Your Castles a Long Way Away

The YOUR CASTLES Bonanza

Stakes

Two miles

Fast Dirt

$90,000

All horses, 3 years old and up

Two mile horses are a rare breed, so the fact that only five are entered for this listed marathon is no surprise.  There could be a pace duel early, but the oddsmakers are right to assume BORN RUNNING(KY) and SLEW OF CASH(KY) are likely to be there at the end.

PP  Horse ID  Horse  Owner  Jockey  Odds  W / P / S

1 132057 BORN RUNNING(KY)  danno3  L Buchta  3/2

He’s been stretched out further and further this season, and the results have been rewarding.  The well-bred 4-year-old earned a stakes win at this marathon distance in August with a 104 speed, followed by two solid but less successful tries at 2 miles in October.  In the most recent race, he showed an uncharacteristic desire to set the pace.  Provided he can resume his more successful closer style, a rebound could very well win it for him.

2 81115 GOPHER CAT  sharkster  M Jaeger  52/1    

Tremendously long odds, but after two huge victories in restricted allowances, why not try the Cat here?  Sharkster has pumped this 7-year-old up to over a quarter million in earnings with bid race allowances at 2 miles.  The speeds have been pedestrian – seldom over 80 – but there is a chance he can use his frontrunning style to surprise some in this stakes.

3 143048 ENCOSTA HUNTER(AUS)  perko1111  A Darling  3/1    

He’s back to the long distances after finishing off the board in the 10-furlong Lord River last month in Puerto Rico.  He’s been quite successful at these longer contests, with two allowance wins and a stakes placing.  His upper 90s speeds are good for a sophomore for such a challenging distance often left to older horses.  He’s heavily raced for his age, and he will only start running late, so he might not get there in time.

4 136797 SLEW OF CASH(KY)  plunk5  V Gardner  6/5    

Bred to some of the best in the game (EMPIRE MAKER x SADLER’S WELLS x SEATTLE SLEW) and just now starting to show it.  Two miles looks like his oeuvre, as his performances since switching to the distance include multiple century-mark speeds and a second in the Grade 3 High and Low Marathon.  He ought to be versatile enough to keep the speed close and hold off the closers, so he is a deserving favorite.

5 145011 MR. BLUE(KY)  congaree2  W Mayberry  5/1    

Another 3-year-old, this one has only a maiden-breaking win (and that was at the beginning of the season).  Even so, he’s broken 100 in long dirt races and comes in off a third in a marathon stakes, the Captain’s Pots in China.  He’s likely to go as fast as he can as far as he can – he was 5 lengths clear in the Captain’s Pots at the third call.  If GOPHER CAT burns him at all early, he won’t taste victory.  If that one is a pretender, just maybe MR. BLUE(KY) can sneak away for a win.