{"id":10605,"date":"2013-03-28T20:56:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-28T20:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=10605"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=10605","title":{"rendered":"Sand Castle Classic: Dancing In The (Slightly) Wet Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Weeks ago, when a 75 percent chance of rain was forecast for the big dances in the Dubai desert this weekend, Derbyfever trainers were starting to prep their mudders and off-track turf horses to spring some huge upsets in the 2013 Dubai spring carnival of racing.<\/p>\n

But with the turf course condition forecast to be good and the dirt course condition also listed as good, the weather may not play as big a part in the outcomes of the races this weekend as some thought it originally would play.<\/p>\n

With $6,000,000 on the line in the Sand Castle Classic for the 10-furlong dirt horses, there are some pretty surprising–and pretty terrific–entries in the biggest of the big money races this weekend in Dubai.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 2013 Sand Castle Classic has drawn a full field of 14, which is no surprise, and 11 of those 14 are grade 1 winners, again no surprise there. <\/p>\n

But there are some surprises in this field of 14 in that there are a few horses in here, including the 5\/1 morning line favorite Pretty Fly, that are not exactly household names.<\/p>\n

Pretty Fly has drawn the rail, and he\u2019s got some pretty legitimate early speed. And, that rail and the number 1 barrier that Pretty Fly is going to launch his run from could make all the difference in the world for his chances this weekend. <\/p>\n

There are, indeed, some big names in here, like 2012 Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic winner Too Many Larry, who is here to defend his 2012 Sand Castle Classic crown this weekend. He\u2018s here with 2012 Bluegrass Derby winner Ras El Hanout, who\u2019s looking to shake off the Triple Crown hangover from his grueling 2012 schedule. <\/p>\n

And, there\u2019s Twist Twist, who won the 2011 Breeders\u2019 Bowl winner. He\u2019s here, too, along with Skitzoid, who\u2019s got nearly $2.5 million in earnings in only 17 career starts.<\/p>\n

But, along with those big names, there are others, like Pretty Fly, that you may not have heard very much of before this year\u2018s Sand Castle Classic field was drawn. <\/p>\n

Most prominent among those relative unknowns who are looking to make their mark here in the desert and possibly springboard their way to huge seasons in 2013 are Settle For Satin, a lightly raced five year old colt from the Supertaffy Stables. He\u2019s a four year old colt who no one seems to have heard of, and he\u2019s got a huge shot in Dubai this weekend. Supertaffy\u2019s managed to keep this one pretty much under wraps so far, but all that could change this weekend, if the chips fall his way on the Dubai dirt course. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also Split Second, who really started to make his mark in Grade 1 company in the second half of 2012, but he\u2019s also lightly raced and looking to make a name for himself in Dubai this weekend. He finished second to Too Many Larry in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic in 2012, and it looks like Psyduck might be looking to cash in some chips of his own with this colt who has drawn the 14 barrier in the Sand Castle Classic this weekend.<\/p>\n

Lucky Prayer, from the Kevoman Stables, also is another who you may not have heard a whole lot about, but he looks poised to strike it rich in Dubai this weekend, as he enters the race off back-to-back 114 speed figure races.<\/p>\n

Here is the field for the $6,000,000 Sand Castle Classic on the Dubai dirt course, at a distance of ten furlongs, for four year olds and up.<\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0 PRETTY FLY \u00a0 (KY) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Sweet16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 5\/1<\/p>\n

(Medaglia D\u2019Oro x Rock Hard Ten x Bold Hour)<\/p>\n

Career Record: 19 9-6-1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $699,090<\/p>\n

If you want to talk about horses who have flown under the radar coming in here, Pretty Fly fits that category to a \u201cT\u201d. He also fits extremely well in the \u201cWhat Have You Done For Me Lately?\u201d category. The five year old son of Medaglia D\u2019Oro, who also has Rock Hard Ten and Bold Hour in his scratch-bred pedigree, has won seven of his last eight starts coming in here. And despite the fact that he\u2019s only got three graded starts in his 19 career starts, he\u2019s been throwing around some pretty blistering speed figures of late. Check out his past performances. He\u2019s thrown speed figures of 113, 115, 116, 121, 116 and 116 in his last six starts. His only defeat in his last eight starts came last October, when he was nipped by \u00bc of a length in the Grade 2 Hoffa Cup in New Jersey by a pretty darned nice colt who goes by the name of Prenzlauerberg. If it weren\u2019t for that loss, Pretty Fly would come in here riding an eight-race winning streak. He threw a 121 speed figure in winning the Grade 3 Stubborn Pheasant three starts back, and all that Pretty Fly did last time out was beat quite a few of these he\u2019ll be facing this weekend, when he scored a gate-to-wire win in the Grade 1 Glenn Falls Handicap. In his last six starts, he has led at every call of every race he\u2019s run in, except for that narrow defeat in the Grade 2 Hoffa Cup. This colt is full of speed, and he draws the rail here, which means you\u2019ll most likely see #1 flashing early on top of the tote board. You can bet he\u2019ll be on the lead here early in Dubai this weekend, if his past performance charts are any indication. In a field of late closers, this guy looks to be pretty much the legitimate early speed in this race. The one question mark he has coming in here is that he\u2019s never run 10 furlongs before in his 19 starts. That sticks out like a sore thumb on what is otherwise a near-perfect resume. But he\u2019s blessed with so much early speed that the rest of this field better not let this guy get too far out in front early. They might not catch him late if they do let him run off and hide early. He\u2019s also never run on an off-track once in his career, and this race looks like it might be holding some moisture, given the fact that the weather forecasters are giving Dubai a 75-percent chance of rain on the biggest day of racing in the desert all year. Can he overcome not having any ten-furlong experience? Will this speedy colt who is primed and ready coming in here handle what is likely to be an off track in Dubai this weekend. We\u2019ll see. But, with the speed figures he\u2019s been throwing around, if he can answer those two questions, this morning line favorite could be ready to pounce on this field in the biggest dirt stage of all this spring. Watch Pretty Fly closely. Sweet16\u2019s colt might be ready to pull off a big one here in the desert this weekend.<\/p>\n

(2) \u00a0DWARF \u00a0 (KY) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Grrm2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 9\/1 <\/p>\n

(Dynaformer x Awesome Again x A.P. Indy)<\/p>\n

Career Record: 34 13-7-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $2,927,536<\/p>\n

The six year old scratch-bred son of Dynaformer who has nearly $3 million in career earnings couldn\u2019t quite decide if he wanted to be a turf star or a dirt star. He\u2019s won graded events on both surfaces, but it looks like his owner, Dan of Given Stables, has settled on dirt glory for his horse who\u2019s finished in the top three in 23 of his 34 career starts. Early on in his career, he was tearing it up on the grass. He\u2019s made 16 of his 34 starts on that surface, and he\u2019s got three graded wins on the grass. In his 18 dirt starts, he\u2019s got two graded wins, the biggest of which came last year, when he won the 9-furlong Grade 1 Hit Me Handicap in Upper New York. He was super impressive in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic last season when he finished a hard-charging fourth, beaten by only two lengths. He threw a 116 speed figure on Breeders\u2019 Bowl day in California last season. After the Grade 1 Japan Dirt Cup, he took a couple months off. Then, he warmed up for this big race in Dubai this weekend with an easy allowance win in February, something you\u2018ll see a lot of Given horses do before they pop a big race. He\u2019s never won at 10 furlongs in the dirt in his career, so that\u2019s one question he\u2019ll be looking to answer in Dubai this weekend. But then again, he\u2019s only run that distance on the dirt four times in his career. That might be to his advantage, though. And he looks like he won\u2019t have a whole lot of trouble with the stretch out to a mile and \u00bc here this weekend. It\u2019s pretty nice the way this colt has been brought up to this race, with the allowance win after the freshening. He might just be ready to throw the race of his life here. He is definitely not showing any signs of burn out coming in here. And that\u2019s what you like to see coming into a race like this with so many graded winners. Dwarf might just be ready to come up big here in the desert this weekend for Dan and Given Stables.<\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0 RAS EL HANOUT\u00a0 (JPN) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Super 21 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 18\/1<\/p>\n

(Tanino Gimlet x Covent Garden (Sadlers\u2019 Wells x Forty Niner))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 17 7-3-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Earnings: $2,495,670<\/p>\n

With his breeding, it was definitely no surprise when Super Stables started Ras El Hanout on the turf to begin his career. And, when he couldn\u2019t quite cut it on that surface as a two year old it, it was no surprise when Super Stables pulled the surface switch trigger and threw this colt on the dirt as a late two-year-old. For Super Stables, the switch to dirt was a typical, brilliant move that paid off huge dividends in 2012. The Japanese-bred son of Tanino Gimlet who is out of the Sadlers\u2019 Wells mare Covent Garden reeled off four consecutive wins on the dirt by open lengths, including three graded victories, and people started taking notice of the Japanese-bred colt. When he scored a relatively easy victory in the 2012 Bluegrass Derby, his Super Stables owners looked like geniuses. They had just won the biggest American three-year-old dirt race with a Japanese-bred colt who looked like turf would be his way to stardom. Ras El Hanout was closing late in the Middle Jewel, the second leg of the Triple Crown, but he couldn\u2019t quite get there, ending his bid for a Triple Crown. But a lot of people just wrote that race off as being a bit too short. After he ran a pretty even fourth in the Grade 1 New Yorker, Super Stables gave its colt a two-month break, and all he did after that freshening was return to score a really easy win in the Grade 1 Eddie Haskell with a career-high 112 speed figure (up to that point). Since then, he\u2019s thrown in a few clunkers in his last four races, but two starts back, he threw the biggest speed figure of his career (114), when he just missed in a listed stakes in West Virginia. His last start was in the Grade 1 Glenn Handicap, his debut this season, and he didn\u2019t do what we think he\u2018s capable of there. But last year\u2019s Bluegrass Derby winner has had some time off to recover from that grueling 2012 Triple Crown campaign, and when this horse comes off a freshening, he\u2019s shown he can be dangerous. Since his Bluegrass Derby win last season, his two best races have come after nearly 60-day layoffs. It\u2019s no coincidence that that is almost the same amount of time he\u2019s going to have here to get ready for the Sand Castle Classic. Look out, when this colt comes into a race rested. He\u2019s going to be really dangerous in this spot. And Ras El Hanout\u2019s late-closing running style should suit him perfectly here, as he looks to show the world that he can be just as good a four-year-old as he was a three-year-old.<\/p>\n

(4)\u00a0 LUCKY PRAYER \u00a0 (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Owner: Kevoman2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 13\/1<\/p>\n

(Unbridled\u2019s Song x Mr. Prospector x Buckpasser)<\/p>\n

Career Record: 15 6-5-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Earnings: $633,370<\/p>\n

CoolK Racing Stables, owned by Kevoman, sends Lucky Prayer to Dubai this weekend. Lucky Prayer is one of the more interesting entrants here in Dubai this weekend, if for no other reason than he doesn\u2019t have a whole lot of graded stakes wear and tear on him. That\u2019s not all this four year old scratch-bred son of Unbridled\u2019s Song has going for him this weekend, however. In his last two starts coming in here, he\u2019s blown out a couple of 114 speed figures in two ten-furlong listed stakes wins. This colt almost threw a shocker in the third leg of the 2012 Triple Crown, when he very nearly pulled off what would have probably been one of the biggest upsets of the year in the Grade 1 New Yorker. After leading all the way in the Triple Crown\u2019s 12-furlong third leg, he just got caught in deep stretch by your eventual winner See The Wand. This colt might have played a much bigger role in the 2012 Triple Crown, if only he had qualified for the first two legs of America\u2018s premier three-year-old racing spectacle. It certainly would have been an interesting scenario to see what Lucky Prayer could have done in the first two much shorter legs of the Triple Crown had he run in them, that\u2019s for sure. We think it\u2019s going to play to his advantage here that he did not go through the 2012 Triple Crown gauntlet. Once he finished second in the New Yorker, he showed he was for real after he came back and finished second and third, respectively, in the Grade 1 Clerk Of Scales up in Canada and the Grade 1 Travelers\u2019 in Upper New York. He comes in here very hot, he\u2019s got a ton of early speed to push morning line favorite Pretty Fly early, and if those two don\u2019t kill each other off with what is sure to be a monster speed duel for the ages, Lucky Prayer just might be around to collect a pretty hefty payday at the end of the biggest race in Dubai this weekend. He\u2019s not just all about speed either, as he showed us in the New Yorker. He can go the distance, and that makes Kevoman\u2019s colt seriously dangerous here this weekend.<\/p>\n

(5) WILDLY READY (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Owner: Bosox\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 15\/1<\/p>\n

(More Than Ready x Fort Whistler (Wild Again x Nureyev))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 20 8-4-0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $236,205 <\/p>\n

LSUMARK Racing has a colt in Dubai this weekend who\u2019s got the distinction of being the only colt in the 14-horse field who is neither a graded winner or a graded placed colt. The four year old son of More Than Ready, who\u2019s out of the Wild Again mare, Fort Whistler, has only been in three graded races in his 20 career starts–and only one of those graded starts has been very recent. He ran seventh two starts back in the Grade 3 Khartoum Challenge II on February 16 right here in Dubai. When you look at Wildly Ready\u2019s past performance charts, you\u2019re tempted to draw a line through this guy. You can point to the fact that he isn\u2019t graded placed, that he doesn\u2019t have much graded experience, and that he doesn\u2019t quite have the speed figures lately to fit with this bunch. And, you can throw in the fact that he\u2019s never been ten furlongs in his career. But–and there\u2019s always a but–this colt is one of the few in here who is either not a speedy front ender or a deep closer. He\u2019s more of a lay-just-off-the-lead stalker type, and that could play to his advantage in Dubai this weekend. While the speedsters are burning it up on the front end, and the deep closers are dawdling at the back of the pack waiting to strike, Wildly Ready could find himself somewhere in between those two groups, unfettered by traffic problems. And he is definitely capable of pulling off the upset here in Dubai this weekend. He\u2019s pulled a couple of 112 and 111 speed figures in his career, and if he can improve on that just a little, he might be a very interesting colt to throw a few bucks on in this spot. Stranger things have happened here in Dubai, as we all know. And, let\u2019s not forget this fact about Wildly Ready. The four times he\u2019s been 9.5 furlongs (the longest races of his career), he\u2019s won two of them and finished second twice. If this guy gets the perfect trip, he might be one to keep your eye on here this weekend.<\/p>\n

(6) TIME FOR BUDA (ENG) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Juju\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 17\/1<\/p>\n

(Dansili x Tyme Bird (Sadler\u2019s Wells x Secretariat))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 17 4-5-2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $1,337,080 <\/p>\n

Laura (Topicount Racing) is one of the triumvirate of owners of Super Stables, and she\u2019s sending Time For Buda here from her own barn to Dubai this weekend. Time For Buda is the only English-bred colt here in the big race in the desert this weekend, and like the Super Stables entry Bluegrass Derby winner Ras El Hanout, Time For Buda started off his career on the turf. But Laura was quick to send this colt to the dirt early in his career. The four year old son of Dansili was doing fairly well on the grass, with a couple of listed stakes top three finishes. But Laura, who\u2019s got a keen eye for speed figures and is not shy at all about switching surfaces to make sure she\u2019s getting the most out of her horses, switched this colt to the dirt four starts into his career. He promptly scored his first listed stakes in his first dirt try, and after that he finished second right here in Dubai last year in the UAE Derby Lock Prep, before he backed that up with a Derby Lock Prep win in the Arkansas Juvenile on April 14. Laura chose to keep her colt out of the Bluegrass Derby, but she did bring him to the Middle Jewel, where he finished well beaten. He\u2019s only won once since that win in Arkansas last season, and that was an allowance win two starts back. Last time out, he was impressive in a second place finish in a ten-furlong listed stakes win, where he threw a 108 speed figure. But if you scour this colt\u2019s past performance charts, it\u2019s easy to see why Laura\u2019s sending him here to Dubai this weekend. Back on September 1 of last season, Time For Buda ran second on a sloppy track in the Grade 2 Winchester Derby in Oklahoma, and with a good surface listed for this weekend, that just might be the key to Time For Buda\u2019s chances here in Dubai this weekend. He does have one other off track start on the dirt, and that was immediately after his run in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic last season. Draw a line through that race. Time For Buda was coming off a 110 speed figure in the BB Classic, and he might have had a bit of bounce in that race in the Grade 3 Mr. Hooper. That\u2019s the key here for Time For Buda. If he can run back to his performance in that Grade 2 Winchester Derby on an off track, Laura just might have herself a Sand Castle Classic winner here this weekend. It certainly wouldn\u2019t be that huge a surprise, if Time For Buda were to pull it off. Laura\u2019s way too sharp to just throw a horse in a race without thinking she has a shot to win it. Keep your eye on Laura and her English-bred colt here. He might just have some fun in the rain in Dubai this weekend, and that could spell huge problems for the rest of this field.<\/p>\n

(7) TWIST TWIST (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Wfstables3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Odds: 9\/1<\/p>\n

(Empire Maker x Atowncalledbedrock (Rock Hard Ten x Forestry))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 29 9-8-4 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $4,790,696<\/p>\n

Willyam13 Stables is known for its patience, when it comes to its horses, and it paid off hige dividends in 2011 for Twist Twist, when he scored the first graded win of his career (as a four year old) in the Grade 1 Jockey Guild Gold Cup. Right after that, he upset Too Many Larry in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic, and Twist Twist suddenly became the most famous horse in Derbyfever that you never heard of in 2011. The five year old son of Empire Maker has not won since his 2011 Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic triumph in 2011, but don\u2019t let that fact scare you away from this guy when you\u2019re in the betting queue in Dubai this weekend. Look at his last four starts coming in here to Dubai this weekend. He\u2019s been steadily improving, to say the least, and that means Willyam probably thinks he\u2019s got a good shot at scoring his first win here in Dubai after an eighth place finish here last year. Four starts back, he finished second in a listed stakes, before he scored a second place finish in the 2012 Jockey Guild Gold Cup. Right after that, he finished third in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic behind eventual winner Too Many Larry, who he\u2019s developed quite a rivalry with. He led most of the way in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic, and, despite finishing third, he threw a 116 speed figure there. After that, Twist Twist took a very long winter break, and he opened up his 2013 campaign with a third place finish in the Grade 3 Heaven Stakes on March 2, 29 days ago. He threw a 113 speed figure there, and that\u2019s significant for Twist Twist, after taking off nearly four months. Here\u2019s another thing you might want to watch for when you\u2019re looking at Twist Twist\u2019s past performance charts. He\u2019s had a couple of starts on off tracks, and one of them came back in the summer of 2011 in a second place finish in the Movieland Shiny Cup. He threw a 111 speed figure there, and he didn\u2019t let the off track bother his early speed, which he happens to be blessed with. He just might like this off surface here in the Sand Castle Classic this weekend in Dubai, if that race is any indication. In any case, Twist Twist should give the other speed burners here a run for their money early. Look for him to be on the front end, and look for Willyam\u2019s colt to perhaps steal this race on the front end. He\u2019s certainly capable of that, and with the recent sudden upturn in speed figures, he could just possibly break his long drought of not appearing in the winner\u2019s circle. Willyam wouldn\u2019t have him here, if he didn\u2019t\u2019 think he had a good chance to win, that\u2019s for sure. This trainer has been doing this too long to not know when his horse is sitting on a big race, and you can bet he had his eye on the weather forecast when he entered this horse. With him splashing all those clogs of dirt on the horses trying to keep up with him, this might just be Twist Twist\u2019s year to score his first big win on the desert\u2019s biggest stage here this weekend.<\/p>\n

(8) \u00a0 TOO MANY LARRY \u00a0 (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Laz3man\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 7\/1<\/p>\n

(Unbridled\u2019s Song x Alydar x Seattle Slew)<\/p>\n

Career Record: 39 10-9-9 Earnings: $10,232,462 <\/p>\n

For two years, Too Many Larry was knocking on the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic door. But in 2010 and 2011, he came up third in the big dance twice. Finally, in 2012, the seven-year old scratch-bred son of Unbridled\u2019s Song came up big on the biggest stage of all in California, taking down his first Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic win in three tries. It was long overdue for the colt who\u2019s won or finished top three in 28 of his 39 career starts. That\u2019s a pretty amazing stat that shows consistency for a colt who\u2019s been running in the big races for the majority of his career. Laz3man captured lighting in a bottle with his scratch-bred colt, but it\u2019s definitely not flash lightning. After 39 starts, this colt is still going strong, and, lest we forget, he\u2019s the defending champion of the Sand Castle Classic coming in here this weekend. He won this race last year in a romp, scoring a 2 \u00be length win over Mr. Fixit, against a field that had no less than 11 Grade 1 winners in the field of 14. Three starts back in that Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic win, he popped a 118 speed figure, and he comes in here off a listed stakes win in Hong Kong, where he scored a 113 speed figure. Too Many Larry looks primed to take down his second consecutive Sand Castle Classic win here this weekend in Dubai. It would be his sixth Grade 1 win in 39 starts, if he were to win this weekend, and the winner\u2019s share of the purse would push his earnings to nearly 14 million dollars. Not too shabby. His record is the stuff of Hall Of Fame dreams, and if he can do this year what he did last year (pull off a Dubai win and a BB Classic win), he\u2019s almost a shoo-in for at least an Eclipse Trophy and a Hall Of Fame slot. Does the old boy still have it in him? At seven years old, he doesn\u2019t appear to have lost a step, and he just might be ready here this weekend to show he still belongs on the big stage. That is where he does his best running, after all. Plus, Too Many Larry might just have something to prove here, after he knocked down the Sand Castle Classic and then the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic in the same year, yet failed to win the Eclipse Award. If anyone\u2019s got a case for revenge as a motivation, it\u2019s Too Many Larry. And, he could just show the Eclipse voters this weekend exactly how wrong they were last year when they didn\u2019t give him that Eclipse Award.<\/p>\n

(9) \u00a0 SETTLE FOR SATIN \u00a0 (KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Chicks\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 10\/1<\/p>\n

(A.P. Indy x Goodrich Castle (Giant\u2019s Causeway x Mr. Prospector))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 15 11-1-2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $707,001<\/p>\n

Settle For Satin has won 11 of his 15 career races for his owner, Supertaffy Stables, and he comes in here having won seven of his last eight starts. Talk about some pretty regal breeding here. This is a five year old son of A.P. Indy, out of the Giant\u2019s Causeway mare, Goodrich Castle. And, if that\u2019s not enough to wow you, his back end is Mr. Prospector. This colt has so much going for him, Supertaffy must be licking her chops here in this spot with this colt. A five year old son of A.P. Indy, with only 15 career starts, and 14 of those were top three finishes? Oh yeah, you bet Supertaffy is thinking right about now that she\u2019s sitting on a hot one who\u2019s got a lot of very hot, very big races ahead of him. The future is unlimited for this colt, and that superstar future could start right here in Dubai this weekend. This colt is extremely lightly raced, not having started his career until he was a late three year old. If anyone\u2019s got fresh feet coming into Dubai this weekend, it\u2019s Supertaffy\u2019s colt, Settle For Satin. And that could play to his advantage in a huge way. If ever a colt came in here to the desert for the richest race on the richest day of racing in Dubai with a legit shot at a superstar career, it\u2019s Settle For Satin. He\u2019s one of three hroses in this field who has not won a grade 1 race, but when you have a colt who\u2019s bred like this, that doesn\u2019t make much difference. He\u2019s got so much natural talent and so much blue blood that the lack of grade 1 experience shouldn\u2019t be a factor at all for Settle For Satin. In three of his last four starts, Settle For Satin has speed figures of 112, 113, and 114, and that\u2019s definitely good enough to run with this field. Supertaffy\u2019s been nursing this guy along very carefully, and now she\u2019s ready to make her big strike with this colt here in Dubai this weekend. Also, let\u2019s not forget that this colt has two grade 2 wins in his last four tries. In three of his last four wins, he\u2019s won at ten furlongs really easily, so he\u2019s got that going for him too. He can go this distance, that\u2019s for sure. This guy also has a lot of early speed, and when you combine that with the fact that he\u2019s running those monster speed figures basically geared down at the end of his recent races, well, it\u2019s going to be interesting to see what he does against a field of this caliber. If ever there was a horse who looked like he was sitting on a huge race, it\u2019s Settle For Satin. Watch this guy in the desert. He should control the pace early, and this spot should be no problem for him. He could kick off an Eclipse Award campaign with a win here, because this colt has a ton of upside in his future. Supertaffy\u2019s got a beast coming in here to the desert. Look for this one to come up big this weekend–if the slightly off track doesn\u2019t bother him. Like we said, he doesn\u2019t have any off track experience, and he hasn\u2019t run with a field this deep with talent before. But we don\u2019t think that\u2019ll make much difference for Supertaffy\u2019s monster here this weekend. <\/p>\n

(10) \u00a0 DEEP NAVIGATOR \u00a0 (KY) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Stickpin10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 10\/1 <\/p>\n

(Henrythenavigator x Disparate Impacts (Deep Impact x Gone West))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 19 6-3-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $919,979<\/p>\n

Deep Navigator, like Ras El Hanout, started off his career on the turf. But the four year old son of Henrythenavigator really didn\u2019t catch fire until about the time of last year\u2019s Bluegrass Derby. A week before that race, he threw the first 100 speed figure of his career, but you could probably see he was going to be a late developer who might be a major player in some of the late-season three year old races. Stickpin10\u2019s colt did not disappoint, either, when he was shipped up to Canada and scored his first two grade 1 victories of his career in the Labatt\u2019s Ontario Oaks and the Clerk Of Scales Stakes. He still hadn\u2019t answered the 10-furlong question after a decent finish in the Grade 1 Travelers\u2019 Stakes and the Grade 1 Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic, however. So Stickpin10 sent him back to 9-furlong races his last three times out, and he was extremely impressive, piling up 116, 115 and 112 speed figures in his last three starts. He missed by just a length, finishing second in the Grade 3 Apple Pie in California, won the Grade 3 Mr. Hooper in Florida and finished third in the Grade 1 Glenn Handicap last time out (a common race for quite a few of these). He came on strongly late in that race, and that might be an indication that this colt is ready to take down his first ten-furlong graded score here in Dubai this weekend. This colt is coming into his own at just the right time here, and it wouldn\u2019t be a huge surprise to see him do well here in Dubai this weekend in the $6,000,000 Sand Castle Classic. <\/p>\n

(11)\u00a0 SKITZOID \u00a0 (KY) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Muninn \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 8\/1<\/p>\n

(Awesome Again x A.P. Indy x Storm Cat)<\/p>\n

Career Record: 17 7-2-1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $2,543,044<\/p>\n

When Skitzoid rolled up from dead last halfway thru last year\u2019s Bluegrass Derby to close gamely for second place behind Ras El Hanout, you knew you were seeing something special then. This was a horse that was going to be big on the scene for a while. When he followed that up with late-closing third-place and second-place finishes in both the Grade 1 New Yorker and the Equinics, you had to wonder if Skitzoid was ever going to find a big race long enough to win. His late-closing running style seemed to indicate that he wanted much more distance. Then something changed after the Equinics. He scored huge, back-to-back victories in both the Travelers\u2019 Stakes and the Jockey Guild Gold Cup in New York (the latter against older horses for the first time). And he proved he could win convincingly at 10 furlongs for the first times in his career. He was closing late, too, when he came from 16 lengths off the pace in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic, where he finished fifth, beaten only four lengths. After that, Skitzoid took a break over the winter, and he returned in his 2013 debut to score a head victory in the Grade 2 Khartoum Challenge II here in Dubai. That was a 9-furlong race after a three-month break, so if you think Skitzoid isn\u2019t ready for the Sand Castle Classic, think again. The four year old scratch-bred son of Awesome Again is really coming into his own, especially after he threw a career-high 117 speed figure in that Grade 3 Khartoum Challenge, a race that probably should have been too short for him. It turns out it was the perfect warm-up race for Skitzoid. He\u2019s ranked #2 in his division, he\u2019s throwing major league speed figures on a consistent basis, and he\u2019s going to be a major player here. Watch out for Muninn and his colt here. This is a monster colt who looks like he\u2019s ready to throw a monster effort here in Dubai.<\/p>\n

(12) \u00a0 CHINOOK DOWN \u00a0 (IRE)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Liam\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 8\/1<\/p>\n

(Rock Of Gibraltar x Red Dulhert (Deputy Minister x Storm Cat))<\/p>\n

Career: 27 8-7-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $3,055,566<\/p>\n

Chinook Down is a six-year-old son of Rock Of Gibraltar and one of the few Irish-breds in this race. He\u2019s pretty lightly raced for a six-year old, with only 27 career starts. But in this 27 career starts, he\u2019s got over $3 million in purse money, and he\u2019s finished first or second in 15 of those 27 starts, which means this guy is pretty darned consistent. He only had run in three graded races before February of last season, which means he must have had a hell of a season in 2012 to accumlate all those earnigns. And he did. Between February of last year and February of 2013, he has run in no less than seven Grade 1 races. Talk about your late developer. Liam has done a terrific job with this colt. Chinook Down really didn\u2019t start his career until the very end of his two year old season. And he only raced once as a two year old. Last year, he finished second in the Grade 1 Glenn Handicap, a typical lead-in for the Sand Castle Classic, and by the time he got to Dubai, he was a 10-1 shot that not too many people had heard of. He pulled one of the best races of his career here in Dubai last year, when he ran third behind Too Many Larry and Mr. Fixit, who ran monster races in the 2012 version of this race. By June of last season, he was five years old, and he still didn\u2019t have a grade 1 win. That changed very quickly, when Liam got his colt back-to-back scores in the Grade 1 Movieland Shiny Cup and the Grade 1 CA Classic. What was so surprising about that Grade 1 CA Classic win was that he scored a 118 speed figure after a two-month-layoff. He comes in here off three consecutive off-the-board finishes in the BB Classic, the Japan Dirt Cup and Toilet Scrubber\u2019s Anonymous Handicap–all big Grade 1 events. He was gaining ground late in all three of those starts, and he gets back to the 10-furlong distance for the first time since the Breeders\u2019 Bowl last year. That might be just what Chinook Down needs here. Some colts just love specific distances, and this guy might just be one of them. He\u2019s shown he can run with–and beat–the caliber of competition he\u2019ll be facing here in Dubai this weekend. Now, all that remains to be seen is whether or not he can recapture the mid-summer magic got him the only two grade 1 wins of his career last season. He\u2019s been on a grueling schedule, that much is certain. But if he can get back to the way he ran in California during the summer, this six year old son of Rock Of Gibraltar could be very dangerous in this spot.<\/p>\n

(13) \u00a0 MAIN RUNNER \u00a0 (GER) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Joe333\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 11\/1 <\/p>\n

(Monsun x Euro Runner (Cape Canaveral x Danzig))<\/p>\n

Career Record: 17 4-6-3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Earnings: $357,120<\/p>\n

Main Runner is a pretty lightly raced four year old son of Monson who comes in here with only 17 career starts. He\u2019s only got five graded starts in his career, but he\u2019s coming in here off his lone graded win, a huge score in the 9.5 furlong Grade 1 Toilet Scrubbers\u2019 Anonymous Handicap. That race is big for him, because he threw the biggest speed figure of his career there (116). He won drawing off late in that start, and he beat a few of these he\u2019ll be facing here this weekend in Dubai. So don\u2019t write this guy off, just because you may never have heard of him. Joe333 has bred a pretty interesting colt here. He\u2019s a son of Monsun, out of the Cape Canaveral mare Euro Runner. That back end of this colt contains the classic Mr. Prospector x Danzig cross. But more importantly, with Monsun as his sire, he might just be one of the few in here who can handle what are expected to be less than stellar weather conditions. He\u2019s never run on an off-track in his career, but sons of Monsun have been known to handle less than ideal racing conditions, and that could be important in Dubai this weekend, given the fact that the weather guys are expecting a 75 percent chance of rain. This guy has only been ten furlongs a few times in his career, and he\u2019s shown quite a bit of speed in those starts. He\u2019s got a little three year old half brother who\u2019s ranked #1 in the three year old sprint division, so it\u2019s little surprise that older brother is pretty quick early himself–a fact that could play to his advantage in Dubai this weekend. In a race that doesn\u2019t look like it will have a whole lot of early speed, you could find Main Runner on the front end early here this weekend. <\/p>\n

(14)\u00a0 SPLIT SECOND \u00a0 (KY) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner: Phillysun2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Odds: 13\/1<\/p>\n

(Medaglia D\u2019Oro x Mr. Prospector x Buckpasser)<\/p>\n

Career Record: 13 7-3-1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings: $2,278,790<\/p>\n

Psyduck is sending a pretty big monster of his own here to Dubai this weekend for a shot at the $6 million prize. There are a lot of similarities in Settle For Satin (Supertaffy\u2019s beast) and Psyduck\u2019s Split Second. Like Settle For Satin, Split Second is regally bred, he\u2019s five years old, and he\u2019s also extremely lightly raced. He\u2019s got only 13 career starts, and he\u2019s won 7 of them. He\u2019s finished in the money in four other starts, making him top three in 11 of his 13 career starts. He\u2019s also shown the propensity to throw some pretty big speed balls in his races, too. And, that\u2019s where the similarities stop between the two horses in this field in Dubai\u2018s Sand Castle Classic. Psyduck\u2019s five year old scratch-bred son of Medaglia D\u2019Oro has seen quite a bit of graded experience compared to Settle The Satin, and all of it has come as recently as the latter half of 2012. He\u2019s run in graded company in all six of his last six starts, and he\u2019s won three of those starts. And if that\u2019s not enough to impress you, during that stretch he finished second behind Too Many Larry in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic in 2012. This horse was an absolute beast who came out of nowhere towards the tail end of last season, when he kicked off his graded campaign with an easy win in the Grade 3 Peach State Classic. After that, Psyduck saw what a talent he had, and he pitched him right into the Equinics, when he entered him in the 12-furlong Belmont Park Stakes, where he simply ran off and hid from the rest of the field, scoring an easy 3+ lengths win there. He threw what was then the second highest speed figure of his career his next time out, when he won the $500,000 9.5-furlong, Grade 1 (Are you ready for this?) Now Faith Is The Substance Of Things Hoped For The Evidence Of Things Not Seen Stakes. Phew! Long name for a stakes race, but not to worry. Split Second scored easily there too, coming from off the pace, as he is prone to do, beating a pretty nice field in Arizona. He threw a 115 speed figure in that race, and he turned right around his next start in that second-place finish to Too Many Larry in the BB Classic, where all he did was throw a 116 speed figure. He\u2019s come back down to earth a bit in the speed figure department in his next two starts in the Grade 1 Japan Dirt Cup and the Grade 1 Glenn Handicap. He just had a couple of bounce races, after those huge efforts he put in late last season. That probably won\u2019t bother him here, if he runs back to the form we know he showed us last season. That\u2019s the big question for Split Second. Can he bounce back from what was a grueling end to the 2012 season? If he can, there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s got the talent, the breeding, and that all-elusive superstar quality that could make him figure prominently in this race. This guy is a monster waiting to happen for Psyduck, for quite a long time into the future,too. You can bet you\u2019re going to be hearing big things from this horse not only now, but for a long time into the future.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday, 3\/30, OGT: 3:00 PM<\/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":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10605","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=10605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}