The Ruby Tuesday

The Ruby Tuesday
Starter Allowance  ($25,000)
A mile and one sixteenth
Firm Turf
$100,000
All horses, 3 years old and up

 

The claiming crown, the work horses of the industry. The blue collar every day runners that fill the under cards of the stars and keep the racetracks open during the week. This is their day to shine. They are the stars. It is their chance to earn that big paycheck and have their names in the papers. It is always a joy to watch and route these guys on and an even bigger joy to handicap these guys. This here is the RUBY TUESDAY, the best of the claimers on the turf. Lets take a look at this stellar field.

 

Breaking from the rail is AUGUST THUNDER. A 6yo Horse by Thunder Gulch, AUGUST THUNDER has won seven of forty one races at longer distances. He has not won at this distance since 2007 and may be better suited to a longer journey. AUGUST THUNDER’S last two wins have come at the $7,500 and $2,000 claiming levels although he ran a credible third against $20k starter foes in his last start. His speed figures have been regressing the last couple races which does not bode well when competing in a race of this magnitude. AUGUST THUNDER will give his backers a brief thrill at least but may need a steep drop in class and an added furlong or two to find his best.

 

From the two hole we KENTUCKY COP, have a 4yo son of Lawman who has amassed $56k in winnings from his four career victories. He really was beginning to hit his best stride over the winter including a very nice $40k conditioned claiming event but that was followed by a very curious steep drop to the $5k level followed by a 4 month layoff a change in barns and a very poor return try. KENTUCKY COP can be excused for his last two as he tried a distance much too long and then was just not fit for his return try. He should be fitter now but it still is a question on what he has in the tank. His top speed number of 99 is solid but he will probably need to come up with a career best performance to get the spoils here.

 

Next in line we have SOVARSIS. A lightly raced 8yo with only 31 starts under his belt, SOVARSIS has made the most of his limited opportunities with eight wins to his name. He is another making his second start off of a long layoff and will need to do better than he showed in last. SOVARSIS was red hot winning three straight at the $5k-7,500k claiming level before the break but came back very dull in his return try. He will find this to be a very tough challenge and I am not sure he will be up to the task.

 

MONET comes up next from post position four. This 7yo son of Peintre Celebre has had a very nice career having won just under $300k. MONET has eleven career victories and finished in the money in 35 of his 62 starts. Problem is he has tailed off of his best form. MONET has only one victory in his last thirteen races and none in the last seven. His speed figures have steadily decreased and is a far cry from when he ran 100+ numbers in twenty two of twenty four starts. MONET has been running against cheaper lately and will find this field much tougher than he has faced in a while but he does have that back class that he can try to call upon which alone makes him a contender.

 

Sitting in post five is your tentative morning line favorite, NORTHWEST QUEST . This 5yo son of Beat Hollow is an eight time winner with earnings of just under $50k. NORTHWEST QUEST is coming off a dominating win over $125,000 conditioned claimers in which he powered home drawing away by two lengths at the wire. He sure did appreciate the slight stretch out after sprinting his previous seven races before his score. NORTHWEST QUEST is in career best form right now and will be tough to deny if he runs anywhere near his last. The biggest concern might be that he just ran too fast and could be ready for the dreadful bounce. Either way you look at it, NORTHWEST QUEST is a major contender for win honors.

 

Former Stakes winner SHAMBLES will go from the six hole. A 6yo son of Shamardal, SHAMBLES has won four of forty one career starts for earnings in excess of $170k. His career has taken after his name here lately as he has lost twenty two races in a row. In fact, he has not won since March of 2008 and has only won in sprints. He does have three second place finishes in his last eight starts two of which came against $2k conditioned claimers and one while facing *350 Allowance foes. He is another entrant making his second start off a layoff so he should be fitter than he was last out but  his zero for thirteen record routing is of main concern.  This also is a major step up in class . SHAMBLES should show a little early speed will find this group to be much to tough when the real running starts.

 

Going from post seven is HEAD SPIN COT. A 6yo son of Bahri, HEAD SPIN COT is coming into this contest in great form having exacta finishes in five of his last six starts including back to back wins. His 2008 form was good enough to earn him a start in the Minnesota Mile over this surface but he found that field much to tough. His current form has really been solid. In his last two starts he has beaten $15k open claimers and $20k conditioned company. Overall he has earned over $135k bur more impressively he has eighteen exacta finishes from forty five career starts. He tries hard every time out. HEAD SPIN COT will be coming from the back of the pack and it looks like he will get enough pace to set up his charge. HEAD SPIN COT has to be regarded very highly in this spot.

 

Next in line, going from post position eight is KING OF CABRAMATTA. A 5yo son of Giant’s Causeway he has never lived up to the high expectations that were given him early in his career. KING OF CABRAMATTA has only won twice in twenty three tries for earnings of just over $40k. His wins have come at 1 1/4 miles and at 5 1/2 furlongs. That sprint win came back in January against $2k conditioned claimers. He has bounced around from distance to distance and up and down the class latter throughout his career but has never found his preferred running. This field looks much tougher than KING OF CABRAMATTA has run against recently. He will need a career best to contend for top spot. A positive is his run ning style as he will be making a belated rally. His outcome lies in the hands of others as he will be passing tired rivals down the lane.

 

RUNNING MAN goes in post nine. This 5yo son of Hurricane Run has won nine of his thirty three career starts and amassed over $120k in earnings. RUNNING MAN is taking a slight drop in class from Allowance N2X his last two. He has won four of his last five against claiming company between $25-50k. He has primarily been running at slightly longer distances than he faces today and the cut back could give him some slight problems. I can forgive his last race in which he may not have handled the surface. RUNNING MAN has a great running style and should get first jump on the leaders and fits this condition to a “T”. I expect a big try out of him and believe he is a solid contender for top honors.

 

The 5yo son of Strut The Stage, ONTHENOSE breaks from the ten hole. A winner of seven races, ONTHENOSE has earned a healthy $151k in his 35 race career. Another former stakes winner from 2008 he has done his best running in sprints early on in his career but has stretched out and won at 1 3/16 and 1 1/2 miles so he shouldn’t have any distance issues. His most recent win came two races back in a conditioned $20k claiming event. Previously he was very competitive in cheaper starter events. Last time out, which was now three months ago, he failed to fire against open Allowance foes. The drop here will help ONTHENOSE’S chances to run a better race but the long break could be his undoing.

 

From post eleven comes PERFECT FOLDER. This 3yo colt by Perfect Soul has only a maiden win to his credit from fifteen starts. He is zero for nine routing, has very light speed numbers and is taking on older foes for the first time. PERFECT FOLDER will have his work cut out if he has any chance to make an impact against a group like this.

 

Next in line we have R IS FOR RALPH. A 4yo son of Cozzene, R IS FOR RALPH has won four of his thirty two starts for just under $100k. He has taken on much tougher allowance foes in his last two starts which found him not having the same finish he showed previously. R IS FOR RALPH dominated a good group of $20k conditioned claimers in April and followed that effort up with a fine second against $150k claimers. His speed figures fit with these, his form is on the upswing and he drops in class which all point to R IS FOR RALPH being a major player in this spot.

 

MARDONS BEER goes in the unlucky thirteenth post. This 4yo son of Cacique has won with two of his twenty one starts and earned a click under $50k. MARDONS BEER really seems to fit well in this spot if you dig through his performances a bit. Two of his last three starts were way to long and he just couldn’t stay the distance. Between those two starts is a very fine second at the $30k open claiming level a bit longer than today. Before that you have a wet turf that he just did not like. So now you have tossed three of his last four races and you have a really good looking colt. MARDONS BEER was a close fourth against $150k company, annihilated $50k N2L foes and was a fine second against starter $50k. His speed figures during this time were very nice and we can expect a similar effort today on the drop and cutback. MARDONS BEER is very live today and has a great opportunity to blow up the board at 20-1.

 

Finally in the far outside post comes FLYING AT DAWN. An 8yo son of Pulpit who has eleven victories in his long fifty five race career, FLYING AT DAWN has earned almost $190k. Primarily he has been a dirt runner but he has a few good turf tries under his belt including a strong second at the $50k open claiming level just four starts back. FLYING AT DAWN is a speedy sort but not necessarily a need the lead type. His speed figures are very good for this level and his tactical speed is a plus but the surface is the question for this runner. I am not convinced that he wants to run on the green especially against a field of this caliber. He will make his presence known early but may have a real tough time holding off the late runners.

 

In summary, this huge field of fourteen is anything but an easy race to handicap as the favorite will pay $12 if he can get the job done. I see at least seven horses with a realistic shot to win the race. At 20-1 I will make MARDONS BEER my top choice because well I do like beer. HEAD SPIN COT closes late for second, R IS FOR RALPH gets the show. MONET and RUNNING MAN pick up the minor awards