Gallant Socks Handicap-G3, 4yo+ M 13F Dirt
4183.3014
JWishing everyone a healthy and happy 2K10J
1. LAST INDIAN(IRE) 3/1 – EAAA entry – 6yo scratch bred horse by Indian Ridge that is very lightly raced due to his late breeding as a 3yo.. Started his career on turf and did fairly well in his three starts. However when switched to dirt he broke his maiden and he has run that venue ever since. When he finally got through his conditions he won a listed event in PA and has since tried three graded events with no success. His SP’s have taken a downward turn as of late, but his owner feels that they will reverse shortly. Looking back at his more successful running he probably will go for the lead in this. He will definitely have his work cut out going against the #3 for the lead.
2. SALT AND LIGHT(IRE) 2/1 – GR simsters entry – 6yo horse out of a “G” rated mare and sired by North Light. The sire has slipped in value a bit since his first two crops hit the track (this horse is from the original crop). As a 2-3yo the horse showed nothing of his true self. His original owner was residing at Ireland and wanted a turf runner, but turf was not his youngster’s forte. So he was placed in the auction and bought by his present owner who saw the potential of a dirt distance runner. And wouldn’t you know, he treated his new owner to a maiden win on dirt run in his 1st start! After that he was run in mostly bought races for his particular talent. Winning almost all of those gave the horse confidence to do well when placed in listed events of which he has won two; including a blow out win in his last. Seemingly on top of form at present and versatile running style; leads us to believe he has a good shot at this.
3. SACKERLAW(IRE) 2/1 – Ireland entry – 7yo out of a “C” rated mare and sired by Sulamani. This horse is the best of progeny the sire has produced in the sim. As a 2yo he was tried on turf three times to no avail. After turning three he showed a little promise as a dirt allowance/high claimer runner. He was finally settled into claiming events as a 4-5yo and started to work through conditions. Then as a 6yo he really matured into what is now a listed and graded winner! Patience was the key to his success and trainer’s joy. Exuding confidence, he is now going for his fourth straight win! Certainly full of himself at present, he will probably fly out of the gate and see if he can leave his rivals in the dust.
4. THIRD JORJA(IRE) 17/1 – Midas entry – 4yo filly out of a “G” rated mare and sired by Oratorio. She is the long shot in this field for obvious reasons. She is lightly raced and has gone through her conditions in a speedy manner running in very short fields for the most part. Distance is by no means a hazard to her as she is coming off a win in a two mile allowance in her last. However, her low SP’s and lack of any kind of listed stakes experience make her profile look like she’ll be looking at the rest through binoculars. She could surprise, but that would also be a surprise J
5. SPACE INVADER 3/1 – DelPenn Nationl entry – 7yo scratch bred by Java Gold. I can remember when the sire was a hot commodity quite a few years back. JG is now starting to pick up steam again since standing in Germany. His progeny are pretty much late bloomers; so he isn’t used as often for 2yo breedings. In the case of this horse, he had a fairly quick start and showed some early promise on grass. When switched to dirt his speed increased and he has pretty much been running on that surface for his lengthy career. During the middle of his career he became a claimer/starter type that produced some nice W’s for his owner. Then it was back to the allowance grind of picking up minor checks, with an occasional win. Beginning in late ’08 and continuing throughout this year(’09), the owner decided to push for a listed stakes win and so entered him in those events. Alas, to no avail. In September of ’09 he was reverted to allowance races and picked up two W’s in a row. Leading one to believe that, that is the top of his game; but his last showing was a 2nd place finish at 14f in a listed stakes with a decent field. So he’s been stepping up to graded stakes with high hopes of proving he’s as good as he occasionally looks.
6. TAX INVASION(KY) 12/1 – GR simsters entry – 4yo filly scratch bred to Vindication. As a 3yo she broke her maiden at eleven panels with a decent 90 SP. She then quickly went through conditions in her following six starts. Her last out was her first try in a listed stakes event and she just missed finishing the job. It also was her best performance to date in her young career. It was the first time she broke the 100SP barrier and there certainly are huge things coming in her future. The tendency for big performances like her last out is to have a bounce next time out. With that in mind and also going against older males, I’m not too keen on her to win. If she holds any of her form though, she should be ITM in this.
Picks are: ex box = 1,2,6