End Of The Line – Grade 1 – 2yo’s
Sometimes, looking for a top-class 2yo among the thousands that are bred each year in this here Sim is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Then again… Sometimes if you carelessly slam your hand into a haystack your fingers will get stuck full o’ holes.
Well… If you want to jam your hand into the haystack known as this Saturday’s $500k Grade 1 End Of The Line Futurity, wearing a catcher’s mitt would NOT be a bad idea! Of the dozen 2yo’s entered, several are already established stars; the others all appear to have star potential. Any number of these could be seen again in a few weeks on the Breeders Bowl card and/or in the 2011 3yo classics.
A monkey wrench has been tossed into the deal in the form of some wet weather which has left the track in “Good” condidtion. Let’s have a look at this truly impressive field:
TIZ FORCE was looking like a more typical “speed-and-fade” type after his first couple starts, but a move from Indiana to Iowa and a stretchout to 2-turn racing has apparently transformed the son of Tiznow into a monster. The 92 speed rating he earned for his first attempt against winners last out could be plenty fast enough to score here, but there should be a lot more pace pressure to deal with in this field. Trained by lopic, he goes off at 9/1. This guy, like many in here, makes his first try on off-going.
CITY STRUCTURE, a foxon trainee, is a son of Birdstone out of a Sim winner of $768k by A. P. Indy. His late run wasn’t quite enough to find the winner’s circle in his 2-turn debut last time out, and the speed ratings he’s earned thus far point to another too-little-too-late run here. At 13/1, this one also has never tried the off-going.
READY TO COMMAND chooses a tough spot for his 2-turn debut, but his Sim dam won $680k mostly in routes (mostly turf, but they were routes). His sire, More Than Ready, has a bit of a sprint reputation. The 7/1 shot, trained by cougar, should at least be a factor in the early going, but it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll have for the stretch run. This is yet another who has only raced on fast tracks.
ADJUST THE FUN is just a nose short of a perfect record, and his 2-turn debut resulted in an impressive graded-stakes win last time out. By Distorted Humor out of a young Storm Cat mare, the topicount2 trainee should be very dangerous here; watch out if he’s anywhere nearby at the top of the lane. This 7/1 shot is also making his off-track debut.
CRESTED BUTTE is a scratch-bred son of Unbridled’s Song from the powerful texasace02 barn. After being a frontrunning type in three sprint wins, he tried an off-the-pace style in the 8-furlong G3 Darling-Squash Futurity last time, just missing in a photo. Despite the loss, he earned a career-best speed fig in that race and all appears that he’ll enjoy the extra sixteenth (and the off-going) here. He is co-favored at 6/1.
DANGER CLOSE ran a solid 2nd in his 2-turn debut on a “good” track last time, but it was in a small-field minor stakes. The fairhaven4 trainee is a son of Dansil out of a well-proven Sim mare (by Storm Cat) who has consistenly thrown good ones into the Sim world. Could pull a minor surprise at 8/1.
TADPOLES DOING IT goes off at 11/1 for add stable. The son of Arkansas sire Fan The Flame out of an A. P. Indy mare, he is 1-for-1 on “good” tracks, but the speed was quite a bit slow to contend in this bunch. His 2-turn efforts have been solid, but improvement will have to be the order of the day in this group.
SNOWY HAACK is a son of Tapit out of a Storm Cat mare who makes his 2-turn debut here off a strong allowance 2nd. Trained by endira, this one is taking on a much stronger bunch today, but might have enough ability to deal with the class rise. At 11/1, he might be a good chance play.
MIDNIGHT PROSPECTS is a speedy son of Midnight Lute out of a Mr. Prospector mare who makes his 2-turn debut here, going off at 7/1. On the surface it looks like the brostimpy trainee might fade when the real running begins, but the one who caught him last time is undefeated and currently ranked #1 in the 2yo sprint game. May be much tougher to get past than it looks; also, he ran well on a “good” track back in May.
BRAGGING RIGHTS comes in off a 2-race win streak including the G3 Pea Patch Juvenile at a flat mile, and the blue-blooded son of Pulpit should appreciate the extra sixteenth here. Trained by mtkdynasty, he’s been the model of consistency thus far, being 1st or a strongly-closing 2nd in all five of his races. His sim dam has produced one other runner, a 3yo winner of four races and $182k. Everything points to a powerful effort in today’s race if he deals well with the “good” surface; he’s co-favored at 6/1.
SPANISH FIRE goes off at 10/1 for super5, and mixed signals abound. The son of Birdstone makes his 2-turn debut after showing a tendency to fade late in many of his sprints, but he ran pretty well in a pair off off-track efforts.
TIZ LUCKY is a super26 trainee who goes off at 11/1 following a well-beaten 4th in his first try against winners at Mexico. A son of Tiznow out of a Storm Cat mare, he’ll need to quicken his steps quite a bit to compete with these.
With so many of these never having run on a wet surface, the ol’ crystal ball might run like it’s using Vista, but here goes…
BRAGGING RIGHTS has the strongest overall record and should be a tough beat if he deals with the wet track.
CRESTED BUTTE will also be flying in the lane if he likes the track.
SNOWY HAACK could pull a surprise at nice 11/1 odds.