Darling-Squash features 14 colts
Darling-Squash Futurity
G II
8 F
Fast Dirt
All horses, 2 year olds
Welcome to Illinois where squash has never looked so enticing. Fourteen colts look to add a GII to some of their already impressive resumes. There are some good looking 2 year olds in the field and let’s take an in-depth look at the contenders.
1) Herbs Floating – 17/1 – zooomr2
This Afleet colt is making his graded debut after winning his first stakes race last time out. He ran a speed of 75 in the Their Master Bonanza. He has also finished 2nd in a stakes race along with winning his first race to break his maiden. In his 3 career races he has finished strong to get ahead of the field, however his speed will likely not catch this field to play much of a factor.
2) Grand Land – 9/1 – graywolf3
This Indian Charlie colt is still trying to capture his first graded win. In his last race he ran in the G1 Feed the Children and finished 3rd with a speed of 91. All 5 of his races have been 6 furlongs in which he makes a move late. It will be interesting to see how his speed will hold up when running at 8 furlongs. Grand Land should be in the running for finishing in the money although getting that first graded win will prove daunting.
3) Piolin – 12/1 – sonsierra
Piolin boasts two stakes wins only 5 races into his career. His last race was not quite the same success. He ran in the G1 Feed the Children and finished 9th with a speed of 80. He likes to get out early in the race and try to endure the stretch. However, the stretch will come much later in this race as the farthest he previously ran was 6.5 furlongs. He is poised to lead early, but unfortunately fade late and not find his way into the money again at the graded level.
4) Kat Call – 11/1 – nathndtroi
This well bred colt (Street Cry X A.P. Indy X Storm Cat) has been able to win a G2 and a stakes race while his best speed posted has been an 83. He ran that speed last time out in the G3 Closest Friend Stakes to take 1st place. That race was only 6.5 furlongs and his longest race has been 7 furlongs which was a quite dismal performance. He only ran a speed of 77 at 7 furlongs which put him in 10th place at the Smackdown stakes. Kat Call will likely not be able to keep pace with the top colts running in this one.
5) Corinthian War – 13/1 – sea cadet
This colt made his graded debut last time out and made it a memorable one. He was able to capture first place in G3 Trixy Delight’s Special with a speed of 86 at 8 furlongs. In his second race he had a bad outing in his stakes debut and ran a speed of 68 which put him in 8th place. His speed will certainly need a boost if he hopes to challenge for the money in this race. It seems likely that Corinthian War will find this field too deep and too fast.
6) E Five – 9/1 – cardinals
In gate 6 we have E Five the E Dubai colt looking for his first graded win. His last time out he got his first stakes win at a distance of 8 furlongs with a speed of 91. He has also raced in the G1 Hoserhead Juvenile in which he took 3rd place. He has yet to finish out of the money in his 5 races (including his maiden, 3 stakes races and his G1) which looks like a streak in which he should have a real shot of keeping alive. His speed and experience of running 8 furlongs should help ensure that cardinals and E Five have a real shot of getting in the money once again.
7) Hidden Agendas – 8/1 – super29
Hidden Agendas last time out was in the G1 Feed the Children in which he finished 4th with a speed of 87. With two of the horses that beat him last time out he looks to have his work cut out for him. He closes very well and has reason to believe he can run 8 furlongs despite 6 furlongs being his longest outing thus far. He also boasts a G2 win in the Faber College Juvenile out of 14 horses with a speed o f 87. He will need to add to his speed of 87 to figure into the money in this race.
8) Misty Whisper – 18/1 – vertain6
Misty Whisper has already broke through and won a graded race. He was able to finish first in the G2 Vermont BB Juvenile, a race that was 6 furlongs in which he ran a speed of 85. However, next time out he ran 7 furlongs in the G1 Hoserhead Juvenile only to see his speed drop by 8 points down to 77. Vertain6 is certainly hoping it was just a bad outing and not a sign of things to come at longer distances for this colt. The Latent Heat colt will likely not have enough speed to really challenge the field in this race.
9) Thornton Mellon – 8/1 – dolphinman
Out of gate number 9 we have Thornton Mellon. In his last race he won the N. Clan Cap Stakes with a speed of 87. The fastest speed this horse has ran yet is an 88 which will prove to be quite a challenge to contend in this field. He has ran in 3 graded races without finishing in the money. However, all 3 of those races were shorter distances. He has finished first in both of his races over 6 furlongs, but his speeds were less than impressive. Dolphinman certainly hopes he can maintain his winning ways around the mile mark.
10) Ninja Silence – 10/1 – peeps7
Ninja Silence has yet to win beyond the maiden level, yet he could be the colt taking the win when it is all over. In his last time out he really hit his stride at 8 furlongs in the G3 Pea Patch Juvenile with a speed of 90. This easily bested his previous top speed of 77 at 6 furlongs. Adding those two furlongs made a big difference for peeps7 suddenly great looking colt. He has finished 2nd in a non-graded stakes and 6th in a G3, but both were shorter distances. Look out for Ninja Silence to continue his great run at a mile and make serious noise in this race.
11) Sunset Cajun – 11/1 – twoofus2
Out of gate 11 is Sunset Cajun looking for his 2nd graded win. His graded win came in the G3 Early Morning Special. In his last race he ran in the G1 Feed the Children, but did not have a good outing. He finished 11th with a speed of 76 at 6 furlongs. He has never attempted to run past 6 furlongs so it will certainly be interesting to see how he handles it. His pedigree certainly suggests he should take the transition to routes well (Dehere X Fusaichi Pegasus X Seattle Slew). He will certainly need to find his stride at 8 furlongs to give his trainer twoofus2 a shot at the money.
12) Brave Ulysses – 6/1 – Clapton
In gate 12 we have a colt that has ran very well over 5 races to boast 4 wins, including a G1 and a stakes race. His 3rd place finish was in a G2. His last time out he ran a speed of 96 in the G1 Feed the Children to capture his first graded win. This will be his longest distanced race as he has yet to exceed the 6 furlong distance. He has comprised earnings over $710,000 in his 5 outings and he looks primed to add to that total again.
13) Meow Vow – 9/1 – beachhouse
With only 2 races in this colt’s career it is hard to really know how much of an impact he will play in this race. However, he has already finished in the money in a graded race, his last time out. It was the G3 Trixy Delight’s Special where he ran 3rd with a speed of 83. That speed will need to be raised to the next level to finish in the money again at the graded level. Jockey H. Zoon is little reason for excitement with his career 4.5 winning percentage. Meow Vow is a bit of a wild card, but will likely fail to run with the faster colts in this one.
14) Running Samurai – 9/1 – meguire7th
In his last time out Running Samurai captured his first graded win. He ran a speed of 93 in the G3 Pea Patch Juvenile at 8 furlongs. His first 4 outings were much shorter distances and his speed improved greatly by running at 8 furlongs. He was still adding to his lead in his last race when it came to the stretch. Meguire7th certainly hopes that speed can improve or at least hold steady to give his horse a real shot at finishing in the money.
Out of this impressive field one colt stands out above the rest and that is the favorite Brave Ulysses. Along with his already impressive resume and speeds he has P. Munoz at the helm to complete the triple threat. My 2nd pick would be Running Samurai as he has already had success on the graded level at 8 furlongs. That should be enough to get him in the money with his quick speed. And my final pick goes to Ninja Silence as he looks to add to his graded resume at 8 furlongs. One thing is for sure we will have a good race of 2 year olds looking to join the elite level of horses.
As always good luck to all the trainers involved in the race!