The Carlsbad Lessons Grade II

The Carlsbad Lessons Grade II

This weekend we have the The Carlsbad Lessons Grade II, a race run over a mile and a half on the turf in Italy.  We should get a chance to see how the track is playing with The Italian Derby Grade I being run over the same course and distance less than an hour before this one gets underway.  Conditions look good with a firm track predicted and a small but select field assembled to battle it out here.

We may only have 8 runners engaged but they are quality horses.  Between them they have career earnings over $15m and almost half the field are already Grade I winners.

1. THE BEAST ENTERS(ENG)     4/1      (GREEN DESERT x DIESIS(GB) x KINGMAMBO)

Y Lozano ( 149 – 22 – 25 – 14 – 15% )

This 5yo horse is the only foal of former Grade I winner Enter The Beast. He has developed into a great money spinner for connections with good form shown throughout his career.  He has been a winner at 2, 3, 4 and 5 years old which is an outstanding achievement and has good form on the turf over this distance.  In his 3 year old year he won the Grade I New Zealand Derby in a devastating front-running display.  Expect him to be on the pace early and doing what he can to be involved at the finish.

2. EL SKUNKBERTO SLEW(KY) 7/2   (EL PRADO(IRE) x ROBERTO x SEATTLE SLEW)

L Twyman  ( 49 – 7 – 10 – 5 – 14% )

A lightly raced 5 year old who has been to the track only 22 times with a good return of 7 wins and 9 minor placings.  El Skunkberto Slew didn’t begin his racing career until he was a 3 year old and immediately showed promise over the staying journey winning 3 of his first 5 starts.  He is a proven galloper in stakes company but has been frustrating for connections when stepping up into the bigger races where he hasn’t always finished his races off.  He is best ridden cold off the pace before flooding home and with a career best speed figure of 113 he must be considered in this.  He just needs to show his best on the big stage, something he is yet to do.

3. AN UNTRADITIONAL VOW(KY)18/1 (BROKEN VOW x MINESHAFT x MISWAKI)

A Moffett  ( 72 – 6 – 6 – 12 – 8% )

Another inexperienced horse who is stepping up a lot in class for this race.  He has shown promise in allowance company recently winning 3 of his last 4 starts since stepping up in distance but to date has a best speed figure of only 100 which would need to improve considerably to feature in this.  Expect to see him settling midfield and running on to finish 4^th or 5^th.

4. CAN’T SLOW DOWN(ENG)   6/1     (PIVOTAL(GB) x GONE WEST x NIJINSKY II)

G Moss ( 198 – 22 – 26 – 26 – 11% )

After just 19 starts this 4 year old chestnut colt has career earnings exceeding $700 000 and has raced in top company for much of his career. His wins have been well spaced winning just two of his last 14 starts but he does have a career best speed figure of 110 on turf over this distance, a repeat of that would see him featuring in the finish here.  He has seemed a little out of sorts in his last couple of outings since resuming from a break and I would prefer to wait until he shows more before jumping on him.

5.   FUSAICHI ZOMBIE(JPN)   6/1      (SPECIAL WEEK x FUSAICHI PEGASUS x NIJINSKY II)

            J Jubel ( 278 – 44 – 55 – 57 – 16% )

Fusaichi Zombie is the first foal from A Good One (KY), a moderately performed winner of 1 of her 27 starts.  She appears to have thrown a good one here however and it seems her best work will be done in the breeding barn.  Fusaichi Zombie won his first three starts including a Grade III race in her third race, he has built a superb record winning 8 of 19 career starts so far and accumulating earnings of over $3.7m.  Through the middle of 2010 he won three Grade I races in succession including the The Japanese Derby and The French Grand Prix.  Expect him to be on the pace early and with such a good record over this distance he is an undeniable chance of winning here.

6. SIGNS OF CHANGE(KY)   4/1            (DYNAFORMER x STORM CAT x ALYDAR)

S Thrasher  ( 34 – 2 – 6 – 5 – 6% )

This 5yo brown horse has shown good form over the staying trips on the dirt and has recently made the switch to turf with good results.  A winner of two Grade I races on dirt and with over $1.1m in career earnings so far he certainly is an interesting runner here.  His last two outings have been his only two turf appearances with a solid allowance win first up justifying the decision to test him out on the turf.  Last time out he ran on over this distance and his times have been good so he must be considered a place chance at least.

7. CRUSADING ENFORCER  4/1   (MONTJEU (IRE) x KINGMAMBO x DEPUTY MINISTER)

N Labreche ( 337 – 108 – 68 – 51 – 32% )

This 5yo chestnut is an absolute star of the turf in an amazing career so far he has won 6 different Grade I races and earned connections over $7.3m.  His Grade I wins include The Sydney Derby, The Derby De English, The Millwood Cup, The Ackland Cup, The Coronation Pilsner and The Kakarazuka Kinen Cup.  His form has tapered off slightly since his latest win but he is a champion so can never be written off, particularly with Labreche on his back.  He will be settling back and finishing hard in this one.

8. DIRTY WEEKEND(JPN)          6/1      (ALKAASED x ALJABR x DYNAFORMER)

M McMahan  ( 68 – 4 – 11 – 8 – 6% )

This 6 year old has been in career best form of late winning his last two races in good form, albeit in allowance company.  He is another off pace runner who has been to the track 40 times for 13 wins and 12 minor placings.  He has struggled a little in Graded company previously with his best result a 3^rd in a Grade III going back nearly 2 years.  Although he is 6/1 I can’t make a case for him in this race with the quality of the competition simply too strong.

My Selections

1.      Crusading Enforcer

2.      The Beast Enters

3.      Fusaichi Zombie