Jungle Alert(SAF) Bonanza showcases turf classic runners

As the world focuses on the Breeder’s Bowl across the country, Virginia race fans get a look at classic distance stakes runners in this week’s Jungle Alert(SAF) Bonanza. The race is set to run over nine and a half furlongs of firm turf, and invites all horses three years old or older to participate. The race carries a $50000 purse. This is one of the longest running annual events in Virginia, now in it’s fifth year. Favorites have won, and we’ve seen some surprises too, and every year the horses seem to get faster. Last year’s surprise winner, Sister Awake(KY) set the benchmark speed of 109.5, after coming ten lengths off the pace at the half to own the stretch, posting an impressive three and a quarter length victory. This year’s running draws a field of eight, half of them three year old colts. The oddsmakers look rather confident in a pair of 5/2 favorites, with four other entries hitting the morning line between 5/1 and 7/1 odds. A pair of 17/1 longshots round out the field. Handicappers aren’t likely to break the bank this week, but payouts look to be somewhat better than they have recently, especially in the exotics.

PP 1) Giantsbane Sired by Mineshaft, Trained by sangster. Ginatsbane is a five year old horse, and the first of the two favorites, as he makes his thirtieth career start here. He has three prior stakes wins to his credit, including a Grade 2 win back in his three year old campaign. His last stakes win came in September of last year. Over the course of his last ten starts, he has put up a record of 2-1-3-2-0, cracking the 100+ mark four times, capped by a 109.3 speed two starts back. His last race was a stakes race at this disance at Ostend, where an early speed duel took its toll, and he settled for third in a field of seven. He’s been running strictly turf since early in his three year old season, and has a very high comfort level with the surface. His signature race has been in the eleven furlong range, accounting for half of his wins and a good portion of his earnings, but he has been no slouch in this distance range either, posting three wins and a show in six tries. He’s a rocket from the gate, going straight to the lead, and he needs that early lead to have success. He’s been vunerable to closers in his recent starts though, giving up leads down the stretch in half of his last eight starts. If the field runs true to form here, he should be able to get clear early, though he will likely have a couple runners just off his tail. He’s proven he has plenty of stamina, but his hottest competition is likely to come from the head of the midpack. He’ll need something extra left to hold on late in this one.

PP 2) Enchanting(KY) Sired by War Chant, Trained by deyoto2. Enchanting(KY) is a four year old colt, taking the gate for career start number twenty two in this race. He has a bit of stakes experience scattered throughout his career, but he is still looking to score that first victory at this level. His last ten starts have yielded a 3-0-0-2-1 record, with a pair of 100+ speeds, the best being a 104.5 mark he hit late last year. His last start was right here in Virginia in the Mario’s Logs Challenge, where he was simply buried early and never found his way back, finishing seventh in a field of eight. Other than a token dirt start early last year, he’s been strictly a turf runner, and the surface suits him. He has a two wins and a show in this distance range in his three career tries. He’s a deep closer, and while he has shown some flashes of absolute brilliance coming from deep out, the story of most of his recent starts has been finding himself out too deep, too early to bring himself back in the second half. With the speed out in front of him here, he could likely find himself in that same scenario again. Look for a gallant second half effort from him, but if he gets buried again early he’s going to have trouble here again making up ground against this field.

PP 3) Dwyck(AUS) Sired by Spinning World, Trained by willyam13. Dwyck(AUS) is a four year old colt, bringing in a 133 divisional ranking among older horses to the table here in his twenty third career start. He has two previous stakes wins, both coming at nine furlongs, the most recent of which came two starts back on a tough Vermont track. Overall, he’s posted a 5-0-0-0-0 mark in his last ten starts, with four 100+ outings, topping out at 106.9 this March. His last start was the Grade 2 Posh Purse in Florida, where he was never a factor, finishing twelfth in a field of fourteen. He has four dirt starts earlier in his career, but turf has been his money maker. This is his distance range of choice, and ten starts in this range have resulted in four wins and seven top three finishes. He is a midpack closer, and outside of graded level his close has been quite good. Something that bears noting here, thorwong out his four graded starts, he has finished out of the top three only once since breaking his maiden last April, and he has won five of those starts. He has shown he has the capability of putting up the speeds he needs to compete here, and he might be a good pick to sneak into your trifecta boxes at 6/1 odds.

PP 4) Director Walsh(KY) Sired by Lemon Drop Kid, Trained by duchess. Director Walsh is a hard run three year old colt, stepping to the track for career start number twenty three in this outing. He has one prior stakes win to his credit, coming earlier this year in a short field of three year olds in California. His last ten starts have been a potluck mixture running from lower level claims up through graded level competition, and he has come out of it with a 1-0-1-1-2 record, with a best speed figure of 96.8 coming earlier this season. His last start was an eight furlong high level claim race in Kansas, where he pretty much held his ground through most of the race, neither fading or advancing, to finish fifth in a field of nine. The bulk of his racing has been on turf, and that is where nearly all of his success has come. He looks to be at his best in the seven to eight furlong range, and a pair of starts in this distance range have gotten him only a fifth place finish to show for them. He likes to run from just off the pace, but outside of a couple lower level races, he has shown little inclination to close any ground in the second half. He hasn’t really shown the speed he’s going to need to be a real threat here, and unless he’s hiding something more than he’s shown, this could be a long day for him.

PP 5) Stink One(KY) Sired by Harlan’s Holiday, Trained by inzy4. Stink One(KY) is a three year old colt, and he will run in career race eighteen in this start. A pair of stakes wins has given him a ranking of 65 among three year old colts in the Classic division. His last ten starts have seen him run to a 5-3-0-0-0 record, with three 100+ outings, culminating in a career best 105.1 in his last start. That race was the nine furlong CR Racers Special in Eastern Kentucky, where he came from just off the pace to best a field of eight by two lengths. He had some success on dirt early in his career, but really blossomed with his switch to turf. He loves the distance here, and in seven career starts in this distance range, he has never finished outside the top two, with four wins and three places. He likes to run from the head of the midpack, just off the lead, and outside of a pair of Grade I starts, one of those on dirt, he has done it quite well. He’s shown signs of really beginning to mature as this season progresses, showing the speed he needs to compete at this level. Those speeds are still a bit inconsistent, though, and while a couple of graded starts at longer distance play a part, he still has a little maturing to do yet. If he can duplicate his last though, don’t count him out here, and he could be a factor down the stretch.

PP 6) Cyberghost(ENG) Sired by Dansili(GB), Trained by broadbrush. Cyberghost(ENG) is the young upstart of this field, with the three year old colt making only his thriteenth career start here. Although he has a relatively low race count, he is no stranger to stakes competition, with eight of his twelve starts coming at this level, and a pair of stakes wins. He brings in a record of 4-2-3-0-1 out of his last ten starts, with three 100+ speeds, the best of 106.1 coming two starts back. His last race was a ten furlong stakes race in Upper New York, where he made a game effort down the stretch before settling for a fairly close third in a field of four. After a fairly lackluster debut race on dirt, he made the switch to turf, and has finished out of the top three only once in his next eleven starts. Most of his success has come in the seven to eight furlong range. He has a pair of starts at nine furlongs, coming out of those with a second and a fifth place finish. He is a deep closer, and outside a couple of missteps, his close has been quite consistent. Although two of his three 100+ speeds, along with his career best have come in this distance range, he’s had trouble getting all the way back in these longer races. With the bulk of the speed in this one out in front of him, he could find himself out deeper than he likes in the second half of this one. Although he has shown he can come back from deeper, it wasn’t against a field of this calibre, or at this distance. I see him collecting a check here, but he’s going to need his A game and a little more to land in the winner’s circle in this one.

PP 7) Storming Off(MN) Sired by Demidoff, Trained by xssessivx. Storming Off(MN) is a three year old colt, taking the gate for career start number sixteen in this race. He has three career stakes runs, two of those at graded level, but he is still looking to noth that first stakes win. His last ten starts watched him gallop to a 4-0-2-1-0 record, with a best speed of 100.7 coming a couple of starts back. His last start was an A4L at this distance in Indiana, where he walked away from a field of seven down the stretch to record a two length victory. After spending the bulk of his early career on dirt, a switch to turf in his last six has resulted in four wins. He has a perfect 4-0-0 record in four starts at this distance on turf. He generally likes to run a stalker’s pace, and on the turf it has worked quite well for him, especially in this distance range. Most of that success came at allowance range though, and he is stepping up in class here. Speed is the big question for him in this field. Although he has had outstanding success at this distance on turf, he hasn’t really put up the speed numbers he needs to really threaten late here. He’s young and lightly raced, and it could be he has more in him than he’s shown so far. Until he can show it, though, I’ll have to take a pass on him here.

PP 8) Star Student(KY) Sired by Apititude, Trained by northsider. Star Student(KY) is a four year old horse, and he makes his thirtieth career start here as the co-favorite. He has a couple of stakes tries under his belt, but that first win at this level has so far eluded him. He showcases a 4-2-2-2-0 record in his last ten, cracking the 100+ mark in seven of those, capped by a 105.5 figure in his last outing. That race was a nine furlong open stakes in Kentucky, where he finished third in a very tight field of four. He spent the first half of his career on dirt, where he had some passing success, but he has really stepped up with a switch to turf late last summer. He likes the distance here, as well, with seven starts turning into two wins and five top three finishes. He generally likes to start from near the head of the midpack, biding his time for a strong second half run. He has shown decent closing ability, but his last two wins have both come with at least a piece of the early lead. He’s not likely to have that luxury here, with a speedball up front, and he is going to need a strong second half kick to run down the leader. On the positive side, while not owning the highest speed in this field, he has far and away been the most consistent runner, speedwise, in this field. How far out he finds himself at the half should tell a big part of the story far him here, but he should at least be threatening as they head for home in this one.