The Whirlaway Cap
In Wisconsin this week we have the Grade III Whirlaway Cap. This race is a mile and a sixteenth on the fast dirt for a purse of $125,000. It is open to all horses 4yo and up and we have a full field of 14 trying to beat the record time of 1:40 4/5 originally set in 2003 by Hulk Nijinsky who was trained by irishlass with jockey C Capper in the irons and a speed of 123. This record was tied in 2005 and 2006.
Let’s meet the field.
PP 1 BERNIE BERNIE (Bernardini x Nureyev x Relaunch)
Trainer: dpbstables Jockey: J Hartel Odds: 15/1
Bernie Bernie is a 4yo colt who began his racing career in March 2007. Out of 18 starts, he has 5 wins, 6 places and 0 shows for career earnings of $298,420. He broke his maiden in an 6.5 furlong turf race in August 2007 then after another try on the grass was switched to the dirt. He has 2 Allowance wins, one at 7.5 and one at 9 furlongs, a Non-Graded Stakes win in the 8.5 furlong MORRIS SEATTLE Challenge where he also achieved a high career speed of 110, and has one Grade II win in the 9 furlong Winchester Park Derby back in August 2008. He has not won a race since, although his last time out in December 2008 in the Non-Graded SAVAGE PAIN Stakes, he probably would have brought home the win had it been at a longer distance than 7 furlongs. He placed second by 1/2 a length with a speed of 108. He is ranked #73 for dirt route.
PP 2 GRAMID (Peaks and Valleys x Slewacide x Spend a Buck)
Trainer: dogman65 Jockey: L Cihak Odds: 6/1
Gramid is a 5yo horse who began his racing career in May 2006. Out of 29 career starts he has 7 wins, 8 places and 8 shows for career earnings of $821,627. He broke his maiden his third time on the track in a 6 furlong dirt MSW. He went on to win a total of 4 Allowance races, distances 7-8.5 furlongs, the 8.5 furlong Grade III Silver Fence Derby in January 2007 and the Grade I Chicago Derby – Derby Lock Prep in April 2007 at 9 furlongs but would place 8th in the Bluegrass Derby the very next month. He produced a high speed of 114 in October 2007 and repeated that speed in April 2008. On 3 other occasions he came close with a speed of 112. In November 2008 he faced off against Bernie Bernie in the Grade I George Carlin Special where he placed 2nd and Bernie Bernie placed 12th. He is ranked #72 for dirt route.
PP 3 RIGHTEOUS BEEF (Bluegrass Cat x Awesome Again x Seattle Slew)
Trainer: stevemunoz Jockey: P Brandes Odds: 13/1
Righteous Beef is a 4yo colt who began his racing career in July 2007. Out of 20 starts, he has 6 wins, 3 places and 4 shows for career earnings of $117,233. He broke his maiden his second time on the track in a 7.5 MSW on the dirt. He won the 8.5 furlong Non-Graded Stakes, The HUNGRY RIZZO Bonanza where he reached a career high speed of 112. He also has 4 Allowance wins on his record, the last one being his last time out on the track on January 10th for 8.5 furlongs with a speed of 108. He has only placed out of the money 5 times in his career and has 3 Graded attempts; the Grade II Texas Derby, the Grade II Winchester Park Derby and the Grade I Harold Wrightington Trust Restricted but the best he could do was two 6ths and a 7th. He is ranked #254 for dirt route.
PP 4 BOOGALEE (Seeking the Gold x Danzig x A.P. Indy)
Trainer: deajai2 Jockey: C Buckle Odds: 6/1
Boogalee is a 4yo colt out of the dam Lagniappe who began his racing career in August 2007. Out of 17 starts, he has 10 wins, 0 places and 3 shows for career earnings of $297,670. He broke his maiden his second time on the track in 5.5 MSW on the dirt. He has 5 Allowance wins at distances to 8.5 furlongs, three 8 furlong Non-Graded Stakes wins (the FORTY EGG Special, the HILL EXPECT Bonanza and the JERRY WOLF (SAF) Stakes) and one 8.5 furlong Non-Graded win in the DYNA FORM Special which was his last time out on January 17th. He reached a high speed of 118 in the HILL EXPECT Bonanza in October 2008 and managed a 117 in December 2008. In the DYNA FORM he managed a high speed of 109 so he is pretty consistent with high speeds. He is ranked #93 for dirt route.
PP 5 TAP DANCES (Kingmambo x Danzig x Nijinsky II)
Trainer: gg Jockey: C Capper Odds: 8/1
Tap Dances is a 4yo colt out of the dam Swingtime Sal who began his racing career in March 2007 on the turf. After two unsuccessful trips on the grass he was switched to dirt and broke his maiden in his third career start in a 5.5 furlong MSW. Out of 22 career starts, he has 8 wins, 3 places and 2 shows for career earnings of $694,546. He has 4 career Allowance wins, one Non-Graded Stakes win in the 9 furlong MAMMOTH LIMO Special. After winning the 9 furlong Grade II Arkansas Derby in April 2008, he competed in the 2008 Bluegrass Derby where he finished 19th, 25 lengths back. In November 2008 he competed against Boogalee in the Grade I Sterile Mile where he placed 7th with Boogalee in 9th. His last time out was in the 8.5 furlong, Grade II San Valenzuala Breeder’s Bowl Stakes where he brought home the win with a career high speed of 116. He is ranked #32 for dirt route.
PP 6 GIDEON’S TRUMPET (Awesome Again x Forty Niner x Secretariat)
Trainer: floralpark Jockey: A Swires Odds: 14/1
Gideon’s Trumpet is a 4yo colt who began his racing career in May 2007. Out of 16 career starts, he has 6 wins, 1 place and 1 show. He broke his maiden his first time on the track in a 5.5 furlong MSW on the dirt then immediately went on to win the 6.5 furlong Non-Graded Stakes, The GREEK CHAOS CAP. He would add one more Non-Graded Stakes win to his record in the 8 furlong UNBRIDLED FURY. He has two 8.5 furlong Grade III wins, the Gary Asher Memorial Stakes in March 2008 and the Hudson Hawk Stakes (Tap Dances placed 5th in this race). He won the Hudson with a career high speed of 115, just after winning an 8 furlong Allowance with a speed of 112. The best he could do his last two times on the track was two sixth places. He is ranked #59 for dirt route.
PP 7 SCHITZNGIGGLE (Gone West x Northern Dancer x Buckpasser)
Trainer: peeps3 Jockey: Ba Bolton Odds: 12/1
Schitzngiggle is a 4yo mare who began her racing career in May 2007 on the turf. After two unsuccessful tries on the grass she was switched to the dirt where she broke her maiden in her third career start in a 6 furlong MSW. Out of 18 career starts, she has 5 wins, 2 places and 4 shows for career earnings of $234,945. She has one 8 furlong Allowance win and 3 Non-Graded Stakes wins; 2 at 8 furlongs (The RED DULHART Challenge and The TOGETHER HUSTLE Challenge) and one at 8.5 furlongs, the QUEEN NINE Challenge. She reached a career high speed of 114 on the sloppy track in the TOGETHER HUSTLE in August 2008. This will be her first time racing again the boys and she is the only mare in this field. She is ranked #72 for dirt route mares.
PP 8 FLY BUDA (Fusaichi Pegasus x Northern Dancer x Damascus)
Trainer: vicki Jockey: M Peterson Odds: 17/1
Fly Buda is a 7yo horse who began his career in November 2005. Out of 35 career starts, he has 8 wins, 9 places and 2 shows for career earnings of $360,202. He broke his maiden his second time on the track in a 7 furlong MSW. All of his wins since then have been Allowance wins. He reached a high speed of 109 back in September 2007 in the Grade I End of Summer Special where after leading most of the 10 furlong race, he fell back to finish second 3 1/4 lengths back. He is looking for that elusive Stakes win this week. He is ranked #310 for dirt route.
PP 9 MT MIESQUE (Mt. Livermore x Miesque’s Son x Habitat)
Trainer: shaga5 Jockey: M Belfatto Odds: 9/1
Mt Miesque is a 6yo horse who began his racing career in October 2005, breaking his maiden his first time on the track in a 6.5 furlong MSW. Out of 38 starts, he has 8 wins, 5 places and 6 shows for career earnings of $226,831. All 7 of his other wins are Allowance wins at 7.5 to 9 furlongs. He has many stakes attempts, both Non-Graded and Graded but the best he was able to finish was second in a couple of them. He reached a high speed of 111 in June 2008 which was his last win. He has been unable to do better than a 4th since despite consistent speeds over 100. He is ranked #1176 for dirt route.
PP 10 CREEPY MESA (Sky Mesa x Green Dancer x Woodman)
Trainer: darthblur Jockey: B McDonald Odds: 8/1
Creepy Mesa is a five year old stallion out of the dam Creepy Dancer. Out of 26 starts, he has 6 wins, 3 places and 4 shows for career earnings of $627,515. After breaking his maiden in the second race he was almost immediately put into graded stakes races. Including his maiden win, he won his next two races in a row, the second was an allowance and the third was the grade III Upper State Juvenile Stakes with in November 2006. 2007 however, he seemed to struggle in the graded races. He did not win again until September 2007 when he was taken out of graded races and put into an 8.5 furlong allowance. Thinking that maybe it was the dirt that was causing Creepy to struggle, trainer darthblur decided to try him on the grass. He won his first turf attempt, another 8.5 furlong allowance. But when his next two attempts on the grass, one graded and one non graded stakes, seemed to slow him down he was returned to the dirt in February 2008. This decision along with the now older, more experienced horse finally brought out the speed that this guy is capable of. He spent the rest of 2008 in both graded and non-graded stakes races and produced a high speed of 118 but has not won a race since his win in the Grade II St. Pat’s Legacy back in March 2008. He is ranked #54 for dirt route.
PP 11 BOTTLED OIL (Boston Harbor x Strike the Gold x Lyphard)
Trainer: whip2win Jockey: M Kay Odds: 19/1
Bottled Oil is a 5yo horse out of the dam Pharmill Bottle who began his racing career in July 2006 and broke his maiden his first time on the track in a 7 furlong MSW on the dirt. Out of 37 career starts he has 7 wins, 6 places and 7 shows for career earnings of $113,490. After 3 Non-Graded and two Grade II failed attempts in 2007, this guy was kept in Allowance races where the rest of his 7 wins have been. He has won at distances from 5 (his maiden) to 9 furlongs on the dirt. He was tried once again in a Non-Graded Stakes his last time out January 24th in the 8.5 furlong TASMANIAN MICA Challenge on the sloppy track. He brought home an 8th for his efforts. He reached a career high speed of 107 back in November 2008 but has been more consistent with speeds hovering around 100 since. He is ranked #1493 for dirt route.
PP 12 STATELY STORM (Storm Cat x Seeking the Gold x Deputy Minister)
Trainer: whodrwho25 Jockey: M Snider Odds: 6/1
Stately Storm is a 5yo horse out of the dam Empress who began his racing career in December 2006. Out of 29 career starts, he has 14 wins, 7 places and 2 shows for career earnings of $476,930. After breaking his maiden his fourth time out in an 8.5 furlong MSW on the dirt he would go on to win seven 8.5 furlong Allowance races and six 8.5 furlong Non-Graded Stakes wins, including 3 wins on a sloppy track, proving that it doesn’t matter what the track conditions are, it’s not going to slow him down. He even reached a career high speed of 115 on a sloppy track when he won the Non-Graded SON DOC Cap by 2 1/4 lengths back in March 2008. His last start, an 8.5 Allowance which he won, he reached 114 and that was on January 24th. He is ranked #40 for dirt route.
PP 13 RHYMENOCEROUS (Forestry x Deputy Minister x Mr. Prospector)
Trainer: sam812218 Jockey: C Baynes Odds: 27/1
Rhymenocerous is a 4yo colt out of the dam Project Matter who began his career in August 2007. Out of 13 starts, he has 4 wins, 1 place and 1 show for career earnings of $268,976. After breaking his maiden his second time on the track in a 7 furlong MSW on the dirt, he immediately went on to win an 8 furlong Allowance and followed that win with another win in the 8.5 furlong Non-Graded DOWN TO NINETEEN Stakes, making it 3 wins in a row for him. It was pretty much downhill from there. He faced off against Gideon’s Trumpet in the Grade II Hoover Handicap back in July 2008 but finished 6th, 3 places behind Gideon. He immediately followed that loss with a win in the 9 furlong Grade II Shiny Gem Stakes in August 2008. He reached a career high speed of 108 his next time out in the Grade III Northern Derby but finished 5th in that race. His last time out was in October 2008 where he finished a disappointing 11th 18 1/4 lengths off the lead. It is difficult to say whether the layoff will do him any good or not. He is ranked #117 for dirt route.
PP 14 REPOSATO (Giant’s Causeway (IRE) x Kris S. x Gone West)
Trainer: farm304 Jockey: A McDowell Odds: 8/1
Reposato is a 6yo horse out of the dam Granny L. who began his career in August 2005. He wouldn’t break his maiden until December 2006, his sixth time on the track after over a year’s layoff. Out of 31 starts, he has 8 wins, 10 places and 2 shows for career earnings of $308,444. After breaking his maiden he remained on the Allowance circuit and brought home 4 wins there at distances from 8 to 10 furlongs. He was then switched over to Non-Graded Stakes in May 2008 where he would bring home 3 more wins, 2 at 9 furlongs (the DEPUTY SPARKLING SPECIAL and the MISTER J.O. Special) and one at 8.5 furlong, the HER LEVER Cap on January 10th, which was also his last time out. He managed a career high speed of 111 both of his last two times out where he brought home the wins as well. This will be his first Graded attempt. He is ranked #108 for dirt route.
(STATELY STORM X TAP DANCES X GRAMID)
I’m calling Stately Storm to be the first under the wire mainly because I am a huge Storm Cat fan and just love the breeding. Also, he has proven that he can compete on any track conditions out there and has the ability to turn on the speed when needed. Tap Dances is going to be right up there giving him a run for his money with Gramid not far behind.
Good Luck and Happy Racing!!!