Grade I The Prince of Whales
Welcome to Jolly Old England Race Fans!!!! We have a mostly sunny day and a nice firm track for the racing action. Temperatures today are supposed to be around 70 degrees Fahrenheit around race time and the crowd is expected to be huge for this huge day of racing at the Old English track. Today’s main event is the Grade I Prince of Whales for older horses at a mile and a quarter. We have a very nice field of horses, including the #1 ranked older routing turf horse in the world! He, along with all of the rest of today’s field will be competing for the winner’s share of the $500,000 purse. All of the media is very excited for today’s race as turf racing is the preferred surface in Europe and that means that we have the current champ, with the 2nd ranked horse racing in a Grade I at this very track later this afternoon. How exciting is that. Let’s take a look at the entries and their connections today! Off to Taylor the Tipster to tell us about these horses.
PORTMAN’S PERFECT(KY) from the nijinsky4 stable and mv4ever group will be starting from the inside post. This 5 year old horse out of Pleasantly Perfect has earned a whopping 6.2 million dollars in his career that has included 5 Grade I victories. This horse has won only 1 race of his last 7 attempts, but did finish in the money twice in graded company this year. He is definitely good for the distance, and there is not a field that this horse is afraid of, it just depends on which horse shows up. You can probably count on this horse breaking a 100 speed figure as he has done that in 17 of his last 18 races. He has the capability of putting a huge number on the line, but could truly put out anywhere from a 100 and 115 figure realistically. The morning line for this horse is 7/2.
Coming in at 4/1 is COZY BEND (IRE) from the rlogan stable representing Oneworld Stables group and the Minnesota Downs residency. This 4 year old son of Refuse to Bend is coming off of two consecutive Graded victories, including the Grade I Singapore Cup where he beat PORTMAN’s PERFECT and won a cool 1.2 million dollars. This colt loves the 10 furlong distance and will be looking for another horse to lead the way as he follows closely behind before making his move halfway through the race. Current form for this colt would suggest that he runs around a 110 speed figure if he is on, and if he is not quite fit, he should run between a 102 and 105 figure.
From the #3 hole we have the 4 year old Ghostzapper colt DEATH AMONG US(KY) out of the grrm2 stable, Given Stables group, and GR Simsters residency. This beautiful brown colt is coming fresh off of four consecutive victories in this undefeated season. He is also coming off a Grade II victory in the Aussie Queen. This will be this colt’s first time in Grade I company but moving up in class shouldn’t be too difficult for this colt, whose Grade II victory was at this same distance. This horse never seems to face too large of a field, and this will be no different. Expect DEATH AMONG US to fall as many as 10 lengths back before the halfway mark in this race and then come running the leader down. This colt has put up as high as a 110 speed figure, but I would probably expect that he will run somewhere between a 103 and 106 this time out. The morning line for this colt is 5/1.
The #4 post will host our current #1 ranked classic turf horse in the world, and we are talking about the 5 year old son of Medicean, PRINCIPE DE VIANA(ENG) out of the andros stable, representing the Rafa group, and the Minnesota Downs residency. This is also the only horse who is racing at his home track in today’s race. This is leading to an enormous number of Paparazzi who are hoping to catch a glimpse of England’s King. This horse is coming off of a Grade I victory at 10.5 furlongs last time out and has six career Graded victories, including two Grade I’s. This horse will try to break fast and take the lead out of the gate. If this horse gets a good ride and is feeling good, I would expect a speed between 112 and 116 today and possibly break two minutes. If he has a letdown, I think that he will run between a 103 and a 108. Getting a lot of home betting has led to a morning line of 5/2 today.
Posted out at #5 is the 4 year old German colt, PLAY STATION THREE(GER) out of Monsun. This colt will be representing the shamran8 stable, the Shamran group, and EAAA Racing residency today. This colt will be hoping to regain some form, as he has not finished in the money this year. He did finish ahead of Principe De Viana in the Dual Hemisphere and had a game 2nd place finish to end the season right behind the same horse in the King Kong Cup. This 7/1 colt can definitely run, as he has posted as high as a 110 speed figure and has two graded victories including a Grade 1, but I think today’s field may be a bit too much and I would expect this horse to run between a 101 and a 104 figure today. I could be proven wrong and if everything is lined up right, we could see a 106 to 110. This is a great horse, but may be slightly outmatched today.
MIND MOTION(AUS) from the wfstables1 stable, Willyam13 group, and GR Simsters residency is lined up at #6 today. This 4 year old Spinning World colt is our long shot today at 8/1. This is a very lightly raced 4 year, with only 11 career starts but already claiming two Graded victories including a Grade I victory last time out. This horse likes to come from behind and should like more distance, but it seems that 9 furlongs is the sweet spot for this horse. I am torn on this one, as this colt has never ran faster than 102 at this distance, and never put up particularly fast figures until breaking out this year. I could honestly see this horse running a 112 speed figure today and would not be surprised, but I think this may be a furlong too long and expect around a 100 figure today.
On the outside post we have the 5/1 PUSH OF A BUTTON(AUS) representing the mav1763 stable, the deadinthelane group, and the GR Simsters residency. This 5 year old Elvstroem horse is coming off of a Grade I victory in the Manha Manha challenge. This horse would ideally like to stay around 5 lengths back before he makes his move. This horse has put up some solid numbers, but I wouldn’t expect a mind blowing figure like you may see out of some of the others in this field. I do expect a good race out of this horse and a figure between 107 and 110 to put it right up there with the front of the pack and in winning contention.
Here is how I see this race playing out. There is not a whole lot of speed to challenge PRINCIPE DE VIANA so I would expect him to grab the early lead without much hesitation. I think COZY BEND will be the only horse that will keep up to start the race, following slightly behind. PLAY STATION THREE and PUSH OF A BUTTON will settle in a few lengths back. PORTMAN’S PERFECT, MIND MOTION, and DEATH AMONG US will fall back early before settling down. I expect PORTMAN’S PERFECT to come charging hard only to fall short and finish 4th. I think that PRINCIPE DE VIANA should grab the lead and wire the field leaving COZY BEND just behind the entire way. I don’t expect DEATH AMONG US to make a strong challenge and I do think that PLAY STATION THREE will fall back towards the end. I don’t expect much play out of MIND MOTION and PUSH OF A BUTTON will make small gains but finish 3rd.
Expected Speed Figures for today’s race:
PRINCIPE DE VIANA 112
COZY BEND 110
PUSH OF A BUTTON 109
PORTMAN’S PERFECT 108
DEATH AMONG US 105
PLAY STATION THREE 103
MIND MOTION 100