Ozark Dancer Special draws four

The two year old fillies yield the track to their elders in Virginia this week for the second running of the Ozark Dancer Special. The race, For all horses four years old and up, runs over six furlongs of turf, and the beautiful Spring weather in Virginia promises a firm track for the race. Last year, the oddsmakers called it perfectly down the line, with race favorite The Fearing(KY) coming from the back of the pack to power down the stretch to a one length victory. He set a high benchmark for the race, clocking a blazing 109.98 speed figure. This year’s running draws a field of four, and once again it looks like there will be little joy at the betting windows. Oddsmakers have installed a 9/5 favorite, with the rest of the field squeezed in between 2/1 and 5/2 odds. Keep your money in your pockets and sit back and enjoy what promises to be a very exciting race.

PP 1) Prado Union(KY) Sired by El Prado(IRE), Trained by coloroan. Prado Union(KY) is the youngster of this field, a four year old colt making his thirteenth career start. He is no stranger to stakes competition, but he’s still trying to notch that first stakes win. His last ten starts have seen him run to 3-3-1-1-1 record with nine 100+ speeds, capped by a 106.7 speed late last year. His last start was an open stakes at six and a half furlongs, where he started his drive way too late, and settled for a fifth place finish in a seven horse field. He’s a definite turfer, failing to crack the 100 mark only once in ten turf starts. He has wins at anywhere from five and a half to seven and a half furlongs, and has a high comfort level in any type of sprint. He generally likes to start from the midpack, and his close in turf sprints has generally been workmanlike and consistent. This field should be realtively tight on the break, and he shouldn’t be far off the lead at the half. While he doesn’t have the highest speed in this field, his average is several points higher than the rest here. He’s definitely worth a second look running at the longest odds in the field at 5/2 on the morning line.

PP 2) Integer Skam(KY) Sired by Dynaformer, Trained by stablesix. Next to the youngster of the field, we have the veteran of the field. Integer Skam(KY) is s five year old horse, taking his thirty seventh trip here. He has a pair of career stakes wins, with his most recent coming in his last start. His last ten runs have yielded a record of 5-2-1-1-1, with six 100+ speeds topping out at 106.9 on dirt last August. His last run was an open stakes at this distance on a tough Vermont track, where he bested a field of five by a length. He has 100+ speeds on both surfaces, but has settled in on turf for his last eight starts, and has been doing some of the best racing of his career. He’s shown the ability to get a bit more distance, but this seems to be his range of choice, with four wins and eight top three finishes in nine turf starts between six and six and a half furlongs. He generally likes to start from the head of the mid pack, which should put him not far off the pace in this field. He’s been doing some of the best racing of his career in his recent outings. If he runs the way he has been, he should be a threat here if he can keep up with the younger legs.

PP 3) Wilykat(KY) Sired by Thunder Gulch, Trained by glennc. Wilykat(KY) is a five your old horse, taking the gate for his twentieth career start here. He’s raced in stakes company now and then, but he is still looking for his first win at this level. Over the course of his last ten, he has a 3-2-1-2-1 record with six 100+ speed figures, with a best of 108.0 earned last out. That race was an A2s at seven furlongs on dirt in New York, where he ran away from a field of twelve in the second half, to win by a length and a half. This will be his first career turf start, making him a big question here. Both his sire and dam sire have thrown about 50/50 between surfaces. In one off track start, he didn’t seem to experience any ill effects on a more giving surface. He seems to be at his best in the seven to eight furlong range and hasn’t raced this short since his two year old season. He likes to start near the front of the field, and that should give him a clear lead early in this one. He’s showcased some of the best speeds in this field, but they’ve all come longer on dirt. Look for him to get out fast, but I suspect the veteran turf runners here will catch him in the second half.

PP 4) Cyberghost(ENG) Sired by Dansili, Trained by broadbrush. Cyberghost(ENG) makes his twenty fifth career start here, and enters it as the oddsmaker’ favorite. He has three stakes wins, including a Grade 3 early last year. He has put together a 2-3-0-1-0 record in his last ten, with eight 100+ speeds. His last start was an open allowance at a mile right here in Virginia, where he fell just short behind a powerful stretch run, settling for second a quarter length out. Outside a single dirt start in his maiden debut, he’s been strictly a turfer, and his record makes that a hard point to argue. His preferred distance has been the mile range, and as such this could be a bit short for him. He has one start in this distance range, at six and a half, early in his three year old season and he won it. He’s a deep closer, and while his close has been very consistent, even bordering on brillaint at times in his recent starts, it has had trouble carrying all the way home. The shorter distance isn’t likely to help him with that here. On the other hand, the relatively easy early pace shouldn’t bury him as deeply as normally early either. Look for him to be driving hard late, and it’s just a matter of how far he gets before he runs out of track.