Demeco Tries to Repeat in Movieland Shiny Cup

This weekend the Movieland Shiny Cup G1 stakes will be run for the 11^th time since 2000 in California.  Returning champ Demeco looks to collect another cup with F. Gossett once again taking the mount.  Gossett has jockeyed the winner the last two years and looks to make it three in a row.  He has won this race three times already (’09,08 & ’04) the most of any jockey.  Demeco won on a good track with a speed of 118, his career best and the second fastest in this race.  He hasn’t won since taking this race last year.  Can this race be a breakthrough for him?  Let’s look at his competition:

1.  Alentejo   12-1

Alentejo  equaled his career best speed of 112 in North California last time out winning his first graded race, lighting up the board at 16-1.  He likes to lay off the lead and make a smooth run to the front.  This horse hits the board a lot, 17 out of 19 dirt starts so far.  But there is a lot of talent in this field and I think he’s going to have a tougher time in this race.

2.  Distorted Storm  7-1

Distorted has the third highest earnings in this field with over $4.7 million thus far.  He has won 12 of 18 starts, hitting the board 17 times which makes him hard to ignore.  He has a 2-0-3 graded race record in 6 starts, winning a pair of G1 events with a 118 career best back in March.  He tends to start slow but will be picking off horses late in the race.  Be foolish not to include in exotic wagers.

3.  Gilded Wagon  13-1

Gilded Wagon has recently moved up to the graded level after finishing 2^nd twice at the non-graded stake level.  His results have been lukewarm thus far, with only a third to show for himself in the last three starts.  His speeds in those graded races have been dropping off from 109 to a recent 97.  I’m taking a pass on Gilded as has only 4 wins in 27 starts…those wins were against fields of 6 or fewer runners.

4.  Slam Jam   7-1

Slam Jam has been posting some nice speed numbers of late, averaging just over 108 in his last five starts.  Slam Jam recently won his first graded start by taking the Soupy Sails Classic with his career best speed of 112.   It looks like a speed of 110 or better will be needed to win this, so Slam will have to pump it up a bit.  He’ll be running near the leaders and could have a good chance to pull it off.

5.  Screaming For  5-1

Screaming For was a wonderful $4,000 maiden claim for his current connection earning well over $2 million thus far.  In 11 graded starts he has recorded a record of 1-4-2.  He is a front running horse and could very well set the pace.  He ran this race last year and fizzled out to finish forth.  His speeds are consistent, over 100 since December of 2008.  His challenge will be to get the lead and hold it for the distance.  I’m not sure he will do that but he does have a good shot to walk off with some purse change.

6.  Thoroughfare   23-1

I hate to say this but I feel that Thoroughfare’s odds are too low.  I don’t say that much but considering he has raced 11 times in graded stakes without a win, and hitting the board 3 times works against him.    Added to that, Thoroughfare has not won a race since March of 2009 and his last speed of 100 or higher was nearly a year ago.  His best chance seems to be his early speed, but I don’t see it holding up in the final half of the race.

7.  Comanche Moon   20-1

Comanche Moon was a potential Bluegrass Derby runner last year as he just came up short in a lock-in race missing by a mere nose.  This is his first graded start since the lock-in race and he’s got some work to do.  He’s averaged a speed of just under 101 over his last 5 starts, which includes his career best of 105.  Like I said, he’s got a lot of work to do to get the upset.

8.  Demeco  12-1

Last years champion of this race, Demeco, makes his return to the race to defend his championship.  F. Gossett (27% win) will take the ride once again where he steered Demeco to his career best speed of 118.  Unfortunately, Demeco has not won a race since last year.  His last 5 dirt races have speeds ranging from 82 to 105.  Things don’t look too good for the returning champ, but Gossett makes a great companion with the horse as they have combined for two wins, two places and a forth in the five races they’ve been partnered together.

9.  Code Word Bullet  7-1

This 7-year old Red Bullet horse is showing some life in his later years of racing.    Trainer Eliteteam2 acquired the horse about this time last year and Code Word Bullet has not recorded a speed below 101 since then.  In fact, he has a record of 4-3-1 in 8 starts since being acquired and averaged 107 over his last 5.   This is his second graded start of his career but he fits in this field.

10.  Silver Star Road   7-1

In just over the last 2 years, Silver Star Road has only run one race with a sub-100 speed.   Although he has done well with the speeds, he’s a hit-or-miss kind of horse.  In 17 graded starts, he sports a record of  2-4-3.  However, since last June he has had 8 graded starts and a record of 1-1-0 and not hitting the board in his last 5 grade starts.  His speed numbers are good (105 average in last 5) but he has been struggling at this level.

11.  Volaimpacto  8-1

Volaimpacto is coming into form and looms dangerously.  He has won his last five races which includes the G2 Gone West Coaster (his sole grade race) equaling his career best of 113 and was over this track.  He has averaged a speed of 110 over his last 5 and has early speed.  Hard to discount this one.

12.  My Destiny   10-1

My Destiny is a strong late closing horse who has one nearly half of his dirt starts (11 of 25).  He’s 1-1-1 in 6 graded appearances, picking up his only win in his last start, the G2 Crooklyn Handicap (12f) with a career best speed of 112.  He likes this distance which is supported by a record of 4-4-0 in 10 starts at distances from 10 to 11 furlongs.  He looks to have the best shot of any longshot 10-1 or over.

13.  Awesome Force  8-1

Awesome Force came close to winning the triple crown when he took the second and third legs of the gem races back in 2007.  He has over $8 million in earnings, the top in the field.  He ran this race in 2008 where he finished 6^th.  He ran his 2009 campaign on the turf and had a commendable season.  This year, he switched back to the dirt in March winning a non-grade stakes at 11f with a speed of 111.  He followed this up with a nice 2^nd in another non-grade race and a speed of 109.  Last month, he returned to the graded racing and finished a well-back 7^th with a speed of 104 going 12f.   Awesome is a suitable name for this horse as he has had a terrific career.  His last race concerns me enough that I’m going to take a pass but I encourage you to make your own decision on him.

My top pick is with Distorted Storm.  He always seems to find a way to get on the board and has the ability to make up 10 strides in the last quarter of the race.

Volaimpacto has been shining lately and seems to be in peak form.  Could actually wire the field.

Code Word Bullet rounds out my top three.  He is showing something special at age 7 and I hope he can keep it going!