Stormslayer M/L Favorite In First Graded Stakes Race

The Grade 1 Eclipse Stakes is a very good Breeders’ Bowl Turf prep race, maybe not so much for the 2011 Breeders’ Bowl, since it’s about three weeks away.

That might be an awful lot to ask of a horse, to come back so soon after a grade 1 and run in this year’s Breeders’ Bowl the first week in November, although it certainly has been done in the past, and quite successfully at times.

But this could be a good race as far as gauging which of these might move on to that next level next season, if for no other reason than that a lot of the horses you’ll see in this race are generally horses who are just getting started in graded stakes company. Or maybe they’re older horses who are just finding out exactly what distance they want to run, or maybe they’re working their way up in distance, hoping that the 12 furlong Breeders’ Bowl Turf is actually going to be their cup of tea next season.

The favorite here, Stormslayer, is pretty interesting when you look at his past performance charts. He’s a former claiming horse who was picked up at the end of last season by Pogoracing, and his new connections have watched him blossom as a four year old. Also, as the morning line favorite here, it’s interesting to note that he’s the only horse in this race who has never run in a graded stakes race in his entire career.

In any case, there’s a great deal of money–and stakes points–on the line here in the $1,000,000 Grade 1 Eclipse Stakes, for three year olds and up at ten furlongs on the turf in Newmarket this weekend.

(1) MAXIMUM SPELL (KY) Owner: Tees Stables

Odds: 9/1 (A.P. Indy x Storm Cat x Mr. Prospector)

Tees Stables started Maximum Spell off on the dirt his first three starts, and after his connections switched him to the turf, all he’s done is manage to win or finish second in seven of his eight starts on that surface. He’s only run in one graded stakes race in his career, and that was at the end of July. He finished fifth in the Grade 1 Owner’s Stakes after he held the lead for much of that race. In fact, in seven of his first eight turf starts, Maximum Spell has had the lead for the first three calls of every race. He’s had trouble closing the deal, but this is a very young horse with a limited amount of race experience. He’s also a very young horse with a ton of potential and upside, especially once you see he’s run triple digit speed figures in this last five starts, including a career high 109 in a mile allowance win in Kentucky. This guy has been ten furlongs once, and that was an allowance win in Tennessee back in March, where he won by 5 ¼ lengths geared down the final furlongs. You’re going to be hearing a lot about this colt next season. He’s really just trying to find the distance he loves best, and he might do just that here in the Grade 1 Eclipse.

(2) HACKER’S MANIFESTO (IRE) Owner: Shamrock Stables

Odds: 7/1 (Tefilo x Down In The Valley (Elusive Quality x Deputy Minister))

He’s a four year old son of Teofilo who’s seen quite a bit of graded stakes company since early on in his career. He’s spent a lot of his career trying to find his way around distances too. Lately he’s settled into this ten furlongs pretty consistently. He’s got two graded wins, and both came at 10 furlongs. Four of his last five starts have been at ten furlongs, including a win in the Grade 2 Whipping Boy two starts back. He popped a career-high 111 speed figure in that start. Last race he threw a sub-100 speed figure in the Grade 1 Champion Stakes, and that’s been pretty much the way with Hacker’s Manifesto. One great race, one not so great race. He can definitely run this ten furlongs, and run it well. It’s just that he has trouble stringing together consistently great starts, like last year when he won his only other graded stakes, the Grade 2 Derby Stud Trail. After that win, he took on some pretty good fields in the big French events (the Grade 1 Jockey Club and the Grade 1 French Grand Prix), and he just couldn’t quite get to that level where he was putting together consistently great performances like he’s shown he’s capable of. He’s shown he can definitely run with the likes of these here in the Grade 1 Eclipse, and all he needs to do is get to the point where he’s putting together good back to back performances.

(3) I AM MISTER ED (KY) Owner: Papracing Stables

Odds: 9/2 (Theatrical x Mill Reef x Lyphard)

The five year old scratch-bred son of Theatrical comes in here with more experience than just about any other horse in this race. He’s got 35 career starts, and he’s banked over $1.6 million in his career. He’s got four career graded stakes wins, and one of them (the 10.5 furlong Grade 2 New York Stakes), was the last time he found the winner’s circle. That was in July of 2010, and he threw a 111 speed figure in that race. That was also the highest speed figure he’s thrown in a race since then. He’s been pretty consistent in the speed figure department, really. He’s been graded placed four times since that New York Stakes win, so he’s definitely been piling on the money and stakes points since last season. His last two races have been at 11 and 12 furlongs, and this ten furlong Eclipse Stakes might be just what the doctor ordered to get I Am Mister Ed back to the winner’s circle. In his last outing, the Grade 1 Ark Trial in Berkshire, he was coming on strong late, and that might be a sign of good things to come for I Am Mister Ed. He’s the second favorite here at 9/2, which says quite a bit about his ability.

(4) RIVER SUN (NY) Owner: Magoo And Wispa Inc.

Odds: 5/1 (Sun River x Icecapade x Dr. Fager)

River Sun started off his career on the dirt. Actually, the five year old New York-bred son of Sun River was on the 2009 Triple Crown trail back when he started racing as a three year old. He broke his maiden first time out and after he got a listed stakes win, his connections put him in the Grade 1 Arkansas Juvenile Derby Lock Prep, where he finished eighth. A couple starts later, River Sun got his turf career started, and he’s been on that surface ever since. In his 20 career turf starts, he’s popped 18 triple digit speed figure races, which is pretty impressive. He’s got four career graded stakes wins, the last of which came on April 30 in the 10 furlong Grade 2 Chaucer Gold Cup. He’s trying for his first grade 1 win ever here Saturday. River Sun threw the highest speed figure (109) since he won the Grade 2 Sanka High Stakes in April of 2010. River Sun is pretty unique in that he’s shown quite a bit of diversity in his running style. He can run on the lead, or he can drop in from the clouds. That could serve him well here in Newmarket Saturday. This race has quite a few youngsters who have tons of early speed, and if a speed duel develops on the front end, River Sun definitely has shown the ability to be able to take advantage of that and pounce on this field late. He might just do that Saturday, and if things work out right for him, he could be walking off with his first grade 1 win.

(5) STURMEN (GER) Owner: Given Stables: Fire And Blood

Odds: 9/1 (Monsun (GER) x Nureyev x Sharpen Up (GB))

Sturmen, a three year old scratch-bred son of Monsun, would also love to see a big speed duel on the front end here Saturday, given the fact that he loves to lay way back in his races and come on with a strong late kick. He doesn’t have a whole lot of graded stakes experience. But in his last two races, he finished second in both the Grade 2 Guillaume and the Grade 3 Cup Of Europe. That Grade 2 Cup Of Europe race last time out was his first try against older horses. He was the longest shot in that race at 11-1, and all he did was come from over 12 lengths off the pace and scared the daylights out of the winner, Sandor, before he settled for second there. Sturmen is a pretty talented colt from Given Stables, that much is certain. And despite his lack of stakes experience, he’s shown the ability in his last two starts to run with the likes of these he’ll see Saturday in Newmarket. He’s finished either first or second in nine of his 12 career starts, and he might be an up and coming young colt to keep your eye on not only here in the Grade 1 Eclipse but also in the seasons to come.

(6) KEEP GETTING UP (IRE) Owner: Iant Stables

Odds: 11/1 (Invincible Spirit x Woodman x Damascus)

Keep Getting Up is a perfect example of a colt who’s really just getting started in stakes company, and he’s also a perfect example of a colt who you are going to be hearing a great deal about in the coming seasons in these big grade 1 turf races. The scratch-bred son of Invincible Spirit only has nine career starts on his resume, but he’s really been getting into graded company heavily his last five times out on the track. It only took him four starts before he hit his first graded stakes race. And he looked awfully impressive in that graded debut. He won the 10 furlong Grade 2 Griffen in gate to wire fashion after he bounced out to a seven length lead on the field, and he ended up winning geared down by 3 ¼ lengths. That race was also his first triple digit speed figure race. In his next start, he really hit the big time in the Grade 1 Derby de English, and he led for the first three calls there before fading to fourth. It was his first try at 12 furlongs, and he was in against a really tough bunch there. This guy did much better his next three starts at ten furlongs. He finished second in the Grade 2 Adam Gene and third in the Grade 2 Guillaume. Then he took a little big longer rest than he had been taking before shipping down under to Australia, where he collected his second graded win in the 10 furlong Grade 2 Early Months Stakes. His speed figures have continued to rise, and he hit a career high 107 in that win in the Early Months Stakes. This guy has a ton of early speed, and he seems to be maturing into quite a terrific graded stakes horse for his connections, Iant Stables. Watch out for this guy in the future. Once he gets a bit more experience under his belt and learns how to rein in that tremendous early speed he’s been gifted with, he’s going to be a force to reckon with for Iant Stables.

(7) PASSELANDE (IRE) Owner: Galileo Stables

Odds: 4/1 (Teofilo x Blushing Groom (FR) x Nureyev)

This is another five year old scratch-bred son of Teofilo here in the Grade 1 Eclipse Saturday. Passelande did something pretty remarkable last time out. He got his first career graded stakes win after 34 career starts. If you ever feel like giving up on a horse who doesn’t seem to be quite able to get over the graded stakes winning level, look at Passelande as an example of why you should keep persevering. Passelande just broke the million dollar mark in earnings with that win in the 10 furlong Grade 3 Chosen Stakes in Surrey last time out. It’s not like he’s new to stakes company, that’s for sure. This guy has been in some pretty big races in his career, most notably the Grade 1 French Grand Prix and the Grade 1 New Zealand Darby as a three year old. He came oh so close to winning both of those races back in 2009 as a three year old. But he kept trying, and it finally paid off last time out in the Chosen Stakes. Now he’ll be going for that first grade 1 win here Saturday in Newmarket. If you think that graded win wasn’t special for Passelande’s connections, think again. This guy has been around the races for a long time, since he was a two year old in fact. And he’s been in 18 graded events in his 35 career starts. He’s also been popping some pretty nice speed figures in his last four starts (a couple of 111’s, a 107 and a 105). There’s little wonder he’s 4/1 in this spot. This son of Teofilo could definitely score his first grade 1 win against this bunch.

(8) UNBRIDLED WASSIE (KY) Owner: Pgpg Stables

Odds: 11/1 (Empire Maker x Alyacademy’s Cat G (Giant’s Causeway x Academy Award))

Unbridled Wassie started off his career on the dirt last season. He didn’t find a great deal of success there, so his connections switched him to the turf back in November, and voila! Here he is, running in his second ever grade 1 stakes race. He’s only got three career wins in 16 starts, but the three year old son of Empire Maker has quite a bit of early speed. Four starts ago, he finally broke the century mark in speed figures, and those triple digit speed figures just happen to coincide with his connections suddenly bringing him up in distance to ten furlongs. Last time out, he was third in the 10 furlong Grade 1 Osmonds Memorial in New Zealand. Take a look at that race (Race ID 4820.8914), if you have time. Unbridled Wassie got into a speed duel there, one with some scorching early fractions (1:08 and change for the six furlongs, and 1:31 and change for the mile). He kind of got sucked into that early speed duel, yet he had the lead on the far turn, before he faded in deep stretch to finish third against a pretty good bunch in that $1.5 million dollar race. There is definitely a lot of early speed here in the Grade 1 Eclipse, and Unbridled Wassie’s jockey is going to have to be really careful here not to get suckered into an early speed duel with some of these. If he can avoid that and sort of lay back, he might have enough to finish the deal here Saturday in Newmarket. He’s run career high 109 and 110 speed figures in his last two starts, which is definitely good enough to be in the top three here Saturday.

(9) STORMSLAYER (KY) Owner: Pogoracing @ Spirit O’Fife Stables (Est. 2562)

Odds: 7/2 (A.P. Indy x Tintoretta (Galileo (IRE) x Green Desert))

Here’s your favorite in the $1 million dollar Grade 1 Eclipse Stakes. The four year old son of A.P. Indy is a pretty interesting favorite here for a couple of reasons. First of all, he was claimed for $100,000 by his new connections back on Christmas Day of last year. Second of all, he’s never run in a graded stakes race in his life. He had only popped one triple digit speed figure race before he was claimed at the end of last year, but with his new connections, he’s run nothing but triple digit speed figures in all eight of his starts since then. He’s worked his way back up the open allowance level. He’s also won seven of his last eight starts with Pogoracing. His last three starts were in listed stakes, where he finished first twice and second once. He ran the two highest speed figures of his career (a couple of 111’s) in those last two races. Also, one thing you might want to note here is that his new connections really haven’t done much different with this horse (other than win most of his races). He just suddenly blossomed when he turned four. He hasn’t been run at 10 furlongs since Pogo Racing claimed him, so Saturday will be his first time at this distance since being claimed. Pretty interesting favorite here in Stormslayer, that’s for sure. He’s getting the outside post here Saturday, but that shouldn’t make much difference to Stormslayer, if he runs like he has his last two starts out.