Could Next Hall of Famer Come From CA Classic
The long running, CA Classic has always had a million dollar purse. It has always been run at a distance of 10 furlongs. It has always been run in California on the dirt. It has always been open to all horses age three and over. And it has always been run on a fast dirt surface. All of this since 1999, making this one of the longest running G1 races in the Sim racing circuit.
Winning the 1999 race was Hall of Famer Dusty Dance. Dusty won this race at odds of 26-1 with a charted speed of 118. He went on to accomplish another rare feat…racing a full lifetime 100 races. During his career, he won 22 races, 11 of them were grade races with 7 at the G1 level. The win in the 1999 CA Classic would turn out to be his first graded win. Dusty Dance would try this event in 2000 but could not retain his title as he finished fifth. He skipped the event in 2001 but returned in 2002 where Dusty would once again win this event with a speed of 116. Ironically, this would be the very last victory of Dusty’s notable career.
Dusty Dance is not the only Hall of Famer to win the CA Classic. In 2006, Solar Song would win this event with a speed of 110. Solar had a dynamite career winning over $16 million with 21 wins over 52 races and 11 grade wins, 9 at the G1 level. This HOF’er would finish forth the following year in an attempt to retain the crown.
As it turns out, Dusty Dance still holds the record to this day with the fastest recorded speed of 118 and at the highest odds of 26-1. Other notable facts are that post 9 has won this race three times and Jockey Gossett is the only one to win this race twice.
Oh, did I tell you that the 2009 winner Silver Star Road is returning to try to win for a second time? He holds the second fastest speed of 117 for this event.
Will a future HOF’er come out of this race? Possibly…time to look at the talent in this years event:
1. Mira Boonta 22-1
This son of Distorted Humor has appeared in two graded races (both G2’s) and has made two trips to the winner’s circle in each race. The first was a nice Christmas present for his trainer, winning the DPCD Christmas Classic on Christmas day last year, and setting a career mark of 112. In his last start, he won the Out of the City Handicap, making up 13 lengths in the final quarter of the race to win a photo finish with a speed of 109. Tons and tons of late speed reside within this horse. Timing will be the key and the odds offer great reward.
2. Twist Twist 9-1
This Empire Maker son has finished first or second 11 times out of 14 dirt starts. Twist Twist will be making his third graded start. He finished forth in the Heaven Stakes in January with a SP of 103 over 9 furlongs. In June, his most recent start, he settled for second in the Movieland Shiny with a charted speed of 111 where he was beaten by Seattle in Awe. Both of these races were on an off-track. He likes to be on top and could very well be the pace setter in this race. In May, he set a career best speed of 114 on a fast track. He can perform well on either surface and his recent numbers have looked very nice on the fast surface.
Most trainers have been keeping their thoughts to themselves regarding this race. This is fine as not everyone wants to share their strategies with others. But trainer Wbstables3 was willing to share insight into Twist Twist.
When asked if he was disappointed with the second place finish in his last start, Wbstables 3 answered “TWIST TWIST is coming off his first loss @ 10f lto in the G1 Movieland Shiney Cup. In that race tried to take them wire 2 wire, but he was run down late by the Seattle In Awe. I was really happy with the effort since it was run on a off track.”
Ok, so his performance was pretty darn good. Did he come out injured? He hasn’t raced in nearly two months “After that race I decided to give a little freshening and prepare for this race” the trainer replied “TT has been training well ( I worked him at a mile the other day in 1:38 flat), Bob Baffert chimed in: He looks like a bomb getting ready to explode!”
That sound like a wonderful prep, but is he ready for this race and what will we see out of him? Smiling, Wbstables was happy to answer “Since he is fresh I am expecting him to go straight to the front and play catch me if you can. I was fortunate to retain the services of the hot riding B. Peebles (who is a very underated jockey that can flat out horseback.)”.
This guy does have the talent to make it hard for the rest to catch him.
3 Strobes 11-1
Strobes, sired by Smart Strike, has won four stake races this year, two of them have been at the graded level. He picked up wins in the National Rider Club (9f, G3) with a SP of 110 winning by in April. His next race was in May where he won the 10f Peach State Classic (G3) rolling off a three stride victory, again at 10-1 and a SP of 111. This guy likes to run in mid field and slyly maneuver his way towards the lead. He didn’t show much when racing in the G2 Out of the City Handicap, seeing his speed drop to 100. That race ended a four race win streak and he may find his winning ways again in this race.
Trainer Richgins was one of few answering the call for commentary on their horses this week. “Hopes still run extremely high for STROBES” he stated, continuing “ but Saturday’s race will tell us a lot. After four straght stakes win, two of them graded, hopes and aspirations ran high.” When asked why he picked this race, Richgins responded “… the plan then was to point him towards the Breeder’s Bowl Classic. That may still be the case, but he will have to rebound with a big performance on Saturday to show that he belongs with the big boys. He just wasn’t himself in his last race, never really picking up his feet. I guess/hope that it was just a bounce and that he will come back to himself this week.”
Ok, that gives a little insight as to what happened in the last start, but how is he for this race? “I am a little concerned that he is only “ready to go,” but he seems to have come out of the race fine, has trained forwardly since then, I am looking for a real big effort” the trainer replied.
RTG status doesn’t sound like the ideal conditions to me, have you done anything to compensate or gain an edge? “I have instructed the jock to just keep him a little further off the pace than usual and make one big run from the quarter pole home. We’ll see how it goes.” Maybe this maneuver will be the right strategy…stay tuned!
4 Devilworship 10-1
Devilworship comes off a run of three races on the turf where he had mixed results. This Pulpit sired horse makes a return to the dirt where he is in pursuit of his first graded win. He’s tried thirteen times where he’s finshed second or third five times. His best shot of winning one of these prestigious races could arguably be made in the March running of the Sand Castle Classic where he bolted out to a huge lead that grew to over 9 strides which he blew and ended finishing second, two back with a career best speed of 115. He’ll be out vying for the lead, but holding onto it to the wire has been a tough task for Devil.
5. Sheltered 14-1
Sheltered is the only horse bred from A-grade game-dam Privileged and has a G1 win last year in the Travelers Stakes with a career best of 112. This past March he finished with an equal speed in the $6 million Sand Castle Classic where he finished third. These two races make up the bulk of his $1.3 million in earnings. He can shine if he wants to and is difficult to tell what he will do here. He usually gets a piece of the pie and could reward supporters.
6. Vis Vobiscum 11-1
Robin Till Buoy, an H-rated game-dam has a pair of grade winners out of 8 offspring, Vis Vobiscum being one of them. He has one graded win, that came in his first attempt in March of 2010 where he stole the Town of Tokyo at 25-1. He’s been in a long dry spell, unable to hit the wire first in 9 subsequent attempts. Vis has been close recently, with a second in the Mohammad Ali (SP=110) in April and another second in the West Coaster (SP=109) in May, both at 9 furlongs. He hasn’t gone 10 furlongs in a long time, but should handle it with little problem. He should be running near the front early on, but where he goes from there needs to be seen.
7. Egon Schiele 8-1 D
Egon Shiele is the son of game-dam Forth Spice Filly, a grade E mare who has six offspring with this son being the crème of the crop. He has eight graded starts this year, winning in April at a mile in the G3 Chester West Handicap (SP 111) and later in June finding victory in the G2 Cornhusker Handicap running 9f with a career best SP of 114. This will be his first G1 race and will be going 10f for the third time. His first two efforts at this distance weren’t good so the distance may be at the high range of his ability.
8. Too Much Larry 7-1
Scratch bred and sired by Unbridled’s Song, Too Much Larry ended 2010 on a hot note. He won the G1 Jockey Guild Gold with a career best speed of an amazing 121 in October. In November, he finished third in the Breeders’ Bowl with a 112. And wrapping up the season in December, he won a non-graded residency Blazzing Saddles Breeder’s Showdown with another extraordinary speed of 120. 2011 hasn’t been as nice, with speeds topping out at 109 and winless, but on the board twice in five starts. An amazing hard closer that you could swear has wings as he soars in the final quarter to the wire.
9. Silver Star Road 9-1.
Silver Star Road is a scratch bred horse sired by Silver Train. There are three graded winners from the 2007 crop of Silver Star offspring which include not only this horse, but Neck Neck Nose (a horse who I love) and Silver City Gal. No others have won a graded race from this sire since the crop of 2007. Silver has won three graded races spread throughout his career with the first in 2008 in the Princess Cup. He went winless for about a year when he won this CA Classic in 2009 equalling his career best speed of 117. Third graded win was this year in the Khartoum Challenge winning the 9f race with a speed of 112. This will be his third appearance in the CA Classic, finishing fifth last year. His speeds have tailed off a bit recently from the 110+ range he had been nailing. It would be great to see this 6 year old make a turn around in this race
10. Just Vengeance 10-1
Just Vengeance is a three-time grade winner with 2009 victories in the Manor of Bashford (G3) and North Fork Stakes (G1). 2010 win in the New Yorker (G1) is undoubtedly the most notable charm of the three. Sired by Jazil, he is the only child to become a grade winner out of all the 2009 offspring. This 4-year old will probably run off the early pace and is a hit or miss type of finisher. In half of his 2011 starts, he’s been second or third. The other half has been a little more disappointing. Tough call whether you get the good runner or the bad one in him.
11. Seattle in Awe 7-1
This nicely bred son of Awesome Again has a pair of graded wins in the G1 Movieland Shiny Cup (speed of 114), which was on a good track and the G3 Skipping Away with a SP of 113. Seattle in Awe has hit 113 to 114 five times in the last nine starts. He’ll probably be in the middle of the field, about a dozen strides back at the half and he’ll slither his way towards the front. If his moved is timed correctly, viewers may be in “awe “ by the end of the race.
12. Distorted Storm 8-1
F-grade game-dam Away For Storm hit paydirt with offspring Distorted Storm who, out of 9 offspring, is the only grade winner. In fact, he’s won over $11 million with 16 wins in 28 races. He has won some very notable graded races, including the $6 million Sand Castle Classic with a career best speed of 118 in 2010. He won this very same race this year with a second career best speed of 117. He also won the 2010 Breeders’ Bowl Classic ($5 million purse)with a third career high speed of 115. He has the ability to perform when needed and has a spectacular late run. In the money 25 of 28 career starts, very tough not to include in exotic wagers.
13. Al’s Griffon 11-1
Of all horses sired by Al Mufti since 2006, Al’s Griffon is the only one to have won a graded race. And that just happened at the end of July where he beat a full 14 horse field in the G3 Washing Drive pulling off the upset at 13-1 with a lifetime best speed of 114. This was his second graded start, the first came in June where he finished a solid second in the Day of Dominion with a SP of 109. He likes to run up near the front and may engage in a battle for the lead or find a comfy spot behind the pace setters. He’s got promise and has won 11 of 19 starts. A win here would open people’s eyes towards this horse.
14. Endless Brew 14-1
Eneless Brew is the son of Medaglia D’Oro and is seeking his second win at the graded level. His first came this past December where he made a very nice move hustling from last and a dozen lengths back to win by over a stride in the G3 Queen of the County Stakes. Since notching this win, he’s had three graded starts in 2011 and has run well off the board in those races. The Queen of the County Stakes was his best start thus far, scoring a 111 career record speed. He’s going to need to shoot off another one like that to have a chance against this group.
Distorted Storm gets top choice here and benefits with Gossett aboard who seeks his third trophy in this race.
Too Many Larry has nice strong late speed and could get piece.
Going with front runner Twist Twist who I believe of all the jackrabbits may have the best chance to run off with the win.