DPCD X Mumtaz Mahal Stakes
DPCD X Mumtaz Mahal Stakes
Fourpeat or trudge sadly into retirement?
So, a lot of you may wonder, “how did these DPCD races get their names?” More of you likely wonder, “who gives a damn?” But, just so you know, there is a method to the madness…
The two year old races, I tried to name them after two year old Eclipse Award Winners. You know, names like Eruption….Epiphany Too…..Mother Story…..Dancing Blade. The sprinters, that was tougher, since sprinters rarely win the two year old Eclipse. Super Gold did. Lever Sparky, Digging the Grave and Thxmsslew? Uh, no. But look- I was pressed for names, so I came up with historically great sprinters for the race names.
Races for older horse?. Easy. With the exception of the Delaware Mile and Penn Dash, the two original races on the DPCD card, and whose names will never be changed, it’s pretty easy to get a race named after your horse. Just send me 5000 credits, and we’ll make it happen.
Nah. Not really. The real story is, you win twice in the graded races for horses three and up on DPCD, and you get a race named in your honor. It’s that easy. Well, maybe not easy, but it can be done. How not easy? Well, out of some 200+ races, over 2000 entrants, it’s been done all of twice. Pretty exclusive company. Uh, not twice. I meant thrice. So why aren’t there three honorary names? Well, one horse is still running. When said horse retires, there’s a named race in waiting.
The two are fairly obvious. Devil’s Slide repeated in the formerly named Penn Distaff, and Allied Assault threepeated in the former Penn Marathon.
The third horse? Not so easy. Echo Pass didn’t repeat in any one race. She went out three times, and won three different graded stakes on DPCD. Yeah, she’s mine, but I still think it’s pretty cool, especially since I never specifically carded any race for her. She won the Thxmsslew at 2, the Lightning Ladies Sprint at 3 and the Mumtaz Mahal last year. Two dirt races, one turf race. Now, she tries to do something unlikely to ever be done on DPCD again- win a graded stakes race four years in a row. When she was two, the Thxmsslew was a Grade 1; ditto for the Lightning Ladies Sprint. After revamping the card last year, and downgrading a lot of the races, she won the G2 Mumtaz Mahal. Still, pretty spicy stuff.
All that said, she faces perhaps a much greater challenge than did Allied Assault in his quest for the threepeat. Father Time hasn’t been good to Echo Pass this year ,and her trainer (yours truly) has really mucked things up for her this year. That moron insisted on trying to beat the boys in Grade 1 Sprints. Got ‘em in a Grade 2, but it’s been all downhill, and quickly, after that. Unless the old legs can turn back the clock pretty quickly, the fourpeat is gonna be toast after about three furlongs tomorrow. But I can always hope, right?
The challenges are mountainous, but not impossible. Let’s have a look at who figures to blow the fourpeat to pieces.
TELLURIDE doesn’t figure to be the one to do the rotten nasty. Filly has yet to win a stakes race, and figures have been absolutely pedestrian. Top fig of 95 migh tbe good for 11th, since there’s at least one horse in here who’s actually more overmatched than is Telluride. But that’s OK- Telluride is a beautiful place. At least no one can take that from this filly, even as they rip her heart out and trample on it on the lawn tomorrow.
ECHO PASS looks to become the biggest winner in the history of DPCD tomorrow. At age 2, she ended the year as the #1 dirt filly sprinter. At age 3, she ended the year as the #1 ranked dirt three year old filly sprinter. At age 4, she ended the year as the top ranked older mare turf sprinter. At age 5, she’s ranked #4- and falling faster than a dead Russian satellite. Since spanking the boys in the G2 Cool Lightning Stakes, her first race after a rousing win in last season’s Mumtaz Mahal with a 115, she’s pretty much fallen apart. There have been a couple good efforts, but even those are becoming less and less common. She was trounced in listed company LTO with a fig that may have her battling Telluride for 11th place. That’s bad. What’s good? Well, at her best, she can beat anyone in this field. She’s faced Network News twice, and beaten her twice. She lost to Famous Peking Duck leading up to the Mumtaz Mahal last year, and avenged that loss on DPCD IX. Finally, each of her DPCD wins has been directly preceded by an ugly loss. OK, so I’m reaching. Can I catch a little break here? Besides, who wants to share a piece of Sim history with that hog Allied Assault? Not me. I want it all to myself!
SCREAMO is another formerly sharp filly who must be driving their trainer, in this case younggroup, absolutely insane. A year ago, she’s nearly unbeatable. Now, she’s nearly unbettable to even the drunkest guy at the track. Figs have been heading south faster than migratory birds, even worse than poor Echo Pass. Yes, ladies and gents, we may have found yet another who is racing to finish 11th! Does ANYBODY want to win this stinkin’ race?
DEAD CITY may actually want to win it. This four year old is really hitting her best stride coming here. Carefully handled by the astute Given, she’s been brought along slowly, and just missed in her graded debut LTO. Figs are getting better with almost every race, and she looks to have a big shot. There are, however, two potential flies in the ointment- she seems to prefer longer sprints, and Given, despite all his successes, largely blows huge chunks come DPCD. He managed to win a couple last year, but before that, he was way, way below Pye’s “Sim Mendoza Line” on DPCD. Was last year a fluke, or a sign of change? We’ll see.
Next up is ESTERHAZY CASTLE, and a pattern seems to be developing here (and no, it’s not the bizzaro spacing that’s coming in before my eyes, which I seem to have zero control over). Of the five horses we’ve looked at so far, this is the third with Giant’s Causeway in the pedigree. Nice prop for the Coolmore Giant. She’s been up and down, but clearly seems better suited to shorter sprints, so the 5.5f today may just fit her like a nice glove. On the other hand, if she gets left at the gate by some of the speedier types in here, that glove may look remarkably similar to the infamous OJ glove at the first “Trial of the Century.”
Now, the font size is going berserk on me. I really have no clue what’s happened to my computer now. It’s like it’s been possessed by the ghost of Stoners or something. Anyways, FAMOUS PEKING DUCK again looks to be in with a solid shot. Recent back to back winner of the prestigious G1 Fujimoto Turf Sprint, she’s in the best form of her career, and hasn’t been off the board in her last five. During that skein, she’s run some big numbers, and her frontrunning style should suit her fairly well in here. She’s live, unless she gets swallowed whole like she did in last year’s Mumtaz Mahal. That said, she’s looking for redemption, and is in with a superb chance.
While the four year old Screamo and the five year old Echo Pass look to have gigantic forks stuck in their bodies, the six year old FIT TO ROMP just keeps on rolling after 46 starts. Her best races in the past year have been her last two¸ and she’s suddenly become relevant in Graded stakes races again. Looks like desimster5 has uncovered the fountain of youth for this gal. She prefers to close, and that seems to spell trouble in these shorter sprints. She never got untracked in last year’s Mumtaz Mahal, and finished somewhere around Telluride-literally. Looks for a different result today, and it HAS to be better.
Once again,the spirits have nabbed the cpu, and the spacing has magically flipped back to where it was at the beginning of this article. Just know, I’m not drinking, and I still have no control over this. Speaking of control, that’s pretty much what GRENDEL’S SONG has been in for her last streak of turf sprints. Lightly raced four year old has suddenly come to hand and is quickly putting up faster and faster numbers. Dead closer has shown ability in short sprints, having won a stakes at 6f. This is, however, her first try in Graded ranks, and she hasn’t been utterly dominant in listed events. Nonetheless, she looks plenty ready to make the jump. Will encounter traffic issues, and probably has to hope a couple of the others in here don’t run outof their skin to have a legit shot.
WHAT GOES UP is a strange case. Three year old filly by Newton (yes, Newton, not Newman) has never been off the board in sprints, but puts up much, much better numbers routing, where she’s a tepid 1 for 6. So, after five straight efforts at eight panels and up, one of which resulted in a Graded win and another that saw her pop a lifetime best, the LOGICAL step is to turn back to a Grade 1 sprint. Right? Right? Any takers on that maneuver? Count me as puzzled, but stranger things have happened- like that horse that won the Bluegrass Derby a couple years back and hasn’t won since. Yeah, that’s right, I can’t even remember his name, and frankly, I don’t want to. Nice horse here, but I just get so bamboozled trying to figure out why she’s in this race, I can’t even think straight anymore. Now, of course, she’ll go out and win by about 10 lengths, which will prompt Lenny to quit the game for the umpteenth time in frustration.
Speaking of Lenny, here’s his newest, shiniest beast- NETWORK NEWS. This filly is so smoking hot, she has to have a fire truck follow her around the track. Second against the boys in the BB Turf Sprint where she ran an ungodly 117, she came right back to take down the boys (again) in the G1 King Kong Sprint. Yes, I said AGAIN. She’s beaten the boys three times this year alone, in a G3, a G2 and a Grade 1 now, and if not for an otherworldly effort in the BB by Shickendanz (by the way, where the hell is HE today?) she’d actually be riding a FOUR race win streak against colts. How’s that? Well, for me at least, it means she better get some sort of consideration for an Eclipse, or Lenny may quit (again). Actually, I’m kinda pissed with Lenny. He could have gone to the Penn Dash with Network News. He could have sat out, since the King Kong was only two weeks ago. But no, the greedy SOB has to come here and try and spoil Echo’s chance at history. Despite never having defeated Echo Pass in two tries, it looks like form, luck, speed, class, looks, size, weight, everything is in his favor this time. Swear to God, he noses Echo at the wire, we’re gonna hunt him down and take that huge Polish frame of his and make sausage out of him. FREE KIELBASA FOR EVERYONE FOR A YEAR, BABY!
CUERVO GOLD isn’t just tequila. It’s actually a very sharp four year old filly by Curlin. A lightly raced winner of half of her 18starts, Cuervo Gold is one of those who will only do what she has to do to win. She has to run a 110, no problem. Faces hogs and needs to trot home with a lousy fig, no problem. What she does consistently well is win. She’s six for her last eight¸ and hasn’t been off the board in any of those races. She’s a speedster who’s won at short and long sprints. She just kinda goes out there and thumbs her nose at her opponents and never lets them get by her. Problem here is, she’ll likely unknowingly set it up for a closer like Network News today. If she can give that one the thumb, she gets all the credit. Finally, who the hell is dpcd1? A stable named for this day? Oh, the humanity if this one wins. Has to be one of those louses from DelPenn.
OK, the cpu is now blinking on and off furiously, so this article is about to disappear, so I gotta finish fast.Which should be easy, since there’s nothing good to say about LOSE THE DOLLAR. Four for 24 lifetime, with a top career fig of 96- while getting killed. I have no idea why this one is here, except perhaps to prevent Telluride from finishing last. I thought Mike ended the 10bp’s you used to see George W. Loser get for getting murdered in Grade 1 races a couple years back? Ahh, I don’t know. Maybe Obama forced him to reinstate that BS bonus. I dunno. Sometimes, I just don’t get it.
And there you have it. Even though he’s stunk to high heaven on DPCD in the past, this looks like Lenny’s race with Network News. Even on short rest, even with the knowledge that she’s never defeated Echo Pass, it still looks like it’s hers to lose. She better win, or Lenny might just quit (again).
I’ve had a lot of fun with this, and I hope all of you realize the vast majority is with tongue planted squarely in my cheek. Except for the part of wanting Echo Pass to win. Badly.
Enjoy DPCD, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
Yeaaaaahhhhhh….the cpu made it to the end!