to win by a half-length and a 116 speed.  Purple Red usually will run in the third or fourth position in the early stages of the race and patiently await his time to strike.

The win streak concluded with the Sword Swallower but Purple Red nearly made it five-in-a-row and was beaten by a small quarter stride in the Grand Carlos, finishing third.   He ended the 2022 season with an off-board finish in the Japan Classic.  After taking a few months off during the winter, Purple Red took a casual refreshing run in an allowance race, finishing third, pretty much using this race to prep for more graded races.  Off this start, he ran in the G1 Carlsbad Lessons and equaled his career high speed with a 117 and finishing second.   A third place finish came his way in the G1 United Countries Handicap (113 Sp) and looking for a repeat in the Sword Swallower, he put in a poor outing finishing a well-back 7^th.  Looking to refresh once again, he took a step back to an allowance race in his last race to earn a promising win by four lengths.

That allowance win was his first victory since the end of his 5-race win streak that concluded a year earlier.   Could this be the start of another win streak?

12 BLACKROSE PRISON (owned by Lenny271)  13/1  Dubawi x Dynaformer x Deputy Minister

Ranked:  7^th

 Last year, after winning a pair of allowance races in May and June, Blackrose Prison jumped up to graded company with an appearance in the G3 Winchester Park Cup.  In the relatively small field of seven, he took an early mid-field position and advanced to the lead in the back half of the race to win by a stride and a speed of 117 which turns out to be his career best.  After this win, he easily took another win in a listed stake race with a 115 speed to extend his win streak to four.  Blackrose then entered the G1 Singapore Cup and settled into a comfy mid-field slot and was 10 off the lead at the half.  He ran hard and steady picking one horse off at a time until he made it to the lead and powered his way to the wire on top to win his first G1 race with a 117 speed.  He concluded the 2022 season with a third in the G1 Winter Cup, getting within just under 3-strides of the winner.

Blackrose Prison kicked the 2023 year off with a run in the G1 Jai Alia Park and just did not find the kick he needed in the stretch run, but did finish third, recording a 116 speed.  He was off the board in a pair of G1 races in the Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic and the Tattersalls Gold but righted the ship in the G1 United Countries Handicap where Blackrose Prison looked like his normal self and rallied in the stretch run, after his usual mid-field run early-on, to take the win by two lengths and a nice 115 speed figure.   His last start was in the G3 Winchester Park Cup where Blackrose drifted some 10-strides off the lead by the hallway mark.  Probably a bit too much for him to chip away at as he was able to move within 4-strides of the winner, but did settle for second.

Blackrose Prison looks like he may have come out of the slump he experienced earlier this year.  His last two races have been showing the form he is capable of and this may be coming at just the right time for this big race.

13  NOT EVEN WINDED (owned by Padrebri)  33/1  English Channel x Yeats x Darshaan

Ranked:  34^th

Not Even Winded put in some nice races in 2022 at the stakes level, which started in February with a win in a listed stakes event.  The win provided the stimulus to head into grade level races which started with the G2 San Juan Invitational where this mid-field runner found some open track and took advantage of it in the stretch to finish second going 14f.  He went a longer 16f in the G2 Second Henry and was 10 off the lead at the 3^rd call and knocked this gap down to a bit more than a stride to finish second once again.  A few months later, Not Even Winded would score a pair of back-to-back wins in the Longdale Cup (16f), winning by a strong margin of 5 lengths and another cushy 4-length victory in the G1 Longchamp Marathon, where his career best speed of 115 was achieved.

Results have soured since these two wins were snagged as Not Even Winded has ran in six more grade races and has not seen the winner’s circle over these outings.  His best performance was a third this past April in the G2 Cold Plate in which he finished third, narrowly missing the second spot.

Speed numbers have subsided quite a bit, dropping from 114 at the end of December to floating in the 98-106 ranged throughout 2023.  This runner has been beaten by large margins in three of his four races this year and its going to be a tough task for Not Even Winded to turn things around against this bunch.

14  PLATINUM WIPE CLUB (owned by Ace) 13/1  Deep Impact x Montjeu x Kingmambo

Ranked:  1^st

Platinum Wipe Club’s last eight starts have all been with G1 level stake races in distance ranging from 12 to 16 furlongs, with six of these at the longer 2-mile route.  She has a 5-2-0 record over this duration and his only off-board finish was in last years running of the Ark De ComicDog where she finished fifth.   This horse, like several others in the field, loves to be the boss and lead the way.  She wired the field in the 2022 Equinics (14f) and in the 2-mile Spring Cup, Gold Glass (2022), Millwood Cup and again in the 2023 Gold Glass (her last outing) Each of these were by good margins of three or more strides and her two seconds also came at the two-mile distance in the Millwood Cup and Ackland Cup.  Her speeds over the G1 races have run from 109 to 117.  By the way, she did this against the boys in each G1 race!

This Eclipse award winner and former Horse of the Year has the most career earnings in the field with over $9 million bankrolled.  Even though she’s only raced the 12-furlong distance once in G1 races (and as noted above that came in this same event last year, on an off-track), she has won at this distance four times in the past in allowance, listed stake races and the G2 Miami Beach Turf Stakes, so the point being that the distance works for her.

Platinum Wipe Club will be one of several making a bid to get the lead and it is rare that she does not get her way.  Going all the way on the lead will be a tougher task this time as several other foes are figuring to do the same thing but she has handled the boys before and could do so again.

15  LA PLAYA BUENO  (owned by MTK76)  12/1  Beach Control x Smart Strike x Danehill

Ranked:  32^nd

This runner is the only G1 winner out of sire Beach Control and he put in an exceptional campaign in 2022, with a 3-3-0 record over 6 starts.   La Playa Bueno kicked things off by easily winning an allowance race, which came on the heels of finishing 2^nd in the 2021 Breeders’ Bowl Turf.  After the allowance win, another win was earned by this slow starter, strong closer, in the G1 John Scott Appreciation Stakes where he rolled over the field by well over 2-lengths and a powerful 120 speed figure.  The speed number stayed solid in the G1 Sand Castle Turf Classic, at 119, and a win by half a stride.  After these three nice wins, came a trio of seconds, the first popping in the Saint Cloud Grand Prix with a 113 speed and the second in the G.P. Von Baden with a 119 with a 116 figure.   Competing a second time in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf resulted in a painful 2^nd place finish once again, this time losing in a photo finish and a competitive 117 speed.

2023 stared the same way as 2022 did for La Playa Bueno, with an allowance level win.  Disappointment would come in the Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic, as La Playa Bueno was looking for his second win in this event, but would never be competitive in the race and was well beaten and a lower 109 speed.  Undeterred, he sought to improve his 2^nd place finish in the ’22 running of the Saint Cloud Grand Prix but would drop a notch this time and finish 3^rd with a 108 speed. 

His speed figures have been suffering this year when compared to 2022, but La Playa Bueno may have turned things around in his most recent G1 start, a residency race the “URC-A Tribute to Smokeglack” where he smacked out a 117 speed and ran hard in the stretch, finishing second and coming up a half-stride shy of the top spot.   If La Playa Bueno did indeed turn things around, this 6-year old could be trouble to the younger runners in this field.

16 FBOY ETIQUETTE (owned by MTK76)  37/1  Curlin x War Front x Street Cry

Ranked:  115^th

Fboy Etiquette broke his maiden last season in March which was the spark that led to a 4-race win streak.  After breaking the maiden, he found success again in a NW2L allowance race and that victory graduated him to the graded racing, and he picked up his third win in the G2 Dante’s Inferno (10.5f) and boasting his first 100+ speed at 105.   The fourth win came in the G1 Irish Derby with a 108 speed at 12f, with a two length win after trailing by over 8 strides at the half.   Fboy Etiquette finished his 2022 season early in September with this coming in the G1 Classic Turf Stakes, running flat and finishing next to last, never being a factor in the race.

After several months off, he returned to racing in January, 2023 in an allowance race as a conditioning race.  Fboy finished third, more than a half-dozen lengths off the winner with a 104 speed.  He apparently had not found his form, as he failed to deliver meaningful results in either the G1 Aussie Queen nor the G1 Milan Grand Prix, finishing off the board in both and never being a threat.  He was dropped back to the allowance level, this time a dirt race and it turned out to be a winning effort.  In his last race, Fboy Etiquette returned to a G1 race, the G.P. Vong Baden where results were much better as he finished second with a career best speed of 114 and making up over 10-lengths in the final quarter of the race, and just over a length behind winning Kiama Voyager.

Fboy Etiquette’s last outing could be showing that he has found better form and comes into this big race off his lifetime best speed.  Still, many other horses have produced higher numbers than he has and he has lots of work to do to gain the upset.

17  KIAMA VOYAGER  (owned by VYZ)  18/1  Sea the Stars x Montjeu x Kingmambo

Ranked:  4^th

Kiama Voyager is a speedy four year old who has early run ability and found the graded level of racing to fit himself rather well.  He first ran last October in a long 2-mile G3 Royal Oak where he had no troubles taking the lead and building a 10-stride lead at the third call and coasted to the line ahead by 3 strides and a 110 speed.  After a mini-winter break, he ran in the 2-mile G2 Fitness Cup and took the lead early, but never built on it and was taken down, finishing 9^th.   He probably was not ready yet, after his winter recess, but he sharpened quickly as in March, the G2 Stayer’s Dash (14f), he knocked off a 113 speed and while he did get to the lead, he again did not build on it, but held on to take second.

In April, Kiama Voyager found himself on a wet yielding surface in the 10.5f G1 The Good Day.  This time, he sat off the early speed and played a stalking role where he rallied from four back to win by over a stride and hitting a 118 speed and doing this at 19-1 odds.   Kiama next race was the 12f Saint Cloud Grand Prix (G1) and he was able to break away from the field by over 8 lengths at the third call and coasted to the line on top by more than two strides and again hitting a 118 speed.

His most recent race was another start-to-wire victory in the G1 G.P. Von Baden where he brought a huge 12-stride lead into the final turn and put things into cruise control to win by over a length and a nice 115 speed.   Kiama Voyager has the speed to go all the way and not look back, but breaking away from the field may be a bit tougher in this field as other strong front runners will be looking to do the same thing.

18  ALL IN A DREAM (owned by Flagdown)  19/1  Galileo x Dubai Millenium x Caerleaon

Ranked:  6^th

In 2022, this late running horse came to life with a 5-race win streak.  The first three all came in the allowance division competing with very small fields.   After the third win, All In A Dream was given a test to see if he was “the real thing” by entering in the G2 O’Neal.   In this 12f race, he fell a whopping 20-strides off the leader at the halfway point, a very large deficit.  He overcame it and blew by the field and drew away to win by over three lengths with a 115 speed.  On an off-track in the G1 Vicky Derby he ran a very similar race, falling way back by nearly the same amount and burning up the track to win by nearly the same margin with the same 115 speed.  In the G1 Japan Classic, he fell back by some 25 strides at the half, and this proved to be too much as he whittled this down to 8 lengths and finished 8^th.

This season, All In A Dream sparkled in the Gary Trent Stakes, posting that 115 speed figure yet again, and finished second by under two strides after trailing by as much as 18 strides.   In the Ackland Cup, as 16f race, this strong closer came from 22 back and steer-headed his way to the top spot, running away by three lengths and a career best 116 speed.  He fell behind by nearly as many strides in the G1 Spring Cup (another 16f race) and chipped away at this gap to finish third behind winning King Kam Galileo. 

All In A Dream’s current form seems to be questionable of late, based on his last pair of starts, After trailing by 25 huge strides in the Gold Glass, he could only slice that down to 11, finishing fifth behind winning Platinum Wipe Club and had similar issues in the King Geoff and Queen Beth’s Emerald Stakes where he was 24 back and finished 13 off the winning You Have No Choice.  All In A Dream has an uncanny ability to make up insurmountable amount of ground, but current form adds a question mark for this race.

19  FIERCE PREDATOR  (owned by Bizalls)  19/1   Dubawi x Pivatol x Curlin

Ranked:  467^th

This entrant has never won a stakes race and things do not look to good for his chances.  He has competed in five graded stake races with a fifth place finish being his best outing and this came in his most recent start in the G1 Expensive Jalopy going 12 furlongs and he never got close to the leaders.  Fierce Predator has had better success win the listed stakes class where he has raced 5 times and has a pair of seconds and a third.  The third came two races back and he missed the win by under a stride and chalked a 115 speed. 

Back in June, he was second in a listed stakes and rallied nicely and chipped away at a deficit of 11 lengths behind to lose by 4 strides and a 115 speed.   His career best speed of 117 came in an 11.5f allowance race back in February which he won by over two lengths.

Fierce Predator can hit speeds of 110 and up, which he has done four times in his career but he has not established himself as being competitive in the graded company and looks outclassed by his competition in this race.

20  KIAMA CALOTT  (owned by Tulloch)  26/1  Sea the Stars x Bernardini x Sadler’s Wells

Ranked:  74^th

In June, 2022, Kiama Calott made the switch from sprints to long distance running and this enabled him to break his maiden on his 6^th attempt to do so.  Running in a 12 furlong MSW, he won by a solid 3 length margin.  This kicked off a three race win streak, with a 102 speed coming in the next race with an even better 4-stride margin.  From here, he leaped up to the G3 Dutch St. Leger, going a longer 14f and again won by that very good 4-length margin with an improved 108 speed. 

Then things fell apart on Kiama Calott.  Over his next three grade level starts, he finished a double digit number of lengths behind the winner, never being a threat.  By April, 2023, Kiama was able to finish in fourth in three straight graded races, in the G1 The 5-Series, G2 Grand Prix and G2 Princess of Wales.    His most recent race got him back into the winner’s circle for a photo as he won the G2 (13f) Deauville, equaling his career best 114 speed which he also charted in the 5-Series.

Kiama won this race by a nice margin of over two lengths, but this guy has had a long struggle and a gap of 7 races between wins (as well as finishing in-the-money) and you can’t help but wonder if he can boost that 114 career best speed figure high enough to take down his competition.  Might be too high of an expectation.

MY PICKS:

9-Combined Effort has been performing extremely well since joining the graded stakes level and offers nice value at 14/1.  Could make some doubters believers as he goes into his first G1 race.

1-You Have No Choice put in an excellent performance in his last start and a repeat here will result in a second Ark de ComicDog championship.  He’s been primed for this opportunity and no surprise if he does succeed.

7-Texileo has been on a nice ride for quite a while now and only faltered in his last start.  Front running speedster could go downtown one more time.

8-Erangel has the knack to make adjustments during the race to change his racing style and do what is necessary to be competitive and cannot be ruled out.

14-Platinum Wipe Club who I will also toss this lady in as she has a record of controlling the boys before and she may pick up some of the purse money too.