G1 North Fork Stakes
This week in California the North Fork Stakes is a Grade 1 race for all horses 2 years old going a mile and one sixteenth on dirt. This race has a purse of $250,000 and we have 14 horses entered.
1. CONSCIOUSNESS (KY) 2 year old colt (Empire Maker X El Prado X Pulpit) Trained by Willyam49, This colt has two races under his belt but despite that he has something special. He broke his maiden with a 71 speed going 6 furlongs then almost three months later ran in the G3 Pea Patch Juvenile where he finished 2nd and with an 84 speed. You rarely see horses with only one start hit the board in their first graded attempt. It looks like 10 weeks rest is the key. It has been about 6 weeks since his last run and he should be ready for this start.
2. FASHION POLE (KY) 2 year old colt (Old Fashioned X Polish Numbers X Big Spruce) This colt is trained by Pirates, and has a pretty quick turn around for a two year old. He ran second in his first maiden attempt then three weeks later broke his maiden. Then 3 weeks later ran 4th in a g2 sprint. He received almost a full months then tackled another sprint race, He finished 7th and closing. I agree longer will suit this colt very well and the 81 speed he put up proves he could be very troublesome.
3. DEMON SUPREME (NM) 2 year old colt (Diabolical X Fantastic Light X Bull Marquetry) Trained by Derbyron2, this colt made his first start on an off track and finished very poorly. His 2nd start on fast dirt was much better. He won with a 66 speed going 6 furlongs in a local breed restricted race. I would have to agree he is long odds and I do not give him a huge chance. However, with two year olds there is always a chance.
4. JESSE PINKMAN (KY) 2 year old colt (Forestry X Vindication X Empire Maker) This colt is trained by Nicanor, and has two starts and one win. Both his starts have been on off track dirt. He ran second in a sprint in his first race then broke his maiden going 8 on an off track. He only has a maiden win but a decent speed with an 81 over the mile distance. My only concern is that he has not won anything besides his maiden race and he has never been over dirt.
5. ROLLIN SEVENS (KY) 2 year old colt (Tapit X Awesome Again X Storm Cat) Trained by Jetforhome, this colt broke his maiden first asking then tried different distances in allowances. His best speed was going 7 furlongs and he posted an 80 but he won easily going a mile by over 2 lengths and posted a 74 speed for that effort. He can definitely do better than that and I think with his breeding he should. He lead easily in that race and drew away at the end. He won’t get that easy of a run here and will have to earn that prize money. I think he can do it though.
6. GRAYONE (AUS) 2 year old colt (Red Dazzler X Royal Applause X Salt Lake) This colt is trained by Graywolf6, and has only ever run on turf which may prove a problem for him. With 8 starts and only 2 wins on turf and his only win being an allowance win. He has never run as far as this race and I have my doubts. His breeding to me says turf and if he does not take to dirt I wouldn’t give it up completely but I think turf allowances is where this colt belongs after a nice long rest.
7. FLAPPIN’ THE GUMS (CA) 2 year old colt (Dixie Chatter X Henny Hughes X Pulpit) Trained by Spastic, this colt has 6 races and 4 wins, a maiden, allowance, and two stakes wins. Has run 80+ speeds three times which gives this colt the experience and consistency some of the other horses lack. His stakes win going a mile was over an off track but his speeds show that he can still run those numbers on a fast track. This colt is one to watch.
8. FIRST IN THE STORM (KY) 2 year old colt (Pioneer of the Nile X Storm Cat X Family Doctor) this colt is trained by Cmd2001, and breed by me. I bred this horse for a contest and CMD ended up with it. It is a very fast horse and I agree with his placement, I think the colt will like longer. He had a big jump when moving to turf but one of my rules is when they throw a worse speed next time they generally want back to the old surface. He wants longer this could be a very good place for him and as he is a contest horse best wishes.
9. ROQUE HARD TEN (KY) 2 year old colt (Rock Hard Ten X Storm Cat X Buckpasser) Trained by Clooch0918, the breeding on this colt screams turf which is what he has been running on. Dirt however is worth a try. His last race over 6 furlongs resulted in a placing in a grade 1 race. Not shabby at all and I agree with the added distance I just think this colt will be happier on turf but I could be very easily proven wrong here. Storm Cat is both surfaces and Buckpasser can be very dirt. So only time will tell.
10. COWPERS TUNE (MD) 2 year old colt (Not For Love X Seattle Slew X Prized) This colt is trained by Theprofit5, and is a local breed. The best part about this colt is though he is local breed he is obviously a good horse. He broke his maiden going 7 furlongs; he won by over 2 lengths and with a 73 speed. He then tried a 7 furlong graded where he placed 7th and then a 6.5 furlong stakes where he finished 2nd and closing. Given his reaction to graded I do worry that he will not like it but then again most horses with only a maiden win do not do well in graded. Now that he has more experience he should do better.
11. FLAT RATE (KY) 2 year old colt (Ghostzapper X Nureyev X Alydar) Trained by Bandinni, this colt is another with only turf starts. His breed though could go either way, but individually I have seen those sires more on turf surfaces. Broke his maiden first asking promptly won an allowance race then tried a mile and bombed; His allowance win was an excellent speed of 82. I don’t know if he can get the distance on dirt and honestly I think an allowance race would have been a better try as he has never even tried stakes. But if he runs big it’s a good race to run big in. It’s hard to say if he will like longer, that allowance was not particularly tough so he may just be a sprinter. This test will let trainer Bandinni know.
12. LUCKY’S BOLT (KY) 2 year old colt (A.P. Indy X Sadler’s Wells X Rahy) This colt is trained by Winorplace, is as good a breeding as you could get. He ran third in his first start, won his only firm turf start to break his maiden. Tried off track and bombed. Then his next start was an allowance on dirt going a mile. He won with a 76 and by 2+ lengths. Given what else I have seen in this race I am hot super excited. He has the potential to do great and this may not be the best place for him or it could be perfect. All depends on if he really likes dirt. I see this horse and his running and I see that a mile on turf, if he should fail here, should be the next start.
13. DYNAMIC BEAT (KY) 2 year old colt (Dynaformer X Forty Niner X Storm Cat) Trained by Cdragon, this colt started his career on turf ran in a few dismal maiden races before trying dirt. He improved amazingly on dirt and has raced a mile distance twice with a win and a second place. Best speed of 86 is extremely tough and should prove the colt a winner even though he finished second in that race. I like the breeding for this distance and I like that he has shown improvement off of his maiden victory. Could be a very nice colt.
14. LOTTERY HOUSE (KY) 2 year old colt (After Market X Limehouse X Summer Squall) This colt is trained by George5, has 4 races all on dirt and all sprints. With two wins and a best speed of 79 this colt will need to love a longer distance to do well here. A lot of horses show remarked improvement on moving to a mile distance. The problem with trying it in such a tough race is he will either bomb or do amazing and a bomb is no guarantee he doesn’t like the distance just that the competition was tough. Breeding suggest he should like the shorter races and maybe even turf. Breeding says no but past performances say maybe.
A very tough field here and these excellent horses are going to have to battle it out. A win here might even give them entry in to the breeders bowl juvenile race. Good luck all.