Diverse Field Of Six Set For Gr. 1 Big Apple
The ability to run long distances, to display supreme strength, to show they have the stamina that it takes to go a mile and three quarters on the dirt for three minutes, a seemingly miniscule amount of time that sometimes seems an eternity for a horse race. That’s what it’s going to take here on the New York dirt course for one of these to win the $500,000 Big Apple Stakes this weekend. A field of six, including two young colts–and one horse who’s never run on the dirt before–will be trying to prove they’re better, stronger and faster than their competition in this marathon race for three year olds and up this weekend. This is only the third running of this race, and all of them will be trying to break the record of Stygiophobia, a long distance monster who set the stakes record in The Big Apple last season, when he ran this 14 furlongs in a time of 3:00 1/5. That’s a pretty tall order to fill. Your favorite here is Bullitt County. The odds makers have made the oldest horse in the race, a son of Afleet Alex, your 9/5 morning line choice. He’s been running some very superior speed figures here, compared to most of these, and the morning line guys say Bullitt County, at seven years old, still has what it takes to win a grade 1. He popped a 113 speed figure three starts back when he won the Grade 2 Grumpy Old Man Marathon, and two starts back, he popped a 110 when he came from far back to just miss in a second place finish in the Grade 3 Europe Stayer. He took a long layoff after that, and this second start after the layoff might make him the one to beat here. After that, you’ve got one of the younger horses in this race, Dyna Don’t You Blow, and turf specialist The Bodyguard, who are both listed at 7/2 by the morning line odds makers. Dyna Don’t You Blow was a major contender in the Triple Cown races this season. It’s the first time Dyna Don’t You Blow has gone this long, and for The Body Guard, it’s his first time ever on the dirt. It’ll be interesting to see what both of these do in this spot. After that, at 4/1, there’s Gaining Speed, a California-bred son of Momentum who comes from the stables of the 2011 Breeders’ Bowl Classic winner Twist Twist. Willyam13 sends his horse to New York this weekend to see if he has the stamina to run with this bunch. Also at 4/1 there’s a very interesting horse in here by the name of Alberta Awesome, who comes from Balata Golf Resort. All he’s done is finish first or second in all three of his graded starts in 2011, including a win in the Grade 2 Hamburg Hall in Germany last time out. And the long shot in this year’s Big Apple comes to us from Oklahoma. The other three year old in this race, Baptist Minister, is a young gun who’s testing the long waters again after a second place finish last time out in his first graded marathon distance start. His connections, Dixiedotco Racing, are well known around this game. Throw out the fact that this guy is 12/1. The fact that the prestigious Dixiedotco Racing even has this horse in this spot might just be the tip you need to cash a big ticket in this race this weekend. Dixiedotco doesn’t normally put their horses in spots they can’t win in, or at least do well in. Here is the field for the third running of the Grade 1 $500,000 Big Apple Stakes, at 14 furlongs on the dirt, this weekend in New York. (1) GAINING SPEED (CA) Owner: Willyam13 Stables (willyam41) Odds: 4/1 (Momentum x Roberto x Round Table) 5 YO Horse 2011 Graded Top 3 Finishes: Grade 1 Desert Stamina Cup (3rd); Grade 3 The TV Stakes (2nd). This is a pretty interesting horse that Willyam13 Stables (owner of Twist Twist, winner of the Breeders’ Bowl Classic) sends in here to New York this weekend. The five year old son of Momentum is very lightly raced coming in. With only 21 starts on his resume and six wins, the California-bred Gaining Speed really didn’t show very much as a two year old. But his connections have been extremely patient with Gaining Speed, allowing him to mature. He took a six month break in his three year old season, raced once, then went on another eight-month hiatus, before he really began to mature and pop some really nice speed figures…and winning races. From the time this horse started racing until he broke his maiden it was 19 months, but Willyam13 was extremely patient with Gaining Speed. And it really paid off big time early this season, back in April, when Gaining Speed was on the lead much of the way in the $500,000 14-furlong Desert Stamina Cup in the big races in the desert. It was Gaining Speed’s longest race up until then, and he really surprised there, when he finished third as a 10-1 long shot. If anyone thought that race was a fluke, Gaining Speed turned right around and backed it up when he shipped to Japan and bounced out to a big early lead in the 12 furlong Grade 3 TV Stakes, before he just got nipped at the wire by Vinfinity, a $2.1 million dollar earner. Those were two of Gaining Speed’s finest moments. He popped a career high 113 speed figure in that nose loss to Vinfinity. Since then, his speed figures have digressed a bit, but these connections are sharp enough to see their horse is the lone speed in a race pretty much filled with deep closers, and Willyam 13 is sharp enough to take advantage of that in this spot. Don’t discount Gaining Speed. He’s fast, and he knows how to win now. (2) DYNA DON’T YOU BLOW (KY) Owner: Teejay Racing Stables (panthers3) Odds: 7/2 (Dynaformer x Trails Of Lappland (Unbridled’s Song) 3 YO 2011 Graded Top 3 Finishes: Grade 1 California Derby (Lock Prep) (1st); Grade 1 Vermont Is 4 Lovers (1st); Grade 3 Silver Fence Derby (3rd). This is a pretty easy name to recognize. Remember the 2011 Derby Trail? Yes, this is THAT Dyna Don’t You Blow, who scorched a couple of fields in some big Bluegrass Derby preps early in the season. He won the Grade 1 Vermont Is 4 Lovers and the Grade 1 Derby Lock Prep, the California Derby, en route to the Triple Crown this season. One of two three year olds in this long dirt event this weekend, Dyna Don’t You Blow put forth some respectable runs in all three of the Triple Crown races, finishing sixth in the Bluegrass Derby, fifth in the Middle Jewel and fourth in the New Yorker. It was a pretty decent effort, that span of three races in five weeks for Dyna Don’t You Blow. But those races took a lot out of him, and they really didn’t leave a whole lot left in his tank for some of the fall classics he ran in, including the Breeders’ Bowl Classic last month. This is the first time Dyna Don’t You Blow will run longer than 10 furlongs, quite a big step up in distance for him, but the feeling here is that this horse was meant for these long distance events. His speed figures are right up there with most of these in this field, despite the fact they came in much shorter races. This 14 furlongs might be exactly what Dyna Don’t You Blow, a very deep closer, needs. He’s a horse you could very well see in next year’s Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Marathon, if he should happen to perform well here Saturday. This could be the kind of race that springboards him back onto the world stage in next year’s Breeders’ Bowl, should he take to these long distances like we think he will. It’s certainly a nice spot for this horse, who was definitely bred for stamina. And if he can even get a piece of these older, more experiences horses he’s running against here at 14 furlongs, you might see Dyna Don’t You Blow in more of these marathon type events next season. Don’t discount his chances totally in this spot. His pedigree more than makes up for his lack of experience at these distances. Another one to keep your eye on here, and one who could be very dangerous at these marathon events next season. (3) ALBERTA AWESOME (KY) Owner: Balata Golf Resort (bertaal) Odds: 4/1 (Awesome Again x Alberta Gold (Forty Niner) 5 YO Horse 2011 Graded Top 3 Finishes: Grade 2 Hamburg Hall (1st); Grade 3 The Jacksonville Jog (2nd); Grade 3 The Atlanta Cup (2nd). Alberta Awesome only has three starts this year (see above). He beat Bullitt County last time out, when he won the 14-furlong Grade 2 Hamburg Hall in Germany. The five year old son of Awesome Again laid about mid-pack in that race, and he simply was too much for the rest of that field, especially Bullitt County, who was coming off a long layoff and was too far off the early pace to be a serious factor in that race. Alberta Awesome was coming off a long layoff in that race, but that’s how Balata Golf Resort rolls with this horse. Rick’s given him about three months off between each of his starts this year, and he’s responded with two of the three highest speed figures of his career in his 2011 races. This guy showed a lot of early speed in that 16-furlong Grade 3 Jacksonville Jog Stakes, where he stalked the early leaders and wound up finishing second to Irius. He beat Stygiophobia in that race, who was one of the top ranked horses in this long dirt division at the time. Alberta Awesome might lay back a little farther in this one Saturday, considering it’s 14 furlongs, a distance he seems to like much better. The five year old son of Awesome Again won’t provide as much early speed as Bullitt County, a deep closer, might like him to provide here this weekend. Alberta Awesome’s awakening might have coincided with his only graded turf run, back in October of last year, where he was well beaten. Since then, he’s been an absolute beast at these long distance dirt events, finishing no worse than third in any of his five starts since last November. This might be one to keep your eye on in this spot. (4) BAPTIST MINISTER (OK) Owner: Dixiedotco Racing (dixiedotc2) Odds: 12/1 (Evansville Slew x Ordained (Pulpit) 3 YO Colt 2011 Grade Top 3 Finishes: Grade 2 Rocky Top Derby (2nd). Baptist Minister is the long shot in this race at 12/1. The three year old Oklahoma-bred son of Evansville Slew out of the Pulpit mare Ordained only has 14 starts under his belt, but don’t let his lack of experience fool you. In those 14 starts, he’s got 13 top three finishes. That’s right. He’s only been off the board once in his entire career. Last time out, he ran in his first graded event, finishing second in the Grade 2 Rocky Top Derby. He’s already got 13 starts this year as a three year old, and this will be only his second dirt try in his last six outings. Baptist Minister was doing super on the turf, and he was starting to pop those high 90 speed figures on that surface. Two starts back he popped his first 100 speed figure race. Then he went to the 16-furlong Grade 2 Rocky Top, where he ran the longest he’s ever run in his career. That was not a bad field he ran into there in Tennessee. And he did well to finish second in that six-horse field as the second longest shot. Granted, this is a big step up in class for the Oklahoma-bred from Dixiedotco. But this is a big time stable, with big time horses, and if these connections placed this horse in this race, there’s a reason. Look past the 12/1. This horse could be way better than that. (5) BULLITT COUNTY (KY) Owner: Fetti Stables (fetti50) Odds: 9/5 (Afleet Alex x Deputy Minister x Halo) 7 YO Horse. 2011 Graded Top 3 Finishes: Grade 2 Grumpy Old Man Marathon (1st); Grade 3 Europe Stayer (2nd). Bullitt County comes back to America fresh off his European tour, where he finished sixth in the 14-furlong Grade 2 Hamburg Hall and second in the Grade 3 14-furlong Europe Stayer. He came from out of the clouds in that Europe Stayer Stakes, to just miss at the wire, finishing second by ¾ of a length to Tempus Uno. In seven starts this year, Bullitt County threw only one sub-100 speed figure race, and that came in that Hamburg Hall race in Germany. He was coming off nearly a three-month layoff before that race, so he probably just used that as sort of a warm-up for this race Saturday, his first time racing in the states since July. It’s going to be pretty interesting to see how Bullitt County handles this start, since there are only five other horses in this field to chase down. He loves to run late, coming from 16-20 lengths off the pace in each of his last three starts. The only question here for the former $20,000 claimer is whether he’ll see enough early speed here on the front end, so that he can make his patented, late run. If he gets any of the other five horses to engage in a speed duel on the front end, he’ll definitely be one to keep your eye on when the horses turn for home. And you might just get to see that monster, late run he’s famous for. (6) THE BODYGUARD (KY) Owner: The Royalstables Of Ostend (woette4) Odds: 7/2 (English Channel x Sadler’s Wells x Lear Fan) 5 YO Horse 2011 Top 3 Graded Finishes: (BOTH TURF) Grade 2 The Nikki Show (1st); Grade 1 The Greatest Show On Turf (2nd). It’s hard to get a read on The Bodyguard, a five year old son of English Channel who is extremely accomplished on the turf. He’s run in some very big turf races, and he’s a multiple graded winner on the grass who’s earned over $1.4 million for his connections. But this weekend in New York will be the first time he’s ever been asked to run on the dirt. The Bodyguard has a great deal of back class, probably more than just about any horse in this race. But it’s all been on the turf, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how this extremely well-bred English Channel progeny will handle the dirt for the first time in what will be 32 career starts. He’s been, quite simply, a turf star. He finished second in the Grade 1 Greatest Show On Turf earlier this season, and just before that he won easily in the big Grade 2 Nikki Show Stakes. But can his turf success translate to the dirt? That’s the big question for The Bodyguard. The odds makers have placed a lot of faith in him, making him a 7/2 second co-favorite here. His hemare, the Sadler’s Wells progeny Cog House, won all five of his starts on the dirt, so despite the turfy pedigree, there is some history here with dirt success–and that might be enough to make his first dirt start a successful one. He’ll be breaking from the outside post here, but in a six-horse field, that shouldn’t make a big difference to The Bodyguard. With his deep-closing running style, breaking from the outside might actually be to his advantage in this spot. This might be a very interesting horse to watch on Saturday in New York, as he goes for not only his first graded win ever on dirt but also his first run of any type on that surface.