Older horse vie in Sarrat De Bon Turf Memorial

Viriginia welcomes stakes racing back, hosting older horses for this week’s Sarrat De Bon Turf Memorial.  Therace invites all horses four years and older to run over seven furlongs of turf for a piece of the $30000 purse.  The worst of the Sping storms seemed to have bypassed us here, and the turf will be rated as firm for the event.  The race has drawn a field of seven, ranging from first time stakes runners to former Breeder’s Bowl contenders.  Oddsmakers have chosen a clear 8/5 favorite, with five of the other six runners squeezed between 7/2 and 6/1 odds.  A 54/1 longshot rounds out the field.  If the favorite falls, there could be some decent money to be made on this one, especially in the exotics.

PP 1) Gday Red(AUS)  Sired by Red Ransom, Trained by koalaking.  Gday Red is a four year old colt looking at his fourteenth career start here.  This will be only his second run against stakes competition and he’s looking for his first win.  He’s put together a 3-0-1-3-1 record in his last ten, with a pair of 100+ speeds, capped by a career best 104.7 in his last start.  That race was an A3L at seven and a hlaf furlongs in Georgia where he owned the second half of the race, besting a field of eight by a length and a half.  All thirteen career starts have been on turf, and he’s been living up to his breeding on the surface.  He has been running longer routes for the most part, and is dropping back to sprints for only the second time since his debut last year.  His last outing was arguably his career best, and it looks like it may be just what he needed to get him back on track.  He generally prefers to run as a midpack to deep closer, but his close has been spotty at best.  A repeat of his last could keep him in the mix here, but he’ll have a tough time holding down the stretch against this veteran field.

PP 2) Lucic(KY)  Sired by Sky Mesa, Trained by wemblom.  Lucic is a veteran of twenty seven previous starts coming into this race.  The four year old colt makes his third consecutive stakes start, but has yet to make it inside 23 lengths while the rest of the field was crossing the wire.  He’s gone 1-1-1-1-3 in his last ten with a top speed figure of 93.5 three starts back.  His last try was at eleven and a half furlongs in New Hampshire, where he was never really in the race, distanced in the short field.  All but two starts have been on turf, and he displays a distinct preference for the grass surface.  He’s been bouncing all over this distance charts over his last several starts trying to find his niche.  He appears to be at his best form at right around a mile.  He’s also been experimenting with his break speeds, though he hasn’t found a pace that has been consistently working for him.  His speeds, with the exception of possibly one start early last year aren’t on a par with the competition here, and he’ll need the run of his career to avoid trailing the field hom in this one.

PP 3) Dynever Silence(KSA)  Sired by Dynever, Trained by crawin8r.  Dynever Silence is the old veteran of the field, and seven year old horse making his fifty first career start.  He’s had three assorted stakes starts throughout his career, but he’s still looking for that elusive first win at this level.  Over the course of his last ten starts, he’s gone 1-4-1-2-0, with three 100+ starts, topping out at 103.3 mid last season.  His last start was an A2t at six furlongs in New Hampshire, where he closed to a length and a half before running out of track, settling for second in a seven horse field.  After spending the bulk of his early career on dirt, He switched to turf late in his four year old campaign, and has never looked back.  He’s spent most of his career as a sprinter, and his best distance has been in the six to six and a half furlong range.  He runs as a midpack closer, and while his close has been quite consistent, he’s had a problem bringing it all the way home.  He was at the top of his form about a year and a half ago, and at that point, he would have been a serious threat in this field.  While still showing decent speed, he’s starting to lose a step.  With the young legs here, he’s gonna need a big run to threaten late here.

PP 4) Fishhook(NM)  Sired by Distorted Rumor, Trained by pharoah2.  Fishhook is a four year old colt, taking the gate for career start eighteen in this race.  This will be his first try against stakes competition.  His last ten starts have yielded a 3-4-2-0-0 record with a top speed of 107.9 coming in his final start last season.  His last run was a seven and a half furlong open allowance on an off track in DC, where he lead most of the race before giving it up down the stretch, settling for third in a full field.  After a pair of dirt starts to begin his career, a switch to turf paid instant dividends.  This distance has been his bred and butter race, with top three finishes in eight of nine starts.  He likes running from the head of the midpack and it’s been working well for him.  He’s been doing some of his career best running, and the off track speeds in his last two could be deceptive.  On a firm track here, he could be a surprise for the favorites late in this one.

PP 5) Classical Mike(KY)  Sired by Big Brown, Trained by dogfarm.  Classical Mike takes the gate for his twenty third start in this race.  He’s faced stakes competition severals times, and has one stakes win to his credit.  In his last ten starts he has a 2-3-1-1-0 record, showcasing a best speed of 109.1 three starts back.  His last race was an open allowance at a mile on a yielding track in Connecticut, where he went into the stretch with a legth and a quarter lead, only to settle for fourth in a swarm of closers.  He spent most of his two year old season on dirt, but it was clear that the turf was truly what he wanted.  He’s had good success anywhere from six furlongs to a mile, and this falls right up the center of his range.  He generally prefers a stalker’s pace, Doing wel when he matches the early pace, but having problems when he falls out too far early.  He should set the pace in this field and still have some some juice left for the second half.  His two excellent speed figures at the end of last season seem to be the exception rather than the rule.  He’ll need to prove that they weren’t an anomaly to bring home the gold in this one.

PP 6) K’sMadison Avenue(KY)  Sired by Seeking The Gold, Trained by ledwith2.  K’s Madison Avenue is a five year old horse, entering is twenty fifth career start in this one as the odds on favorite.  He’s a stakes veteran, with two wins to his credit at this level.  Over the course of his last ten starts he has garnered a 4-3-0-1-2 record, cracking the 100+ speed barrier eight times capped by a 110.0 in his final start last year.  His last race was a six and a half furlong stakes in New Jersey, where he was driving hard down the stretch but just couldn’t get there, settling for fourth by a scant length in a tough field.  Three dirt starts at the beginning of his career were enough to convince him that turf is where he wanted to be.  He’s run well at anywhere from six to nine furlongs, but sprints have been his specialty, and he’s never finished out of the top two in this distance range.  He’s a deep closer, and his close has been the picture of consistency over his last several starts.  This field is almost tailor made for him, without an over abundance of early speed.  He’s one of the most consistnet runners in this field, look for him to be pressuring hard down the stretch here.

PP 7) Howling Jupiter(KY)  Sired by Roman Ruler, Trained by rycamkel.  Howling Jupiter is a four year old colt stepping to the track for start nummber eighteen in this race.  He has plenty of stakes of experience, and has a pair of stakes wins on his resume.  His last ten starts have yielded a 3-1-2-1-1 record with four 100+ speeds, capped by a 111.0 in his first start this season.  His last run was a six and a half furlong stakes in Louisiana, where he ran nearly a picture perfect race to best a field of five by a length and a quarter.  He has spent most of his career on dirt, but really exploded with a switch to turf late last season.  He’s only run under 100 speed once in five turf sprints, and placed in the top three in three of five starts.  He likes to run just off the pace and while he hasn’t shown a power close, he’s been competitive from anywhere near the front of the pack.  Other than one bounce, he’s been great on turf, and this isn’t the most powerful of fields.  He should take charge just past the half, and the only questions is can he hold off the closers to bring this one home.