Seven Ladies line up for the Big Time Handicap
Race : Big Time Handicap – Grade II – $200,000
Track : New York
Restrictions : Fillies and mares, 3 years old and up
Distance : A mile and one quarter on the Turf
Welcome to the 9th running of the Big Time Handicap in New York. Today we have 7 fillies and mares competing over 10 furlongs on a firm turf track for their share in the $200,000 purse. This race has never drawn a full field and interestingly, it has been won from post position five 50% of the time. Three winners participated in the Bickerknocker Handicap G3 as their prep race. The stakes record is held by the 2004 winner Compelling Grace, trained at Buronga Downs. She was out of pp5 and put up a 115 in her wire to wire victory. L Haskins was her jockey and he has won this race one other time. Let’s look at the field for today’s race:
PP 1 SHEZA MANIAC (MEDAGLIA D’ORO x CRYPTOCLEARANCE x HIS MAJESTY) bred and trained by willyam20 (Willyam13 Stables, 11%) Odds: 9 to 2
First we have Sheza Maniac, a 5 year old scratch bred daughter of Medaglia D’Oro. She comes into this race off a second place finish at the G1-Yellow Submarrine Stakes where she finished ahead of Publik Enemy, also in today’s field. She hasn’t been in the greatest form this year, only winning at Smackdown at a 10 furlong listed stakes and her second place finish last time out. Her last raced she did tie her career high speed of 107 (both times at 10 furlongs) and her best efforts seem to come against graded company. As a late closer she will be happy to let the others set the pace ahead of her.
PP 2 LUFTHANSA HEIST (KY) (KINGMAMBO x A.P. INDY x SADLER’S WELLS) bred and trained by domedriver (Afc Stables, 15%) Odds: 4 to 1
Next to Sheza Maniac is another late runner, Lufthansa Heist. She is a 4 year old scratch bred daughter of Kingmambo. Also like the mare in post position 1. she is coming off her career high speed in a graded stakes last time out. Lufthansa Heist finished second in the G2-Milky Way Stakes putting up a 109. She also faced Sheza Maniac at Smackdown where Lufthansa finished 8th to Sheza’s win. She started her career on dirt, breaking her maiden on the 5th try, but since trainer domedriver moved her back to turf she has won five times and only finished out of the money four times. Three of those four times she was just barely out of the money in fourth place. She is definitely one to watch.
PP 3 NORSE PRINCESS (SADLER’S WELLS x MISWAKI x NIJINSKY) bred and trained by ninerdust (Lsumark Stables, 14%) Odds: 3 to 1
It is hard to find something I don’t like about this horse. Sadler’s Wells happens to be my favorite sire and crossing him with Mr. Prospector or one of his sons, with Nijinsky on the backend looks like something I should try myself. She has been racing in graded company for over a year and a half and you have to go back almost two years to find the second time she put up a speed under the century mark. Like the previous two horses she is a late runner and put up her career high speed last time out in a graded race, the G2-Spanklie-Sho All Comers. And being Scandinavian myself, I even like her name. Ok, the one thing to not like, she hasn’t won in well over a year. She has finished in the money 5 times in that year, but hasn’t been able to take the win. Perhaps today that trend will change.
PP 4 SABRE FAN (IRE) (REFUSE TO BEND (IRE) x KRIS (GB) x OUR EBLEM) bred and trained by aframe27 (The Evil Empire, 20%) Odds: 5 to 1
The Evil Empire won this race two years ago with Empire Reef trained by lenny13 and he tries for a second win here with Sabre Fan. She is a 4 year old scratch bred daughter of Refuse to Bend. Sabre Fan is the number two ranked horse from Refuse to Bend’s 2006 crop and one of his 9 graded winners. Sabre Fan is coming off an allowance win with a respectable speed, but no one in the history of this race has won that prepped in an allowance race. What is in her favor though, is her ability to run towards the front. She usually doesn’t like the lead, running in second or third most of the race, but in a field dominated by closers it should be to her advantage that she has shown ability to run at the front.
PP 5 ODARAIN (RED BULLET x FORESTRY x A.P. INDY) bred and trained by chips22 (Chips22 Stables, 13%) Odds: 4 to 1
After a glimpse of early speed from Sabre Fan, we are back to a closer. Odarain got her first graded victory last time out in the G1-Flower Pot Stakes (same distance) where she was almost 10 lengths back at second call when she turned it up and raced up the stretch for the win. Typically this 5 year old scratch bred daughter of Red Bullet likes to run well off the pace, usually back by about 10 lengths before she pours on the closing speed. With so many other late runners in the race it will be interesting to see how the pace scenario sets up. She is looking for her third win in a row here and she is in post position 5 which has won this race 4 times before.
PP 6 PUBLIK ENEMY (RAINBOW QUEST x SEEKING THE GOLD x NUREYEV) bred and trained by pygmalion (Pompeya Throroughbred Racing Corporation, 25%) Odds: 9 to 2
Publik Enemy is nearing the million dollar mark and with a top 5 finish here she should be above it. This 6 year old daughter of Rainbow Quest is making her 39th start and has won 34% and finished in the money 66% of the time. Like so many others in the race today she is coming off a graded attempt at this distance where she put up her career high speed of 106. She finished fourth behind Sheza Maniac. We can also add her to the list of late runners in the field. She had a streak of 7 races where she only finished first or second from last summer to this April. She hasn’t won since then though, or even finished in the money. Publik Enemy will have N Lawton who is winning 24% of his races and is the top jockey in the race.
PP 7 OTTO PLATINUM (MINESHAFT x SAINT BALLADO x UNBRIDLED) bred and trained by Verona (Pierchinski Stables, 17%) Odds: 7 to 1
Otto Platinum is the only horse in the field that doesn’t have a triple digit speed last time out. Her career high speeds are right in line with all the other horses in the field, so she can definitely be competitive in this field. This 6 year old daughter of Mineshaft put up a 94 in her last race, the G3-Canary Stakes. It also looks like this distance might be a little short for her, she has won all of her races except her maiden at 11 furlongs or longer, the majority coming at a full 2 miles. Up until the last race she was having a great year, never finishing out of the money in her 8 graded and listed tries. She is also only one of two horses in the field that show any tendency to run towards the front and in this field full of late speed that could really be to her advantage.
With the absence of some strong early speed horses I don’t think we are going to see the stakes record broken here. There are two horses that have shown they can race towards the front, Otto Platinum and Sabre Fan. The rest of the horses are late runners, so we should have an interesting battle in the stretch. I am going to have to go with the favorite on this one, Norse Princess with Sabre Fan to place and Odarain to show.
Good luck and happy racing.