Running Red Handicap – G3
Start spreading the news, I am leaving today, I want to be a part of it, New York, New York! That was the start of a great Frank Sinatra song and now we are here in New York to watch this turf race over 11 furlongs for all horses that are 3 years old or more. Name of the race is Running Red Handicap and there are 8 horses that are willing to battle for the $150,000 in prize money.
1. PREDATORY (9/1)(GALILEO x MR. PROSPECTOR x BUCKPASSER):6 wins so far by this Galileo sired horse, no wins in stakes or graded class but a few second places and thirds. He will do his sixth start in a row of the same race conditions as this race and that could be really good. He is coming into this race with a decent form performing 103, 103 and 101. I doubt he is the winner, but he could end up in top-3 of the speed is right for him.
2. GRAB (7/1)(DANEHILL DANCER x KINGMAMBO x SEEKING THE GOLD):Another horse that have been solid over the last 1,5 years, but coming into this race with a dip in the form, only did 95 last race. Will he be able to change the trend and do some improvements? I actually think that this horse is made for some longer racing than 11 furlongs and therefore he may performing a bit uneven on shorter distances. He will still have a chance to do a good results, but I doubt he is the winner of this race.
3. WINTER QUEST (5/1)(RAINBOW QUEST x DEPUTY MINISTER x STORM BIRD):This 5yo out of Rainbow Quest have been performing solid results since 2 years back, but he usually have a dip in the form now and then, seems to be one race every year when he is performing a pretty bad race. I guess this horse needs a win soon since he haven’t won in the last 12 months. Last win was a G1 race, but again, it was a long time ago. Will he be up for the win here? Sure he can make it, but I think the owner should be pleased with a top-3.
4. CHRISTCHURCH (3/1)(DYNAFORMER x FORTY NINER x CAERLEON):Oh what a horse! Look at the pedigree, you just gotta love it, look at the stats, almost won half of the 30 starts it have made. This 5yo seems to produce really amazing speed on both ten furlongs to 16 furlongs. In this year he have made 9 starts, all over 100 in speed, winning both a G2 and a G3 race and also count in 3 allowance wins during this period. I think he have what it takes to be the winner of the race, since the race conditions seems to fit him very well. This is the winner of the race if I was to place a bet.
5. PIRINEOS (9/2)(ANY GIVEN SATURDAY x UNBRIDLED’S SONG x AFFIRMED):This 4yo by Any Given Saturday has been a decent performer but mainly on a bit shorter races. I think he will be up for this race even though he haven’t started a race over 11 furlongs. He have been really solid on 10 or 10.5, but haven’t made a great impression on 12. I believe this is the time to take an extra step towards becoming a superhorse. He is ranked as third by me in this race.
6. GIANT HABITAT (5/1)(GIANT’S CAUSEWAY x SEATTLE SLEW x FAPPIANO):4 wins the last 12 months is impressive and coming to this race with 2 in a row second places he will be up for the top-3 positions. This 4yo by Giant’s Causeway have got more and more distance to his racing over the 19 races in the career and the highlight so far was probably the 111 in a stakes over 11 furlongs, as this race! He will be up for it coming to this race with a solid form, but he needs some extra to make it a win and he may even need something extra to make it top-3.
7. CALIFORNIA LOOP (7/2)(MOON BALLAD x OUR EMBLEM x TROY):This very nice 5yo have been raced 24 times and winning 10 out of these. He was actually made his break in a maiden claim race, no one seems to liked what they saw before that and the owner got impressed with the performance in that race and after that he has been racing in allowances and stakes. Have been racing two in a row with the same race conditions as this one, but only ended fourth in both races so if he can continue to be in the lead for majority of the race he will be up for a top-3 place. This is my runner-up in the race.
8. CRISPUS (10/1)(CORINTHIAN x UNBRIDLED x NORTHERN DANCER):This 4yo was dirt only in the beginning of the career and was switched to turf after awhile with good success. He haven’t won stakes or graded yet, but he only found the correct race conditions a few races ago, last was his first start over 12 furlongs and he did a solid 100. I do think that 11 furlongs is the best for him, even though he haven’t started one race there yet. This will be the first and I believe he could do it so he is my outsider of the race.
Only 8 horses, but I do believe that all the horses have a fair chance of winning or being top-3. I have as usually picked 3 horses that I think have the extra speed for the day and my outsider is usually picked as a horse that could do wonders, but could as well fail. I believe the winner of the race needs to make the 110 mark and for a top-3 position it really needs to be above 100. This is also a race of great pedigree even though some horses are a bit surprising to see that they are performing best on turf route, but that is how the sim is!
These horses need to perform the goods today, they will basically Run until they become Red, so the name will fit the race perfect. Good luck to all trainers and owners, may the best horse with the best jockey and the best form of the day win the race.
This will be the top 3 from my view and I also have my outsider for the race:
1. CHRISTCHURCH
2. CALIFORNIA LOOP
3. PIRINEOS
Outsider. CRISPUS
/Daniel