She Cried More…More…More…
She Cried More…More…More…
And off we went to Arkansas for “The Rebel Yell”, a Grade III Stakes race 8.5 furlongs on the dirt for all horses 3 years old. A quick look at the field for this race shows a rather interesting setup. Almost all of the horses are moving up fairly drastically in class for this race, and even the few that are not don’t have much experience at this level. A great situation for these owners to try their horses at this level! Congratulations to all the owners for finding a diamond in the rough such as “The Rebel Yell” 2009. With that said, let’s get on to the horses!
The early morning line favorite in this race at 9/2 is Scripture (KY), out of Pulpit x Easy Goer x Northern Dancer, who is making the jump from Open Stakes to Graded Stakes based on very strong showings in 4 out of his last 5 races. In fact, he’s won 6 of his last 9 outings, winning by 2¾ lengths going away in his last outing, “The Writer Orange Stakes”. His stable, Icechaser, has picked a great time to move this homebred colt up in level and purse since he is clearly the horse to beat here.
There are 2 horses going off at 7-1, so we will start with Speightsrican (KY). This colt, out of Speightstown x Chester House x Vaguely Noble, has already earned almost a quarter of a million dollars for stable Juanfco! He has competed at this level twice before, albeit both were restricted races. I think he would actually be the easy favorite here if not for the fact that he seems to give his best performances at a shorter distance. He will certainly give Scripture all he can handle, and we’ll just have to see if he can get the extra 1.5 furlongs in this outing.
The other 7-1 is colt Champions Prize (KY), out of Pure Prize x Secretariat x Riva Ridge, running out of stable Freddykin2. Wow, what a nice pedigree! Champions Prize is also moving back up from Open to Graded with this race. He has run a couple of Grade II Stakes as a 2 year old, however, he has no wins at that level. He is coming off three of his strongest showings in his last 4 races. He has shown some propensity for a softer track, but will not get that here, unfortunately. Expect him to sit off the pace a bit, and look to make a strong run at the finish.
Right behind him at 8-1 is the 3 year old colt Afrika Korps (KY), out of Storm Cat x Alleged x Mr Prospector. This is his second Grade III stakes for stable Buffy8, but he is still looking for his first win at this level. Oddly enough, he never really challenged in that race, but it was his first race against a full field of 14. Perhaps he will settle down quicker here, since he is one of the few “veterans” in this field, and knows more of what to expect. He is also breaking from the 5 hole, in my opinion the best starting position of all.
At 9-1, and finishing off the single digit odds is Air Force Haack (KY), out of Kingmambo x A.P. Indy x Sadler’s Wells (man, the pedigrees in this race make my mouth water…), who races out of stable Venezolano. This homebred colt is making his first step up to Graded races having never finished worse than 5th in any race ever. He also has a history of following up a bad finish with a win, so look out, Scripture! Although his last race was his best effort ever, it was also his worst finish ever, so he seems more than ready to make a run at the leaders here. Expect Air Force Haack to be one of the early pacesetters.
Following him at 10-1 are 2 horses. The first is Too Much Tripping (KY), out of Fusaichi Pegasus x Storm Cat x Pine Bluff, trained by stable Lenny16. This colt has improved with every race he has run, and this looks to be a great place to try him at the Graded level. He can certainly get this distance easily, and in fact, may want more! I would seriously expect a great duel between him and Air Force Haack for the early lead.
Also at 10-1 is one of the more interesting horses in this race. This colt is named Unbridled Holiday (KY), out of Harlan’s Holiday x Unbridled x A.P. Indy, raced by stable Guroo2. He has only 4 starts lifetime, and indeed his only start this year was a disappointing 9th place in the Grade III Giant Slayer Classic, however, just having run at this level before makes him an oddball in this field. He has the numbers to compete with this field, and he broke late in his last race and never seemed to catch fire. If he can stay with the field early, he will be a tough competitor down the stretch. Hmmmm, possible upset special of the day? I will reveal all soon…
Right behind him are 2 colts at 11-1 including Grim Point (KY), out of Point Given x Danzig x Saros (GB), raced out of stable Lawman. He also has a Grade III effort on his resume, having finished 7th in the Grade III “Silver Fence Derby” this year. He then stepped back to the Open level for his strongest lifetime performance, perhaps prompting the move back up. Grim Point is a classic “from the back” finisher, so look for him to watch the early duels from a comfortable point near the rail.
Also at 11-1 is Distorted Storm (KY), out of Distorted Humor x Storm Cat x Mill Reef, trained by stable Latinlover. This colt has finished first an astounding 6 of 7 starts, only failing to win in his last start “The Beau’s Prospect’s Special” at the Open stakes level. Despite finishing second, this was his best time for this distance, unfortunately, it was on an off track. However, this horse knows how to win! It’s very hard to bet against that kind of lifetime record. Look out for this one, folks. Expect to see him stalk the pace, not too close, and be there for the finish. Despite the fact that he has had more sprint wins than routes, he was charging so hard at the end of his last race, I think he just ran out of room!
The next colt, going off at 13-1, is River Slew Ted (TX), out of River Squall x Storm Bird x Seattle Slew, and racing out of stable Topmeup. His last start was in the Grade II “Sleepy Fan Stakes” and although he finished a disappointing 11th, he did show that he continues to better his times at the 8.5 furlong distance. This looks like a smart move by Topmeup to drop in class here, especially facing this less experienced field. Look for him to try to sit off the pace a bit and make a late move.
Behind him, at 15-1, is A Smarter Strike (KY), out of Smart Strike x Summer Squall x Forty Niner, trained by stable Sisi. This 3 year old colt’s worst lifetime finish was 4th, and as a 2 year old, he raced in the Grade II “Dell Computer Futurity”, finishing 3rd. Despite that, his only other start this year was in an allowance race, so he is making a huge jump back to Graded Stakes. However, as I said before, this seems like a great race to do it in. A Smarter Strike has never been tried at this distance before, so hopefully he proves to be equal to the task. When the going gets tough, the tough…well, you know. Look for him to duel for the early lead.
Right behind him, at 16-1, is Extended Hours (KY), out of After Market x Fappiano x Lyphard, racing for stable Lasthope1. This colt has had a monster start to his 3 year old season, finishing 1st, 2nd, and 1st, albeit at the allowance level. This will be his first start at the Graded Stakes level, and his time last race says he can hang with these boys. We will have to see if he can dig deep for that extra second to put him up front. He will want to sit just off the lead, and look to move at stretch time.
At 20-1 is Welcome To Aragorn (KY), out of Aragorn (IRE) x Riverman x Lord At War (ARG), and trained by Wfstables1. This horse has a great pedigree, I think, and was recently switched to dirt after a puzzling campaign on turf. He never seemed to catch on turf, despite a pedigree that screams for it, however, he is 2 for 2 since switching to dirt. This is a big jump for him from the allowance ranks but it looks like the stable is still trying to figure out where he fits. A good showing here could herald a rising star, but he will have to improve to keep the pace liable to be set in this race. He seems comfortable running from any position, so look for his jockey to let him set his own pace here.
Rounding out the field, at 28-1, is Summer War (JPN), out of War Emblem x Summer Squall x Riva Ridge, trained by stable Dare2dream. Another great pedigree. After spending most of his 2 year old career as a sprinter, Summer War moved out to a mile in his last 2 year old start, with excellent results. This will be his first race as a 3 year old colt, and it looks like his stable wants to keep stretching him a bit. He could be a real wildcard in this race, since it is hard to know if his last race was a fluke, or if he can build on that success. He will look to stalk just off the pace.
Well, there we are. As I mentioned in the beginning, this is a very interesting race, and a real hard one for the handicappers, with so many horses either moving up or moving down in class. If I had to watch one race this year, it would be this one, because I think we may well see a real future star emerge here. When I used to write regularly for the Sim, lo these many years ago (2003-2004), I would offer my thoughts on an “upset special” the results of which were spectacularly ordinary, worse than even Chris Berman trying to pick football games (oops, sorry “Swami”), however, with that being said, if I had money to bet on this race, and I do, this would be….
My Upset Special!!
Seriously, I would do a box exacta with Unbridled Holiday (KY) and Distorted Storm (KY). If they both hit, oh man, that is bank!
Anyway, that’s a wrap for this race. Good luck to all the owners in this race, and please remember that my upset special is just for fun, and in no way a condemnation of any horse in the race. I’ll leave you with one final thought…
“I’d sell my soul, and have none, babe
justa….justa
justa….justa
to have you here by me, because,
in the midnight hour,
she cried more…more…more
With a rebel yell,
she cried more…more…more
more….more….more!”
I expect a race easily as exciting as Billy’s version, so tune into “The Rebel Yell” Grade III Stakes, this week 3889, in Arkansas. You’ll want more, you know you will….