Race:<\/b> The Coventry Stakes (G2)
ID:<\/b> 5079.3311
Track:<\/b> Berkshire, England
Restrictions:<\/b> All horses, 2 years old
Distance:<\/b> Six furlongs on the Turf
There will be a day packed with major racing this weekend in Berkshire, with six Group races on the card for Saturday. The eleventh race on the card for the weekend, and the third group race of the day will be The Coventry Stakes, a Group 2 race over six furlongs on the turf for two year olds. The best two-year-olds in the region will line up for the prestigious race, but the possibly of rain over the course of the week has scared some of the likely contenders away and the race has drawn a total of\u00a0eight\u00a0horses this year; let\u2019s take a look at the field.
1. Forever Cursed (IRE)<\/b> – (Montjeu (IRE) x Curlin x A.P. Indy) – tpacer<\/i> of Tpacer Stables – M. Day – 3\/1
The first offspring out of graded race mare Dark Intent, the bay colt is making his third career start this weekend, and the connections hope that the Irish-bred colt will rebound off his latest efforts and cross the wire in first. The Montjeu (IRE)-sired colt made his debut race at six furlongs in Denmark. Breaking on the lead out of the gate, the colt was uncontested throughout and won his maiden race by three-quarters of a length. His most recent start was in Surrey, England during the Redoute\u2019s Son Turf Juvenile, a listed stakes race at six furlongs. Again breaking on the lead, the colt maintained this position until he was challenged in the stretch and nipped at the wire, loosing in a heartbreaking photo finish by a nose. He is a contender though, setting a speed figure of eighty in this race. This weekend the colt willy likely try to contend for the lead with Japanese colt Hypotanoose (JPN)<\/b>, possibly setting the race up in an early speed duel.
2. Tex Kat<\/b> (Kitten\u2019s Joy x Broad Brush x Nijinsky II) – texasace<\/i> of Livestrong Racing – R. Williams – 5\/2
One of the heavier raced horses in the field, the light gray colt will be making his fourth trip to the starting gate in The Coventry Stakes this weekend. Bred in Kentucky, this will be the colts first trip out of Pennsylvania in his three-race career. The first of these races came over five and a half furlongs in the 2012 DelPenn Futurity — Owner Restricted maiden special weight. The colt broke on the lead out of the gate that day, but would fade to second at the wire. The second out for the colt was met with better results as the light gray colt was able to wire the six furlong maiden race and win by a head while putting up his best speed figure to date, a blistering eighty-seven. The most recent start for the colt was the Once Haunted Turf Juvenile at five furlongs. Again, at the shorter distance, the colt went to the lead but faltered at the stretch, finishing second. He will be back to six furlongs in The Coventry, and he looks to be a serious threat to the win as well if this six furlong race is anything like his previous one.
3. Hot And Wild<\/b> – (Unusual Heat x Machiavellian x Wild Again) – kroth4<\/i> of Worldwide – J. Wesselman – 9\/1
Another colt with three races under his belt, the bay under the black and white silks will be making just his second start over the turf. Beginning his career on the dirt in the United States, this is the first time the colt will venture outside of North America to race. The maiden debut for the colt came at five and a half furlongs in Minnesota. Breaking far off the pace at the start, the colt settled into the back of the pack. Prior to coming into the stretch the colt began to make up ground but would finish three and a quarter lengths off the pace in fifth at the wire. His next start, The Testbarn Special Restricted at five furlongs would have the colt in much the same running style but coming home to win the race by half a length. Despite turning in a speed figure of seventy-two in this race, the connections of the colt decided to give him his most recent race over the turf in Mexico in a five and a half furlong allowance race. The colt was closer to the pace in this race, lurking back in mid-pack, before gradually moving up before coming into the stretch to win by a length and a quarter. This Saturday will be the colts first attempt at six furlongs, but with his come-from-behind style, this shouldn\u2019t factor in as a possible problem for the colt.
4. Walkin\u2019 Dead (JPN)<\/b> – (Special Week x Testa Rossa (AUS) x Mr. Prospector) – foals2012<\/i> of Smokeglack Stables – P. Harzheim – 7\/1
The\u00a0first\u00a0of\u00a0two\u00a0Japanese horses in the field this week, and a real threat to the other runners, the chestnut colt has made two lifetime starts and is coming off of a win going into this race. Out of the stakes winning dam Angry Naamah (AUS), the colt is the second stakes winner for the mare, and is looking to surpass his sibling by becoming her first graded winner this weekend. This four-year-old half sister, only managed to attain graded placed status. The colts first start was in the MSW-URC Hopes and Dreams Plate — Owner Restricted race in New South Wales, Australia. The colt, breaking just out of the gate in second, held this position until he gained the lead for a short period just before going into the stretch. The chestnut wouldn\u2019t be able to maintain this lad however, as he would slide back to third at the finish. Late April saw the colts last start, the Starke Hulk Turf Juvenile, a listed stakes race at five furlongs in Germany. Breaking back slightly further off the pace in this race, the colt again made his move pre-stretch, but was able to maintain his charge against other horses to win by a quarter of a length with an easy speed figure of sixty eight.
5. Hypotanoose (JPN)<\/b> – (Johannesburg x Street Cry (IRE) x Danehill Dancer (IRE)) – megablaze2<\/i> of Megablaze 2 Stables – J. Ackland – 5\/1
This Japanese-bred colt is one of two of the most accredited two-year-olds in the field. The brown colt, out of the mare Ten Block Radius, is the first stakes winning offspring of the mare and is so far undefeated in his two career starts. The colt made his debut in Sweden at six furlongs in April. The colt, breaking cleanly from the gate, went straight to the lead at the start. Though he ultimately lost ground, the colt managed to hold on to the win by a quarter of a length. In his most recent start, this in the Redoute\u2019s Son Turf Juvenile, a six furlong listed turf race in Surrey, England, the colt broke just off the pace in second. Held behind the pacesetter, the colt wasn\u2019t urged forward to challenge the leader until they came down the stretch. The colt would win narrowly by a nose a the wire, though recording an impressive speed figure of eighty. The colt will be a likely pacesetter to this weekends race, or he could possibly settle just off the leader.
6. Listo Y Mas<\/b> – (More Than Ready x Manila x Capote) – guirero<\/i> of Ivan y Juan Racing Complex – D. Grohl – 5\/1
Making just his second career start this weekend in The Coventry Stakes (G2), the brown colt is coming off of a win in his sole race in a maiden special in Newmarket, England at seven and a half furlongs. The colt burst out of the gate on the lead in the race and ran away from the field, winning by an impressive three lengths and setting a speed figure of eighty-three. As impressive as this race was, the colt will be cut back in distance on Saturday, in addition to facing stiffer competition in a graded field. However, the colt is a promising prospect, and will add yet more speed to this already speed-filled race.
7. Paparazzi Dream (IRE)<\/b> – (Pientre Celebre (IRE) x Starcraft (NZ) x Silver Deputy) – marineboy1<\/i> of Broohar Stables – L. Larson – 8\/1
Under the red and white silks of Broohar Stables, the bay colt will be going into gate seven. Out of the stakes winning New Zealand bred mare Born To Be A Starr (NZ), this colt will be going into the race off of a win and will be looking to be the mare\u2019s second offspring to enter stakes level. The colt made his debut at six furlongs in British Columbia, Canada, where be broke mid-pack and progressed fairly well in the race, but only came home to finish fourth. After decreasing the distance by a furlong the colt finished second and finally won in his last start at six furlongs. To date, all of the colts races have come in British Columbia, so the horse will have to adjust to a new track this weekend, as well as a step up on competition. He will likely be placed towards the middle of the pack at the break, likely making his move just before they come into the stretch.
8. Coach Bombay<\/b> – (Courageous Cat x Deep Impact x Kris S.) – ccbruno<\/i> of Ccbruno Stables – P. Perren – 10\/1
The last horse to go into the gate this weekend will be a filly. The first offspring out of Japanese-bred mare Kowloon City (JPN), she has made three starts so far in her career. The filly didn\u2019t do overly well in her first two starts, but she lit up the board in her most recent start. In her debut race at five and a half furlongs in Ireland, the chestnut filly broke mid-pack and didn\u2019t overly progress much in the race, coming home to finish sixth with a speed figure of fifty-eight. In her next start she faired slightly better as she came home for fourth in a six furlong race in Italy. However, in the fillies most recent start in a six furlong maiden back in Ireland, she broke near the lead and took over control of the race before the field entered the stretch, going on to win by a length and a quarter with a speed figure of eighty. Of note, this race was on the good turf, leaving some to question if this filly is perhaps good only on an off track, which is something we will not be seeing on Saturday.
Flrancho\u2019s Picks<\/u><\/b>
Win:<\/b> Hypotanoose (JPN)
Place: <\/b> Tex Kat
Show:<\/b> Forever Cursed (IRE)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Track Fast Despite Rain Concerns; Race Looks to be Close<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}