Spotlight Race of the Week-Argentina
This is the second installment of what will hopefully be an ongoing weekly series of “Spotlight” races. The intent of the “Spotlight Race of the Week” is to draw focus to some of the non-graded stake races and give some attention and recognition to trainers and their horses that don’t compete at that level.
In the first race, I was successful in picking the winner. The pressure is on so let’s see if we can make it two weeks in a row. This week, the spotlight points to the eighth race in
1. Super Time 4-1 -Front running horse who has done well in allowance sprints. Super is 1-3-4 in 9 starts this year. Needs to find a way to hold on to lead. Looks to be a factor in the exotic wagers.
2. Color Me Bald 3-1 –Another front runner with a 2010 record of 1-0-7 in 10 starts. Speed numbers are a blip better than Super Time and will also need to find a way to make it to the wire on top. Also factors into the exactas.
3. Imperioso 38-1 –Imperioso has one win in 23 career starts. He broke his maiden this past September and his career best speed is a 92. He’s in a tough spot as many others in this race are consistent with speeds of 90 and higher. Looks over matched and may be more competitive in the claiming ranks.
4. Goldisgood 6-1 -This horse has seen a lot of race time this year with 14 starts and a record of 2-1-2. He has averaged a speed of about 90 over his last five starts. He moves up to the allowance after a brief stint in moderate claimers. Gold has been off the board in last 6 allowance starts and recent trends show him tiring in last quarter to half of race. Does take drop in distance which may help.
5. Eleven Euros 5-1 –This late closing horse found some success late last year and the earlier part of this season running and winning in $40k claimers. In April, he won a 5f allowance with a speed of 102, his sole race north of 100. Since this milestone, he’s averaged a speed of 91 in three races at the allowance, starter and stake race levels. Could be a bit of a price if he gets back to his earlier form.
6. S J W 77-1 –SJW has been on the board twice this year in 14 starts, both in his first two starts of 2010. SJW is simply outclassed at the allowance level and he has one win in 39 starts. He might find better success in the lower claiming levels, perhaps even in turf events, but just doesn’t fit here.
7. Another Word 7-1 –This horse has the ability to pop a speed of 100 or higher which makes him a threat. He doesn’t hit the board often as his 1-1-1 record this season reflects in 10 starts. Another moves up from claimers and looks to have outside chance of scoring upset.
8. Fulldrive 9-5 –Fulldrive is the favorite in the race, the heavy favorite, but he can be beaten. This year, he has been the crowd favorite 6 times and was beaten in 5 of those starts. He’s in a nice spot and has late speed with numbers ranging from 94 up to 112 during 2010. He drops in distance which may be a disadvantage as he may run out of room for his late speed to drive him to the lead.
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Fulldrive needs to time late rally perfectly and top rider Seifert (30% win) can do that, making this horse my top choice, but is beatable.
Color Me Bald gets my second selection, barely. His speeds are just a tad better than Super Time, who is my third pick. Either of these may find a way to hold on and beat the favorite. Best to box all three in triples and exactas.