The Queen’s Spring Cup
Race : The Queen’s Spring Cup – Grade I – $2,000,000
Track : Hong Kong
Restrictions : All horses, 3 years old and up
Distance : A mile and one quarter on the Turf
Last year was the inaugural running of The Queen’s Spring Cup. The hefty purse of $2,000,000 attracted 11 horses for the 10 furlong race on the turf. The winner last year on an off track was The Oil Rules All. He ran the mile and a quarter in 2:00 3/5 with a 112 speed factor with M Goldsbury in the irons. Quite a year for The Oil Rules All, but unfortunately The Queen’s Spring Cup was the last time he won. Hopefully it isn’t a curse for the winner of The Queen’s Spring Cup. We’ll see what happens to with winner after this year’s race. Speaking of this year’s race, here is the field:
PP 1 LAMBASTE (ENG) (DENOUCE x THE MINSTREL x ELA-MANA-MOU (IRE)) bred and trained by lglong2y (Lgbost Stables, 11%) Odds: 7 to 1
First we have Lambaste, a 5 year old scratch bred son of bargain sire Denounce. He has only sired 9 horses and Lambaste is the best by far. Last out he won the G2-The Second Coming at today’s distance. Before that he won in listed stakes by a head, also at today’s distance. He likes the early lead, so post position one is great for him. This horse is looking pretty good for this race and yet he is the odds makers 7th favorite. Just shows how strong the field is today and how evenly matched they are. Definitely sets it up to be an exciting race.
PP 2 TITLE DEFENSE (KY) (AWESOME AGAIN x KINGMAMBO x STORM CAT) bred and trained by futurestar (Dixiedotco Racing, 27%) Odds: 4 to 1
Next we have today’s favorite, Title Defense. He is a 4 year old son of Awesome Again out of game dam Dangerous Reward. She is a beautiful grade A mare with 3 graded winners already. Her 2009 daughter is Moldavia who is looking amazing for the Oaks. Half brother Title Defense is coming off a win at the G1 Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic where he shot past 10 other horses to win by 2 ¾ with a speed of 113. Most of his races in the last year have been at a mile and a half, so going back to 10 furlongs for the first time in a year might throw him off, but this one is definitely one to watch.
PP 3 PRINCIPE DE VIANA (ENG) (MEDICEAN (GB) x HABITAT x ACK ACK) bred and trained by andros (Rafa Stables, 15%) Odds: 9 to 2
Principe De Viana is one of the two second favorites in the field. He is a 5 year old son of Medicean looking for his second G1 victory. He won the G1-King Kong Cup three back as well as a handful of other graded races. He is coming off a graded win at the G2-The Victoria Cup where he beat Storm Kid, also in the field today. He wired the field at The Victoria Cup, like he has in almost all his career wins. He definitely will need to go for the lead here and could get into a speed duel with Lambaste leaving the door open for the deep closers. He is tied for the second highest last out speed with Title Defense, so wiring the field here isn’t out of the question.
PP 4 DEATHSMILESATUSALL (KY) (GIAN’TS CAUSEWAY (IRE) x ROBERTO x BLUSHING GROOM) bred and trained by willsyam12 (Willyam13 Stables, 13%) Odds: 6 to 1
Deathsmilesatusall gives you a lot to smile about. He is a lightly raced 4 year old out of Giant’s Causeway and in his 17 career starts he has won 7 times and finished in the money 82% of the time. He has brought home over $1.5 million for his connections at Willyam13 Stables. He is coming off a win at the G3-The Chuck’s Truck on yielding turf. Not only was that race at today’s distance, but he also put up his career high speed (also highest in the field today) of 116. He likes to sit back and see how the race develops and make his move late. Look for him to put the pressure on in the stretch.
PP 5 STORM KID (KY) (STORM CAT x LEMON DROP KID x DANEHILL) bred and trained by zabeel (Goldsmith Stables, 11%) Odds: 6 to 1
There are three third favorites in the race and Storm Kid is one of them (as well as Deathsmilesatusall and Up Your Nose). He held off all the competition at The Dual Hemisphere for a win at the Equinics, but struggled last out, finishing 6th in Victoria Cup. He has had 6 weeks rest since that race, but is going to face some stiff competition for the lead here. Many of his wins came wire to wire so he needs a great start to be in the mix here.
PP 6 THIS CALLING (IRE) (SADLER’S WELLS x ALYDAR x BUCKPASSER) bred and trained by arse2007 (Black Label Stables, 17%) Odds: 9 to 2
After a very successful career on the main track (32 races: 8 wins/47% ITM) Black Label Stables is seeing if their G1 winner This Calling can win at the graded level on both surfaces. This 5 year old son of Sadler’s Wells definitely has the pedigree to be a turf runner and his 2 tries on the turf last year showed competitive speed figures. Last out he finished 5th in G1-Sand Castle Classic where he couldn’t make up enough ground in the stretch. He definitely has some closing speed, winning from over 12 lengths back, so watch for this one in the stretch.
PP 7 RED FOG (KY) (SEEKING THE GOLD x THEATRICAL (IRE) x DANZIG) bred and trained by bigspruce (Jeffsbarn Stables, 13%) Odds: 11 to 1
If there is a long shot in this race, this one is it. Red Fog is out of post position 7 and looking for his first G1 win. He is a 4 year old son of Seeking The Gold making only his 10 career start here. He made his graded debut last out in the G2-The Stayer’s Dash at 14 furlongs. He won that easily, the next closest finisher was over 3 lengths back. This is definitely a step up in class for him, so that is always an unknown. He also hasn’t raced 10 furlongs since last October, so the shortened distance could be an issue too. In his 8 career tries on turf he has won or placed in all of them, except a try on an off track which we can throw out. I think the biggest question will be class, but definitely could be a good payout on this one.
PP 8 DIVINE STRIKE (IRE) (HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR x BLUSHING GROOM (FR) x SADLER’S WELLS) bred and trained by waremblem3 (Winterfell Racing, 17%) Odds: 8 to 1
Divine Strike is also taking a stab at 10 furlongs again after racing longer for the last 9 months. His best graded finish came at this distance back in June of last year in the G1-The Prince of Whales where he finished second. Since then he has only raced 10 furlongs once, mostly racing 12 furlongs. He has a couple wins, but the coveted graded win still eludes him. Last out he finished 2nd in the G2-The Nikki Show over 12 furlongs. This one seems to have the case of “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” and I think he will remain a bridesmaid here.
PP 9 UP YOUR NOSE (AUS) (SPINNING WORLD x LYPHARD x BOLD RULER) bred and trained by runabout (The Racing Commission, 22%) Odds: 6 to 1
Up Your Nose is one of the 3 third favorites, but I think he has a lot of obstacles in this race. He is definitely bred to be a turf router and has had success, but he has only tried the graded level twice before. And you have to look back well over a year to find his last win. If he were coming into this race off a couple of stakes wins that might be different, but he hasn’t even been winning at the stakes level. Also he hasn’t raced this distance since last summer, most of his races were at a mile or just over. One positive for him is that he has been closing in his last few races, so maybe the extra distance is just what he needs.
I think for the most part this is an evenly matched field and with a few exceptions, everyone has a valid shot at winning. The odds makers weren’t very helpful in this race and my handicapping probably won’t be either, but here are my picks:
1st – Deathsmilesatusall
2nd – Title Defense
3rd – Principe De Viana
Good luck and happy racing! J