The LORD VEST Special
Welcome to snowy Pennsylvania this week for the Non-graded Stakes, The LORD VEST Special. This race will cover a mile and 3/8ths over a fast dirt track for a purse of $40,000. It’s open to all horses 4yo and up. We have a small, yet relatively closely matched field of 6 this week.
Let’s meet the field.
PP 1 AWESOME SAKHIANO (Awesome Again x Sahkee x Fappiano)
Trainer: win4fun Jockey: S Goganious Odds: 8/1
On the rail we have Awesome Sakhiano who is a 5yo horse out of the dam Sakhiano. Out of 37 career starts he has 7 wins, 4 places and 8 shows for career earnings of $182,372. Immediately following his maiden win back in May, 2006, under original trainer geewestink, on the dirt track he went on to win a 6 furlong non-graded stakes race by a head.. He would not capture another win until a 6 furlong Allowance on an off track in March 2007 and then once again followed it up with another 6 furlong Allowance win the very next month. In September of that same year he would grab another 6 furlong Allowance win. After reaching a high speed of 101 in March 2008 he was bought at auction by trainer win4fun. He managed to improve his speeds just a little with a career high speed of 105 2 different times in 2008 but only managed to capture 2 more Allowance wins, one at 10 furlongs and one at 9.5 furlongs on an off dirt track. He is attempting to capture his first Non-Graded Stakes win this week here in Pennsylvania.
PP 2 NON NEGATIVE (A.P. Indy x Gone West x Alydar)
Trainer: mook Jockey: D Hinnant Odds: 3/5
The favorite in this race is Non Negative, a 5yo horse out of the dam Opcon Only. Out of 26 career starts he has 11 wins, 5 places and 5 shows for career earnings of $1,450,070. He broke his maiden his first time on the track in March 2006 then immediately followed that win with a 6 furlong Allowance win. 3 races later he would capture his 3rd career win in the 8 furlong Grade III Pea Patch Juvenile in August 2006. It wouldn’t be until October 2007, after one race following an 8 month layoff, that he would grab another win in a 9 furlong Allowance. That was the beginning of a 4 race win streak that included 2 Allowance and 2 Non-Graded Stakes races at distances of 9, 10, 11 and 12 furlongs. Following the 4th win he would lose by only a nose in the 10 furlong Grade III Warsaw Classic then would go on to win 2 more, an 11 furlong Non-Graded Stakes and the Grade II Bertrando Handicap at 9 furlongs in April 2008. Since then he has managed a career high speed of 117 and has caught 2 Grade I wins, the 9 furlong New Hampshire Handicap and the 9 furlong Bob Woodward Memorial. He ran in the Grade I Breeder’s Bowl Classic but finished an extremely disappointing 14th. His last race was in December 2008 in the 10 furlong Grade I DelPenn Christmas Classic on an off track where he placed 5th. He has only placed out of the money an impressive 4 times in his career.
PP 3 BURNRUBBERONME (Mineshaft x Theatrical (IRE) x Lear Fan)
Trainer: wfstables Jockey: D Pazjazz Odds: 5/1
Burnrubberonme is a 5yo horse out of the dam This United State(IRE). This horse is most definitely a late bloomer. Out of 22 career starts he has 5 wins, 5 places and 1 show for career earnings of $159,237. He began his racing career in July 2006 and after being tried on both dirt and turf, as well as one off dirt track, he was unable to break his maiden until November 2007. He was then sent off to Allowance races and didn’t win again until placed in a 12 furlong Allowance in April 2008 then repeated that performance his next race out in another 12 furlong Allowance race where he also achieved a career high speed of 105. It was becoming clear that he liked the longer distances. He grabbed a third win in a row in his next race, a 13 furlong Allowance. When tried in the 13 furlong Grade III He Keeps Going Going, he just couldn’t keep up and placed 5th 12 furlongs back. Two races later he caught his first Non-graded Stakes win in the 13 furlong CAT SCATTERING Cap on 12/6/08. Two weeks later his was shipped to Ireland for the Grade III Grey Fox but finished 5th 17 3/4 lengths off the lead after leading most of the race. He is now back in the states with over a month’s rest for another shot at a Non-Graded Stakes win.
PP 4 GOIN TO GUSTOS (Smarty Jones x Event of the Year x Affirmed)
Trainer: pointe Jockey: N Davis Odds: 10/1
Goin to Gustos is a 4yo colt out of the dam Barb’s Lucky Lady. Out of 23 career starts he had 3 wins, 2 places and 3 shows for career earnings of $97,902. After breaking his maiden his second time on the track in October 2007, he was sent to Allowance races, slowly increasing distances up to 8 furlongs. He won his very first 8 furlong Allowance race for his second career win in January 2008. After two more Allowance attempts he was tried in the 9.5 furlong Non-Graded Stakes race, the RIDGE GORDON in March 2008 where he not only captured his first stakes’ win, he managed a career high speed of 105. He would, however, only come close to this speed 2 more times in his career, 2 101’s and a 100. Even though he was tried at varying distances from 9 furlongs to 12 furlongs for the rest of 2008, his first stakes’ win would be his last win. The best he has done since then is 1 second place Allowance win and 2 thirds, one in an Allowance and one Non-graded. He is definitely due for another win but I don’t think it is going to be this week, even with this small field.
PP 5 GILDED WAGON (Seeking the Gold x Rainbow Quest x Graustark)
Trainer: glufactory Jockey: J Keenan Odds: 12/1
The longshot of this race is Gilded Wagon who is a 4yo colt out of the dam Pain Your Wagon. Out of 9 career starts, he has 2 wins, 3 places and 0 shows for career earning of $35,090. He began racing in August 2008 and was after being tried at varying distances from 7 to 10 furlongs as well as on both the dirt and the grass, he was unable to break his maiden until his 6th time out which was his second time on the turf. Looking at his record and seeing how well he was improving on the dirt, reaching speeds in the 90’s, I have to wonder why the decision was made to run him on the turf but that was where he broke his maiden so it was a good decision in the end. He would run one more time on the turf but would place 7th over 19 lengths off the lead. Since then he has been put back on the dirt for 2 races and has improved speeds again with speeds of 103 and 101 in 2 Allowance races, the first at 10 furlongs and the second, which was his last time out, at 9 furlongs. His last time out he led the entire race and was still pulling away from the field at the wire. I can only imagine the handicappers have placed him as the longshot due to the much shorter career that he has compared to the others but the way that he has been improving on the dirt really impresses me and I think he’s got a pretty good shot here this week. It’s his first Non-Graded Stakes attempt.
PP 6 PHANTOM PUNCH (Two Punch x Theatrical (IRE) x Academy Award)
Trainer: dreamon Jockey: J Piotrowski Odds: 3/1
The senior of the bunch is 6yo Phantom Punch. Out of 36 career starts he has 16 wins, 1 second and 5 places for career earnings of $342,485. He began his career back in September 2005 and broke his maiden his second time out on the dirt after an unsuccessful first try on the grass. Three races later he caught his second career win in a 9.5 furlong Allowance. After a fourth in his next race, his first Non-Graded Stakes attempt, he went on to win 3 in a row, a 9.5 furlong Allowance, the 10 furlong Non-graded Stakes The OFF IN THE APPLE Special and the 12 furlong Non-Graded Stakes The CASCAIS Stakes. An unsuccessful trip in a Grade II sent him back to Allowance where he would win 2 in a row, a 12 and 11 furlong Allowance race. Those were in last wins in 2006. 2007 found him mainly winning Allowance races at 10 to 13 furlongs. His next Non-Graded Stakes win came in January 2008 in the 11 furlong COMMANDER BUBBA Stakes. That was on a sloppy track and he reached a career high speed of 114. He has won 3 times since then, 2 11 furlong Allowance races and the 12 furlong CAN AMERICAN Handicap in May 2008 which was the last time he stood in the winner’s circle. He has only been out of the money 6 times in his career.
(Non Negative x Gilded Wagon x Burnrubberonme)
I have to go with the handicappers at least with saying that Non Negative will be the first under the wire. This is a horse with not only Allowance and Non-Graded Stakes wins, but he has also won at all three Grades. Although I like the horses in this field, Non Negative far outclasses them and I have to wonder what he is doing in a Non-Graded Stakes win. Gilded Wagon may be the longshot but I really like the looks of this guy and if he continues to improve he should be very impressive to watch this week. Burnrubberonme has the ability but I think that Non Negative is just going to wear him out early on in the race. So, there you have it. That’s how I call this race.
Good Luck and Happy Racing!!!!