Curling with Coffee: Because I Said So Preview

Because I Said So Stakes

Grade II

Six furlongs

Firm Turf

$500,000

All horses, 3 years old and up

Half a million on the Coxless card to go to the best green sprinter among seven.  Can last year’s Breeders Bowl Juvenile victor make the switch to turf?  Are the sophomores ready to take the baton from their elders? Who might step up to beat favored (not flavored) MR. COFFEE(KY)?  Why couldn’t he bring his last jockey, J Cuervo, in to ride ALCAPULCO GOLD(IRE)?

PP  Horse ID  Horse  Owner  Jockey  Odds  

1 190490 HEATSEEKINMISSILE(KY)  redhill  D Dowell  8/1 

Ranked #73 3-y-o, Heatseeker out of a D mare.  Redhill grabbed him from ddahl and put him on turf to stay.  It’s worked out great, with six wins in eight tries on the new surface, never off the board.  He’s the only six-furlong specialist in the race other than PIKOTAZO(KY), and there is reason to believe he is taking strides past that one now that he is maturing.  Excellent improving horse angle and fabulous odds at 8/1.

2 89254 BRAVE PASSION(KY)  pm  J Cox  7/1  

Ranked #65 3-y-o, Forestry out of an A he-mare.  Won the Hawkz Guineas last month, then came back in a mile allowance, just nipped at the wire.  Just in September he cleared his N3L condition, but his last three races have been solid triple digits.  That points to a horse who has just arrived at this echelon and should not be ignored.  Cutting back from a mile might mess things up, but he’s still a decent play.

3 131025 PIKOTAZO(KY)  invisible  J Kohlmorgen  7/1    

Ranked #400 older horses, Hennessy scratchbred.  6-y-o finding a new lease on life on the turf after seemingly peaking last year on dirt.  He has some of the slowest last speeds coming in, although he does like to come from behind, which could help.  Not an impossible task for the 41-race veteran, but at the odds I’d look elsewhere for value.

4 101311 ALCAPULCO GOLD(IRE)  super24  D Evans  4/1    

Ranked #16 3-y-o, Dylan Thomas out of a B mare.  Been busy in England lately, with two seconds and a third this fall in graded turf sprints.  This one lays back a bit, but when he’s on, he finishes with a strong kick.  He could be compromised by the fact that he’s done his best at seven furlongs.

5 193162 MR. COFFEE(KY)  kilbirnie  R Kowalkowski  9/5    

Ranked #73 older horses, Empire Maker scratchbred.  Wow, that was a 118 last time in the De La Fore!  Looking back, there’s also a 109, a 114, a 110….  Simply put, he has the power to dominate these unless he runs like he did in the Diana Ross in September.  Hard to tell what might have bothered him that day.  The only other chink in the armor I see is that the aforementioned high speeds all came on softer turf surfaces.

6 180642 CURLING(KY)  snowclan  S Nightingale  9/2    

Ranked #235 (#8 on dirt) 3-y-o, Curlin out of an F mare.  Last year’s Breeders Bowl Juvenile winner set the pace in this year’s Bluegrass Derby, finishing an unembarassing sixth.  Switched immediately to sprints, he snatched the Stephen Woody next out, but lately he has developed a tendency to wilt even at the short distances.  Now it’s a maiden voyage on the turf to see if that is the tonic.

7 171836 GOLD CAT ZAP(KY)  jetforhome  R Bailey  5/1    

Ranked #927 older horses, Ghostzapper scratchbred.  First stakes venture since a drubbing in a restricted stakes two years ago as a juvenile.  He flies in from Kansas off a frontrunning score and a 107 over seven on the sod.  That must have impressed the oddsmakers, because he’s short on the back class compared to the field inside of him.  He could be just now hitting his peak, but if he regresses back to his usual speeds, he’ll be cooked.