{"id":10348,"date":"2012-07-19T23:08:30","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T23:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=10348"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=10348","title":{"rendered":"Small But Qaulity-Laden Field For Gr. 2 Dancing North"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dancing North Cup<\/STRONG><\/P>


Grade II <\/P>


Distance:<\/STRONG>\u00a0 A mile and one half, Or 12 Furlongs, or About 2,400 Metres
Surface:<\/STRONG>\u00a0 Firm Turf
Purse:<\/STRONG>\u00a0 $600,000 ($360,000 To The Winner)
Conditions:<\/STRONG>\u00a0 All horses, 3 years old and up<\/P>

Stakes Record:<\/STRONG> 2:29 2\/5 (2009) <\/P>

Winter Quest (Owned by Knightmare Stables)<\/STRONG><\/P>

************************************************************<\/P>

A field of six will contend for some big money up in Canada this weekend, and despite the short field, it is a Dancing North Cup field that is definitely not lacking in quality.<\/P>

The odds makers say this race is pretty tightly bunched field. with the longest shots in the field being a couple of horses at 6\/1, Vertical Impact and Myth Or Magic.<\/P>

But your morning line favorite here at 2\/1 is the only Irish-bred in the race, Famous Landmark, a four year old son of Teofilo, who also happens to be one of three four year olds in this field. <\/P>

It’s actually a very interesting race, this $600,000 Grade 2 Dancing North Cup in Ontario this weekend. There’s no question that all of these can get the distance, that much is certain. There’s a ton of stamina in this race, and a few of these even have some early speed.<\/P>

You also have a\u00a0horse here who has been bouncing back and forth between the turf and the dirt, and he could have a huge impact on this race.\u00a0 It’ll be really interesting to see which of these older horses going the 12 furlongs on the firm Ontario turf shakes loose and separates themselves from the rest of the pack here in Canada this weekend. <\/P>

( 1 ) NEW VEGAS (KY)<\/STRONG>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:<\/STRONG> The Evil Empire<\/P>

Odds:<\/STRONG> 3\/1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Medaglia D’Oro x Fallout Shelter (Ghostzapper))<\/P>

Career Record:<\/STRONG> 18 6-4-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Career Earnings:<\/STRONG> $491,779<\/P>

New Vegas comes in here with only 18 career starts, and along with the morning line favorite Famous Landmark, he is one of two four year olds in this race. The son of Medaglia D\u00a1\u00afOro started off his career as a late two year old in pretty mediocre fashion. He didn\u00a1\u00aft win a race his first five starts, and he had barely popped an 80 speed figure during that streak. Then, suddenly, a little over a year ago, the lights came on for New Vegas. He was racing in a MSW in Connecticut in April of last season, and he absolutely blistered that field with a 94 speed figure in romping to an easy win in that spot. That race also happened to coincide with his connections’ decision to bring him up in distance to 11 furlongs for the first time in his career. In his 13 starts since that maiden-breaking win last April, New Vegas has managed to finish in the top three in every race since except three– and two of those were in big graded stakes, the Grade 1 Vicky Derby in October of last season and the Grade 1 South Australian Cup this season. In both of those races, he still picked up a fifth place check, so New Vegas has been a pretty consistent earner for Lenny and The Evil Empire. He comes in here off a very impressive second place finish in the $500,000 Grade 1 Milan Grand Prix about five weeks ago, a race where he was gaining ground late at the end. New Vegas has thrown triple digit speed figures in seven of his last eight starts, and he has been campaigned pretty shrewdly by Lenny, who gave his horse a very long break over the winter to recharge his batteries. He might be a horse who really is just getting warmed up this season. Draw a line through that fifth place finish in the Grade 1 South Australian Cup three starts back. That race was 16 furlongs, and it was packed with no less than six older horses who had won a million dollars or more in their careers. The five times New Vegas has run 12 furlongs–the distance he’ll be seeing this weekend–he’s finished either first or second. His hemare, Fallout Shelter, was a four-time graded winner at about this 12-furlong distance, so this apple didn’t fall far from the tree. And that’s the thing you need to know about this horse. He loves this 12 furlongs, and this just might be the spot in which he captures his second graded win of his career.<\/P>

( 2 ) MYTH OR MAGIC (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/STRONG>\u00a0Owner:<\/STRONG> Mucha Stables<\/P>

Odds:<\/STRONG> 3\/1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Dynaformer x Magical Mia (Giant’s Causeway))<\/P>

Career Record:<\/STRONG> 26 10-4-4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Career Earnings:<\/STRONG> $529,851<\/P>

If you think New Vegas has some pretty regal blood, take a look at Myth Or Magic. He’s a five year old son of Dynaformer who is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Magical Mia. All Magical Mia did in her career was win a little over $3,000,000, capture wins in 22 of her 42 career starts and snag seven–count ’em–seven graded wins, including a win in the 2007 Breeders’ Bowl Distaff. Myth Or Magic broke his maiden in his two year old debut, but it wouldn’t be until a year later (in August of 2010) before he would get his second win. That second win of his career would be the first time he would pop anything higher than an 100 speed figure.\u00a0Like New Vegas, his second win also coincided with his first trip at ten furlongs or more. Myth Or Magic has been amazingly consistent since that second win of his career just about two years ago. Myth Or Magic has 18 starts since his second win, and he’s only finished out of the top three four times. Want another close coincidence? Myth Or Magic has only run the 12 furlongs he’ll be seeing this weekend four times in his career, close to what New Vegas has run, and he has won two of those and finished third in another one, at this distance. It’s been a while since Myth Or Magic has run 12 furlongs, however. The last time he saw this distance was in February of 2011. He has been running in mostly 16 furlong races since then, two of them graded wins (the Grade 3 Royal Oak and the Grade 3 BBR Special). He comes in here off a win in a 14-furlong listed stakes in Victoria last time out. So he’s taking quite a drop in distance here in the Grade 2 Dancing North. That’s the big question for Myth Or Magic. How will he handle the drop in distance this weekend after running so many marathon-type races for over a year? This colt has the breeding, and the back class, to run with this bunch. That much is certain. <\/P>

( 3 ) VERTICAL IMPACT (JPN)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:<\/STRONG> Tazdevil Stables<\/P>

Odds:<\/STRONG> 6\/1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Deep Impact x Learing Into Time (Forty Niner))<\/P>

Career Record:<\/STRONG> 22 3-6-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Career Earnings:<\/STRONG> $148,565<\/P>

Vertical Impact is a four year old son of Deep Impact out of the Forty Niner mare Learing Into Time. Vertical Impact is one of the two long shots (if you call 6\/1 a long shot) in this field. He doesn’t have quite the speed figures that most of these have coming in here. But look at the competition that Vertical Impact has been running against his last few starts. In four of his last five starts, he has run into quite a few monsters in the Grade 1 Allied Assault on Del-Penn Champions Day, the Grade 1 Ackland Cup, the Grade 2 Cold Plate in Germany, and the Grade 1 Movieland Turf Cup in California. It’s ironic, but you wouldn’t be far off the mark if you said that Vertical Impact was actually getting a little class relief running here in a grade 2, $600,000 race this weekend. This guy has really been up against it, in terms of competition, in four of his last five starts. He does have one listed stakes win in those last five tries, and that was in a 16-furlong race. He romped to a five-length win in the 16-furlong Drop In The Fields Turf Stayer in Virginia. So he’s got the stamina to run with this bunch. Vertical Impact placed in one graded stakes race in his career so far, and that was in the 11-furlong Grade 3 Enter Early And Often Special in Deauville in November of last season. That second place finish in Deauville also happened to be a career high in the speed figure department for Vertical Impact (108). He has been aggressively campaigned since then, and that might be a good thing for Vertical Impact. He’s seen better fields than this in his last few starts, and he might just be ready to pop a big race here, despite his long shot status. Watch Vertical Impact late here. He’s pretty versatile in terms of running style. He can lay close to the early leaders or he can come from way off the pace. It really doesn’t matter to this Japanese-bred colt. He might be one to include in some of your exotic tickets. I like the fact that he’s dropping into this spot off some pretty tough races. He might be one to keep your eye on this weekend.<\/P>

( 4 ) MAJORITY (JPN)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:<\/STRONG> Tees Stables <\/P>

Odds:<\/STRONG> 6\/1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Daiwa Major x Zabeel x In The Wings)<\/P>

Career Record:<\/STRONG> 25 7-5-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Career Earnings:<\/STRONG> $152,742 <\/P>

Majority is a pretty interesting entry here for Tees Stables. He’s the only one of this bunch who hasn’t run in a stakes of any kind, listed or graded. So, basically, the five year old son of Daiwa Major gets the tag “Unknown Quantity” coming in here. With no stakes races of any kind to compare, it’s hard to say what he’ll do against this field in Canada this weekend. What we can tell you is that he’s coming off a career high 105 speed figure effort in a 14-furlong allowance win in Denmark in his last start. That was only the third time in 25 career starts that he has busted the century mark in speed figures. He’s only got four starts at this 12-furlong distance, and he’s got a couple of second place finishes to show for it. In one of those, a $46,000NW4x race in Berkshire back on Christmas Eve of last season, Majority stormed to a 9-plus length lead at the third call and looked like he was going to run away with the race, before he was caught late. He finished second there. This colt has a ton of early speed, if his past performance charts are any indication. Look at what he’s done in his seven career wins. He’s won in gate-to-wire fashion in six of those seven wins. Majority is used to opening up big leads on fields and playing catch-me-if-you-can. That might be exactly what he’ll try to do this weekend, and those tactics could throw a big wrench into the way a lot of these horses like to run. Someone is going to have to run with Majority early, or this colt, with his up-tempo style, could very easily steal this race on the front end. And that would be a stunning development, to see him capture his first graded win ever in his first graded try. The rest of the field probably should respect the speed of this son of Daiwa Major. When you watch replays of his seven career wins, and you see that in six of them he opened up big leads and held on to win, you’ve got to believe his connections are going to play the percentages and try to do the same thing here in Canada this weekend.<\/P>

( 5 ) TROOPER DOOP (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Owner:<\/STRONG> Claim2Win Stables<\/P>

Odds:<\/STRONG> 5\/1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0(Street Cry x Kate’s Point (Seeking The Gold))<\/P>

Career Record:<\/STRONG> 13 7-4-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Career Earnings:<\/STRONG> $207,825<\/P>

Unlike most of these, Trooper Doop didn’t start running until he was a late three year old, and he has 13 career starts under his belt. Not much experience here, and he’s only got one graded stakes try under his belt. But look at his 13 career starts. The four year old son of Street Cry has won 7 of those 13 starts, and he’s finished second or third five other times. That means he’s only been out of the top three only once in his career. How consistent is that? Very. But that one race where he didn’t happen to finish in the top three came three starts back, when he ran a very decent fourth in the 10.5 furlong Grade 3 Loxley Stakes in Berkshire on the turf. He’s only run longer than that once in his career, and that was early on when he finished a late-gaining third in a NW3L allowance race in Denmark. Since that run in the Grade 3 Loxley, Trooper Doop has turned back to the dirt, where he comes off two consecutive wins. He won a 7.5 furlong dirt sprint just two weeks after he ran in the Loxley Stakes, and then last time out he won a 10.5 furlong listed stakes on the dirt in Norway. Both of those dirt efforts came on tracks listed as sloppy. This guy is pretty versatile, as far as surface conditions go. He can run on the turf, he can run on the dirt, he can run on good tracks, and he can run on sloppy tracks. Trooper Doop can run well on just about anything you throw him on. One thing you might notice, if you look at his past performance charts, is that he gains a lot of ground late in his races, so I don’t believe the 12 furlongs will be a real big deal for him in this spot. He should be able to handle the distance quite easily. There is one concern, and that might be that Trooper Doop’s only got four turf starts under his belt. But even then, when he ran 13 furlongs on the turf a while back, he was gaining late in that race. This colt seems to be begging for more distance, and he’s definitely going to get that here in Canada this weekend. Can he handle the caliber of competition this field has to offer? That’s the big question. He acquitted himself well in the Grade 3 Loxley, so there doesn’t seem to be much to be concerned about when you consider this is only his second graded start. He might be another “long shot” to keep your eye on here in the Grade 2 Dancing North Cup this weekend.<\/P>

( 6 ) FAMOUS LANDMARK (IRE)<\/STRONG>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:<\/STRONG> Marabou Stables <\/P>

Odds:<\/STRONG> 2\/1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0(Teofilo x The Monument (Montjeu))<\/P>

Career Record:<\/STRONG> 17 5-4-3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Career Earnings:<\/STRONG> $187,520<\/P>

Famous Landmark is the morning line favorite here in the Grade 2 Dancing North Cup this weekend. And it’s easy to see why. He’s got the highest speed figure of this field in his recent past performances–by far. Two starts back, he ran a smoking hot 115 speed figure in a near miss in the 12-furlong Grade 3 Honey Do in Paris two starts back. He broke out of the gates sharply in that race and he led the whole way, opening up a 5 + length lead on the rest of the field before being caught late by the eventual winner, Gatewaytothewest. In that race, Famous Landmark beat a couple of pretty nice horses in Skunkjeureyev and Endzweck, both million-dollar plus earners. Famous Landmark was only beaten a\u00a01\/4 of a length in that spot, and if this four year old son of Teofilo runs anything close to that speed figure, he could very well run away with this Grade 2 Dancing North. He’s lightly raced, with only 17 career starts, and he’s either won or been in the money in 12 of those. When he gets a lot of rest, he usually runs like a bat out of hell, and he’s coming in here off six weeks’ rest. That should be a big concern–for the rest of the field. Famous Landmark can show a lot of early speed, and that’s probably what he’ll do here. The long shot, Majority, will probably be neck and neck early on with Famous Landmark, as those two seem to have the most early speed, but if Famous Landmark doesn’t let himself get caught up in some seriously fast early fractions, he should have enough to hold on at the end and win comfortably. Draw a line through his last start. You can toss that fourth place finish in that 14-furlong listed stakes last time out. Fourteen furlongs was just way too long for him, no matter who he was running against. Famous Landmark seems much better suited to this 12 furlongs he’ll see here in Canada this weekend. He has run against at least one of these he’ll see this weekend once before, and that was in the Grade 3 Enter Early And Often Special back in November of last season. Vertical Impact ran second and Famous Landmark was a well-beaten seventh. It’s hard to say what happened to Famous Landmark there. I must have watched that race 15 times, and for the life of me, that seventh place finish is inexplicable. Famous Landmark was coming into that race very well rested, just off a very easy allowance win. But it was his first graded stakes try. And the allowance win the race before that was 14 furlongs, so maybe he over-extended himself in that effort. Anyway, whatever the case, Famous Landmark has matured a lot since then, and he looks like the one to beat here in Canada this weekend.<\/P><\/SPAN><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Famous Landmark Fav In Ontario This Weekend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"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-10348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10348","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\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}