Seven Two Year Olds To Contest the CHEROKEE BAND Special
Perhaps there is nothing more exciting than a two year old stakes race: a smart maiden winner early in his career suddenly gets a chance to showcase his talent against similarly impressive maiden winners. A maiden looks to graduate in style. A stakes winner looks to build on his pervious success.
Today, we find the launching point for dreams to be the CHEROKEE BAND Special, a stakes race over 7 furlongs on the dirt for $60,000. Which of today’s field may have a shot at graded glory on the
The CHEROKEE BAND Special
Stakes
Seven furlongs
Fast Dirt
$60,000
All horses, 2 years old
PP | Horse ID | Horse | Owner | Jockey | Odds | Comments |
1 | ASTRONOMICAL UNIT | 6/1 | 4: 2-0-1 record for this High Yield colt includes a stakes win in his last outing. 97th in the division, he has a running style that should be well-suited to speed-crazed two year old races and has a big an upside potential as any horse in this field. I like the 6/1 odds and he should appreciate the extra 1 ½ furlongs that he’ll see today. Strong chance to make it two in a row today. | |||
2 | FUSEYEV | 9/2 | Fusaichi Pegasus colt is 5: 2-0-1, but his last race was an overpowering front-running allowance win. That said, he took a huge step forward in his last one and looks like he’s set up for a big bounce today; he’d need to run back to the 85 speed figure to compete here, and he’s more likely to run in the neighborhood of a 78-82. Pass. | |||
3 | PEACE ALLY | 5/1 | 2: 1-0-0 for a Peace Rules colt, and rarely do you see an 87 speed figure first time out. Predictably, he regressed off of that effort, but an 82 speed figure is nothing to sneeze at and he was closing well through the stretch. If he repeats that performance, he’ll be running on well through the lane but may run out of ground. One of the more exciting horses moving forward from this race, but seems to be in deep here on account of a lack of distance. | |||
4 | BAND OF BLUES T | 9/1 | 5: 1-2-1 for a Waquoit colt; he’s the underdog of the field, and needed 5 starts to break his maiden. He hasn’t topped the 80 mark for a speed number, which is generally a solid diving line between stakes caliber 2yos and solid allowance types, but he will appreciate the 7 furlongs; its long enough for him to overhaul the early leader, but if he’s lucky, not enough time for the closers to run him over. An outsider, but an outsider with a live chance. | |||
5 | FUZZY MAGIC | 5/2 | Morning line favorite is a 4: 2-2-0 Kingmambo colt who shows a 1st and a 2nd in his last two races, both in stakes company. Steady improvement through all four of his career starts, and his stalking style should suit him well over 7 furlongs, even though he’s been running a little bit longer than that as of late. As long as those trips over a route of ground haven’t taken the edge off of him and left him vulnerable to speedier types, he’s a likely winner with a 21% jock on top. Be wary, however; he’s not a sure thing and is probably a poor bet at short odds. | |||
6 | RAHY’S TWIN | 7/2 | Don’t quite see the logic here between 7/2 odds on this one and 5/1 on Peace Ally, other than the fact that this one’s Rahy x Forty Niner pedigree seems to have a slight edge. Broke his maiden last time out in Florida, running his record to 2: 1-1-0, and should appreciate an extra furlong today, but he has yet to prove that he’s capable of the big performance that some of the others have already turned in today. He’s got a chance, no doubt, but needs to improve off of the 83 he ran last time out to win. | |||
7 | AYGUES TORTES | 7/2 | Another one whose odds defy rational interpretation: of course its impossible to knock the pedigree (Sadler’s Wells/Mill Reef) except to say that it leaves him infinitely more likely to find success on the lawn, but it is possible to question what a maiden is doing in stakes competition. Would much prefer to see him win one before testing these sorts, and at 7/2, I can’t say he makes any sense as a pick. |