Full field for Grade III – Chemlawn

Despite the soft ground we have a full field of colts and fillies for this long sprint presumably sponsored by a fertiliser company.  A real tooth and nail battle looks to be in order with some very fancied runners putting up their reputations in less than ideal conditions, and others waiting to pick up the pieces if it all goes horribly wrong.  The runners are:

GELLINLIKEAFELLIN(KY)

Trainer: goomba1

(Dixieland Band x Machiavellian x Round Table)

Odds:  12/1                 Earnings: 102,290                  Runs/Wins: 11/3

Master Stable : Dentition *No Do Claima’s* Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 484

Stakes Wins :

A scratch bred colt.  A first stakes run for this well bred colt after two terrific back-to-back allowance wins.  He likes to race near the front and is even happy to inject the pace he requires when needed, so his fate here rests totally in his own hands.  The ground shouldn’t be too much of a worry as he has won on yielding before now and this rise in class  is entirely justified, but this will prove to be a hard race.

LARF DA HOUSEDOWN(KY)

Trainer: rharfbeam

(Limehouse x Distorted Humor x Storm Cat)

Odds:  10/1                 Earnings: 336,500                  Runs/Wins: 12/6

Master Stable : Rharfo2004 Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 30

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Gatling Apex Stakes (New Zealand)

                                    The Nane Hollandia Handicap (New South Wales)

                                    The His Gulf Special (South Carolina)

                        2007    The Ourense(IRE) Bonanza (District of Columbia)

                                    The Dan’s Verse Bonanza (Eastern Kentucky)

A scratch bred filly.  Came 4^th in the G1-World Cup Juvenile Filly Turf Sprint as a 2yo and has continued to improve since then.  She has won on this going so the ground holds no fears for her, but I think we have not yet really seen her at her best and until she breaks the 100 SP# mark there will be doubts about her ability.  A tough race in prospect against the boys, and one she will need to give her all if she intends to come close to victory.

ASTRONO GOLD(KY)

Trainer: perks2

(Seeking The Gold x Nureyev x Red Ransom)

Odds:  6/1                   Earnings: 135,701                  Runs/Wins: 17/6

Master Stable : The Conglomerate

Turf Sprint Rank : 268

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Big Matt(IRE) Stakes (Kansas)

A colt bred from an F class mare.  Switched to turf this year with great effect after some reasonable dirt performances and has had some nice results since.  Looked a little under par in his last run over a mile in a field which included Another Dud(ENG), but he will be hoping to put that performance behind him.  He’s never raced on an off-track but I don’t think it will be too much of a problem as long as he stays close to the early leaders at the very start.

HALO HALO HALO(ENG)

Trainer: acote5

(Singspiel(IRE) x High Top(GB) x Crepello(GB))

Odds:  34/1                 Earnings: 71,431                    Runs/Wins: 13/4

Master Stable : Pilgrim Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : N/A

Stakes Wins : N/A

A scratch bred colt bred by want2win.  Purchased in the auction after just one maiden run on turf, he seemed to settle on dirt early in his career but his best races have all come as a 3yo – ironically back on turf.  I think this one is crying out for longer distances than this and in all honesty he stands little chance here.

FURTHERMORE(KY)

Trainer: serenasong

(More Than Ready x Seeking The Gold x Vice Regent)

Odds:  7/1                   Earnings: 228,200                  Runs/Wins: 12/6

Master Stable : Xiaoyih Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 28

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Buck Rabbit Special (Wyoming)

                                    The Lepaca Drakon Stakes (Ontario)

                        2007    The City Pillow Challenge (Wyoming)

                                    The Cool Charm(IRE) Memorial (Ontario)

A colt bred from a G class mare. A full brother to 4yo graded winning mare Moreover(KY) this colt must feel the time has come for a first graded win himself.   The distance looks right, the going should be no problem and, despite a couple of disappointing runs, including one on dirt, he must feel has very real chances of achieving that.  On top form he would attempt to take this wire-to-wire but that may be too tall an order in this field.

QUICKSILVER TRIO(MD)

Trainer: decon

(Fleet Foot x Switch In Time (IRE) x Triple Bend)

Odds:  38/1                 Earnings: 50,554                    Runs/Wins: 10/2

Master Stable : Phoenix Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 642

Stakes Wins : N/A

A scratch bred colt. Only lost his maiden tag in May this year and still has a lot to learn.  I can see him being tried over longer distances in the near future as I’m not convinced that he is quick enough for sprinting at stakes level, and it will be interesting to see how he performs on this softer going.

CUFFLINKS(FL)

Trainer: vanilla

(Too Much Bling x Unbridled x Relaunch)

Odds:  22/1                 Earnings: 75,153                    Runs/Wins: 11/2

Master Stable : The Squirrel Empire

Turf Sprint Rank : 583

Stakes Wins :

A colt bred from an H class mare.  Lost by a considerable distance to Furthermore(KY) in his only stakes race so far and whilst he has improved considerably since then it is a big ask to expect him to turn that result around.  The ground could well be in his favour and one of the minor places is well within the realms of possibility.

ANOTHER DUD(ENG)

Trainer: jkj4

(Shirocco (GER) x Secretariat x Deputy Minister)

Odds:  8/1                   Earnings: 403,470                  Runs/Wins: 16/6

Master Stable : Rockriver Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 53

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Sal Is Gone Stakes (New Zealand)

                                    G2-Chem Lawn Special (California)

                                    The Scorched Earth Special (Epsom)

                                    The Her Attack Stakes (South Africa)

                        2007    The Quill Doll Special (Norway)          

A scratch bred colt.  Don’t be fooled by the misleading name as this is a class colt who on his day is capable of taking on the best.  However this is his first sprint race since back in January and he certainly hasn’t looked as comfortable at these sharper distances, and that together with the ground could well prove to be his undoing on this occasion.  Easily beat Astrono Gold(KY) last time over an extra furlong and I would expect to see him returning to longer distances very soon.

CHARMING CHIP(IRE)

Trainer: epcotlen3

(Danehill Dancer (IRE) x Forty Niner x Storm Cat)

Odds:  14/1                 Earnings: 109,179                  Runs/Wins: 12/2

Master Stable : Epcotlen Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 155

Stakes Wins : N/A

A colt based on a G class horse.  Still looking for a stakes win so this one could be a big ask.  He’s more often than not made the money and looks pretty good on this kind of going, but his last race was probably a bit of a confidence shaker and he will need to bounce back from that disappointment.  If he can recover from that he may be a threat late on, but probably only for the minor money places. 

CHOSE GOLD(AUS)

Trainer: bigsplit2

(Redoute’s Choice (AUS) x Formal Gold x Danzig)

Odds:  8/1                   Earnings: 124,330                  Runs/Wins: 14/5

Master Stable : Rockriver Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 205

Stakes Wins : N/A

A colt bred from an F class mare.  Inexperienced at this level but comes here in excellent form.  Despite a disappointing finish last time he will have been delighted with the SP# and will be looking to build on that here and any improvement could provide major dividends.  A tough field for him to take on includes Freeky’s V(KY)  who narrowly beat him a few races back, but I’m sure he will have some stakes victories to his name before too long.

FREEKY’S V(KY)

Trainer: freeky

(Vindication x Gone West x Nijinsky II)

Odds:  5/1                   Earnings: 404,990                  Runs/Wins: 14/7

Master Stable : Pierchinski Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 12

Stakes Wins : 2008    G2-Winthorpe Stakes (Epsom)

                                    The Texasboy Challenge (Ascot)

                                    The Maple Robe (New Hampshire)

                                    The Babified Silver Special (N. Florida)

                        2007    The Prospector Mayying Handicap (Columbia)

A colt bred from a G class mare.  He comes to this race on a real high after winning a Grade II 5furlong dash here at Epsom last time.  He really looks to be improving in leaps and bounds and has recent victories over Quicksilver Trio(MD), Chose Gold(AUS) and Feedlot Cowboy(TX) to his credit so he will fancy his chances here too.  There is however a big question mark over the going and like some of the other fancied runners he may have to take his lumps and wait for another day. 

FEEDLOT COWBOY(TX)

Trainer: dwightski

(Gold Legend x Alydar x Hail To Reason)

Odds:  6/1                   Earnings: 340,290                  Runs/Wins: 21/7

Master Stable : Hellum Farms

Turf Long Rank : 43

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Hidden Pot(ARG) Cap (Hong Kong)

                                    The Seeking The Cat Memorial (Denmark)

                        2007    The Redhead Bingo Challenge (Tazmania)

                                    The Mambo Sal Special (Ireland)

                                    The Mr. Falutin’ Bonanza (Ireland)

A scratch bred colt.  His last two stakes wins were on dirt and he switches back to turf more in hope than expectation after a disappointing finish last time out.  Held on form by Freeky’s V(KY) back in March and his only previous performance on this ground was pretty horrible by his high standards so this may turn out to be an experiment that has gone wrong a t the whim of the Sim weather gods.  A great horse in the wrong place at the wrong time.

DEDUCTION(KY)

Trainer: lenny12

(A.P. Indy x Seeking The Gold x Northern Dancer)

Odds:  9/1                   Earnings: 251,320                  Runs/Wins: 11/5

Master Stable : The Evil Empire – Not A Magic Show

Turf Sprint Rank : 20

Stakes Wins : 2008    The I Love Sal Memorial (Kansas)

                                    The Project Thor Handicap (Maryland)

                        2007    The Brown Boomer Special (Kentucky)

                                    The Putrid Launch Stakes (Italy)

A colt bred from a B class mare (Compensation).  Despite putting in some good performances recently he has struggled to win races, and you have to go back to March for his last victory.  However all the indications are that he’ll manage the soft going, and if he grabs an early lead he will prove to be hard to beat over this distance.   Very good odds for a very fast colt.

PATRONUS DREAM(ENG)

Trainer: onemore

(Oasis Dream (GB) x Mr. Prospector x King Of Kings(OLD))

Odds:  20/1                 Earnings: 81,940                    Runs/Wins: 13/4

Master Stable : Ldyssecret Stables

Turf Sprint Rank : 96

Stakes Wins :

A filly bred from a B class mare (Queen Prospector).  Interestingly enough her dam took on the males twice in her distinguished career and won both races and this filly has already managed that feat once.  However this is a much harder prospect for her  and she will need to improve immensely to get anywhere close to some of the top colts running here.  She comes here on a high and won’t be a million miles away that’s for sure, but don’t bet the farm on her.

Summary

A very nice field includes a couple of fillies who aren’t too far behind the boys in terms of past performances so a tight race in prospect.  The ground could have a big part to play and whilst there are lots of positives for most of these runners I’ll stick my neck out and opt for Furthermore(KY) to add to his already growing reputation.