Who Will Be Crowned The Prince Of Whales?
Good day andwelcome to Berkshire, England, home of the Grade 1 Prince of Whales. Thesky is clear, the turf is firm, and while we may not be near the coast thesewaters are churning! Most talkabout a big fish in a small pond, but the ponds don’t get any bigger than Grade1, and these are whales we are seeinghere today. Six horses are goingto the post for a run of 10 furlongs and the title of Prince of Whales. Let’s take a look at the contenders…
Post 1: The far-travelling Right Whale
Our first runneris Shapeshifting, owned by muninn240 of Tees Stables. Afterwinning an allowance at 9 furlongs in March, Shapeshifting dived right to a Grade 3. This can be a pretty big leap for any horse, and reminds usof the Right Whale’s yearly journey from the North Atlantic to the sunny coastof Florida. In this case, Shapeshifting thrived, winning theGrade 3 Milers Cup with a speed figure of 113. He followed that up with a 4th place finish inthe Grade 1 Locksmith 4 weeks ago. Shapeshifting’s best runs havebeen at a mile, so it will be interesting to see if he can get the addeddistance. This 4yo son ofKingmambo is 7/2.
Post 2: The much-hunted Gray Whale
Here we find Gimlet Chilled, owned by skunkfeed2 of Skunkbarn Stables. Like Shapeshifting, Gimlet Chilled made the jump directlyfrom allowance to Grade 3, placing second in The Ambrosia at ten furlongs(coincidentally, the same distance as the Prince of Whales). Unfortunately for his connections, Gimlet Chilled’s most recent startended in disaster as he came home a beaten 10th, over 18 lengthsback. BUT, before you write himoff, remember this: the Gray Whale is known to fight back when hunted, hassurvived where others have not, and is repopulating areas where no whales havebeen seen for decades. This horseis a fighter. Gimlet Chilled has had poor performances before, and, while it maytake time, has come back. This 4yoson of Tanino Gimlet is 3/1.
Post 3: The clever Dolphin
In post 3 todayis Curtainsforsirtin, owned by trotter201 of Trotter200 Stables. Most scientists consider dolphins to be in a completely different familyfrom whales, and Curtainsforsirtinhas also been running in a different class. We have seen our last two contestants making the successfulswitch from allowance to Grade 3, but Curtainsforsirtinis attempting to go straight to the top in Grade 1. He won easily in his last start, an open allowance at 9.5furlongs, but with a lifetime high speed figure of 105 he will need to step itup here. Will he pull it off? Trotter201thinks so, and Curtainsforsirtinhas done everything asked of him to deserve a chance here. This 4yo son of Beat Hollow is 11/1.
Post 4: The ancient Sperm Whale
This is Gormenghast, owned by ceclaim21 of Royal Belgian Kempen Farm. This horse deserves respect, having won11 races and $1.7 million. Gormenghast’slast start was a win, an allowance at ten furlongs, but it had been a longdry spell before that. Gormenghast’slast win had been in October of 2009 in the Grade 1 Coffeefields Cup. Is it time for a comeback? Does this whale who hunts squid in thedeep still have it in him to take down Captain Ahab? This last win looked promising, and Gormenghast hascertainly had some close finishes during the last year and a half. This 6yo son of Danehill Dancer is 6/1.
Post 5: The musicalHumpback Whale
Here we have Ricciarelli, owned by catspaw2of Elenalag Stables. This horse has some diversity. Ricciarelli has won at 8 furlongs, 14 furlongs, and hit the boardat everything in between. Do Imaybe hear the complex song of the Humpback here, trilling up and down andtravelling for miles (or, 14 furlongs)? Ricciarelli’s prior start was a second in the Grade 2 DeltaRepublic, a decided improvement over his 9th in the Grade 2 SankaHigh. He will need toimprove further in order to be a factor here. This 4yo son of Pivotal is 9/2
Post 6: The record-breaking Blue Whale
Our final entrant is Mount Samson,owned by bjbandit of Bigkev and Bjbandit Farms. Pay close attention here; this is thenumber one ranked turf horse in his division and has earned $3.4 million. Mount Samson has been competingin Graded races continually since April of 2010, and only twice in that spanhas he failed to bring home a check. This is like saying, “That whale is the largest creature ever to inhabitthis planet.” Mount Samson’slast win came in the Grade 1 Good Day, followed by a third in the Grade 1Singapore Cup. And, guess what, 10furlongs looks like one of his favorite distances. This 5yo son of Danehill Dancer is 3/2.
And there we are, six runners going for thetitle. But, before heading to thebetting window, make sure to note that this race is devoid of any pacesetter. All six of these runnerslike to run just behind the leader into the stretch. Someone will have to be in front, but right now one wantsit. This is the big variable thatleaves this race wide open.