10 Set For Bluegrass Cup Turf
Bluegrass Cup Turf
G II
12 F
Firm Turf
All horses, 3 years old and up
Welcome to Kentucky and the prestigious Bluegrass Cup. Ten horses are set to tango in this long race that features some of the best long turfers in the world. It will provide drama, excitement, and a chance to watch Sushi get devoured (if you are into that sort of thing). All jokes aside (it is still a joke even if it is a bad joke) lets meet the field:
1) Telestar Classic – 8/1 – supapogs3
Telestar Classic is making his graded debut. This 4 year old colt has looked good in each of his last 3 starts at 12 furlongs. In his last 3 he has won 2 stakes races and finished 3rd in the other. All three races he ran a speed over 100. He has found his niche at the 12 furlong distance. He certainly figures to factor in the equation by having a real shot at finishing in the money.
2) Ghost Tracker – 5/1 – champions4
In gate 2 we have Ghost Tracker whom is also making his graded debut. Last time out he ran in the 10 furlong The Shananie For Form Challenge and finished 2nd with a speed of 112. This Ghostzapper colt has yet to put in a great performance over 10 furlongs. Over his 19 races he has compiled 6 wins, 2 of those being stakes races and has only finished out of the money 3 times. He will need to solve the extra couple of furlongs to give him a shot of winning his first graded race, but getting in the money seems very possible.
3) Director – 9/2 – snappa4
This 5 year old has 4 career graded wins and a career earnings over 2 million. He has ran 8 times since almost a year ago and has only ran a speed of less than 100 once and that was when the turf was not firm. In his last race he ran in The Rat Jason Memorial stakes and finished 1st with a speed of 102. Director will have a real shot at getting snappa4 another graded win.
4) Celebrity Swain – 6/1 – boldrule99
Celebrity Swain is another horse that is no stranger to graded races. He has appeared in 10 graded races with only 1 G3 win to show for it. He has, however, finished in the money in three of his last 4 graded races. In his last race he ran in the G3 Winchester Park Cup taking 3rd with a speed o f 98. It is important to note that running past 11 furlongs has not exactly spelled success for this horse as he has yet to finish in the money past that distance. He will find it difficult once again to finish in the money.
5) Lame Duck – 13/1 – cylla2222
This 4 year old colt last raced in a dirt allowance race at 13 furlongs with a speed of 99. He does have 2 stakes wins over his 31 career starts. He has trouble routinely cracking the 100 mark for his speed and is making his graded debut. It will likely be a bit of a rough outing for him as he has recently found himself finishing well behind the winners in races. But, I don’t think Cylla2222 will complain too much about getting these performances from a claimed horse.
6) Sushi – 58/1 – black3car2
If you like long shots don’t be tempted to take this one. Last time out Sushi finished 10th in an allowance race at 10 furlongs with a speed of 74. This horse has hit 90+ twice but, it is more of an enigma than you might think. This horse does have 5 wins, but all of those were on the claiming level save the MSW race. He has ran in a graded race before with a 12th place finish and 29 lengths off the winner it is one he wishes would go away, however, this will likely have the same ending.
7) Septic Squall – 22/1 – sizzled
A 3 year old colt with 3 stakes wins won’t often be labeled a dog by the odds makers, but that is exactly what happened here. In his last race he ran in The Star Willow Bonanza finishing 4th with a speed of 89. His speeds are a big reason he is such an underdog in this race as he has yet to top the century mark. He did finish 2nd in the G1 Sydney Derby at 12 furlongs however, it was on an off track. Septic Squall will find this field to be much faster and will not be able to keep pace with the favorites.
8) Circle of Solace – 4/1 – weller1
This well bred 4 year old colt (Awesome Again X A. P. Indy X Nijinsky II) is lightly raced and lightning quick, a deadly combination. He boasts 5 stakes wins, 2 of those being graded including a G1 and a G2. His last race was in the G1 Judgemont International at 10.5 furlongs and finished 6th with a speed of 105. I like his odds of getting back into the money and challenging for his 3rd graded win if he continues to top the 100 speed mark.
9) Borius Phantom – 8/1 – pedroza4
For a colt that was once run in a $3,500 claim race he didn’t turn out too bad. He is trying to break thorough and get in the money at the graded level. In his last race he ran in The Sky Charm Challenge finishing 2nd with a speed of 103 which was 12 furlongs. The Desert King colt does not have a jockey that instills any real hope with a winning percentage of 2. He has struggled on the graded level finishing 5th and 8th, and will likely continue to struggle against a strong field.
10) Rosenthal – 7/2 – simsters8
The favorite in the race is this 5 year old who boasts career earnings above 2.7 million. In his career 35 races he has found the winners circle 10 times and missed out on the money only in 9 of those. His last race was not so awe inspiring at the G1 Windy City Turf Classic as he took 9th with a speed of 97. He has run in 10 straight graded races, winning 3 of them. Another reason to like Rosenthal is his jockey D. Givins with his career winning percentage of 27.
In this race I like the favorites, but I like another horse more and that is Telestar Classic out of gate 1 who has hit his stride at just the right time. With the 2nd pick it is hard to pass up Rosenthal with his gaudy numbers and earnings and it would not surprise me if he is able to take down the upstart 4 year old. My final pick goes to another 5 year old, Director. His string of 100+ speeds will be enough to get him in the money once again at the graded level. The race for the prestigious Bluegrass Cup on turf will certainly be a good one.
As always good luck to all the trainers involved in the race!