If you like turf sprinters, Epsom is the place to be this week! The Breeder’s Bowl may be over, but the quality of this lineup is equal to any you saw on that card. Yes, I know, there’s no turf sprint in the Breeder’s Bowl….but if there was, half of this field would likely have been there. The closest the turf sprinters could get was the G1 Scrape The Barnacles You Alky Special Stakes on the undercard that day, but what a race that was, and the top three finishers from that race are here today. This will be the sixth running of the G1 Because I Said So Stakes. The race is an even 6 furlongs on firm turf for a purse of $500,000. Historically, this race will require at least a 113 speed figure out of the winner. The inaugural race was won by the great School Kris(GB).<\/br><\/br>Headlining the entrants is the winner of the Scrape The Barnacles, the unequalled General’s Chariot<\/b>. Although he likely needs no introduction to most, I will tell you that he is the #1 ranked 3yo turf sprinter and is by Gone West. He has won well over $2 million already in his young career, and has never been defeated in twelve sprints. This year alone he has won two G1, a G2, and a G3, also placed in two G1 at a mile. With jockey R. Harzheim in the saddle, he will be the one to beat. He is the favorite at 5\/1. <\/br><\/br>Hoping to reverse the order of finish from the last race is In The Evening<\/b>, the #2 ranked 3yo turf sprinter. This son of Forty Niner has banked over a million dollars in his career. He has won a G2 and two G3 this year, along with a number of listed stakes, including a couple on dirt. In both of his last two turf sprint appearances, each a G1, he finished second to the General, last time by only a head. He has drawn the rail and has T. Nugent in the irons. His odds are 6\/1.<\/br><\/br>The third place finisher from the Scrape The Barnacles was Digging The Grave<\/b>. A handsome dark grey 4yo by Silver Ghost, he is the #2 ranked older turf sprinter. This guy’s style is to head right to the front and make them catch him. Well, he only got caught by 1\/4 length last time. He has won two G2 and a G3 this year, his first full season of racing, as he didn’t begin his career until late in his 3yo season. He is certainly a talented colt, and if jockey A. Edwards can get a good enough lead on the field, it wouldn’t really be an upset if he should win it. His odds are 7\/1.<\/br><\/br>Also going off at 7\/1 is Fusaichi Magpie<\/b>, ranked #34 amongst older turf sprinters. A 4yo by Fusaichi Pegasus, he has earned most of his money at a mile, although he has only lost once when sprinting. This guy didn’t even run as a 3yo. His best speed figure was a 112 earned at 6.5f, so he definitely has the ability to put up numbers equal to the other top horses in this race. C. Jericho gets the mount. <\/br><\/br>Going off at 8\/1 is Ziklag<\/b>, the #4 ranked older turf sprinter. A 5yo by Chester House, this seasoned veteran has banked nearly $3 million in his career. He has won three G1, including this year’s Golden Jamboree. That was his only win this year, but with a top speed of 121 to his credit and a 111 run earlier this year, this guy certainly has the credentials to be a factor today. Jockey J. Diggs will try to get the best effort out of him.<\/br><\/br>Three horses share odds of 9\/1. The highest ranked is Tete Not Galileo(IRE)<\/b>, from the reknowned racelord stable. He is a 4yo by Galileo(IRE), based on Bustfully Not Raul…now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Little Raul is ranked #21 among older turf sprinters, and is something of a late bloomer, having not broken 100 until late in his 3yo season. He has been pretty consistent this year, however, and ventured into the graded ranks in his last two races, coming out with second prize in both. It will likely take something near his career-best 113 to add another place to his record today, though. Q. Addleman is in the saddle.<\/br><\/br>Ranked #25 among older turf sprinters is Otto O<\/b>, a 4yo by Storm Cat. He has only run six times on turf, but has collected two opens stakes wins and hit the board in two G2 sprints. His last start on turf was a G2, where he finished third right behind Tete Not Galileo(IRE). In his limited turf experience, he has shown that he has plenty of ability, and I’m sure we will be seeing more of him, although he likely would have preferred having a good track today. Good jockey B. Dawg will need to have him flying up the stretch from behind most of the field.<\/br><\/br>Making his graded stakes debut is Dubai Destroyer<\/b>, a 4yo by E Dubai. He raced exclusively on dirt until this summer, when he made the switchover to the lawn. He has won four of six starts on turf, his only losses coming at the stakes level, although one of those was likely a bit too far for him. This is a tough spot for him to try to break into the graded ranks, especially with A. Breadfan up, but with his ability, he will surely be a stakeswinner soon.<\/br><\/br>Going off at 11\/1 is Rockin’ Pneumonia(IRE)<\/b>, the #9 ranked 3yo turf sprinter. This youngster by Rock Of Gibraltar(IRE) won the G3 Firebreather back in August with a very nice 108 speed figure. In his two attempts to move up in grade, however, he met this one horse named General’s Chariot…alas, it is just his luck that he does so again. He prefers to run on the lead, which may be a challenge here with Digging The Grave wanting to do the same, but if G. Montoya can keep him out of a speed duel with Digger, he may get a piece.<\/br><\/br>At 15\/1 is House For Sale<\/b>, the #19 ranked 3yo turf sprinter. He is by Selkirk, and runs very well when he fires, although his best races have all been at 6.5f. He likes to come from behind, which would likely be a good thing for him today, were in not for the fact that he has a terrible jockey in B. Winans who may not be able to adapt to his style. <\/br><\/br>At 20\/1 is Danz Song Bird<\/b>. This lightly raced Unbridled’s Song 3yo has run seven times, with five wins and two seconds, all in turf sprints. He won his debut and went stright to stakes competition, losing by only a head. He has a promising career ahead of him, but is probably in too deep here. Jockey R. Poulin is a good one though, and must have liked something about this colt to choose him today. We are sure to see this young horse again.<\/br><\/br>Our two longshots today are both at 35\/1 odds. Ranmanapple<\/b>, a 4yo son of Red Ransom, has likely drawn the long odds based on the injury he suffered in his last race. Prior to that, he was racing very well, with four wins and three seconds, all in turf sprints. He did not race as a 3yo. This is another one that is on his way up, and will surely make a bigger splash on the turf sprint scene in the near future. S. Shady will be riding. <\/br><\/br>Fusaichi Vet(JPN)<\/b> is truly a vet. Although he is only four, the son of Fusaichi Concorde(JPN) has raced 42 times. He ran in this race last year, and has run many times at both Ascot and Epsom, so he is somewhat of a local favorite, and will surely have fans in the crowd today. He seems to have lost a step this year, but did win two stakes races late last year after his appearance in the Because I Said So. Perhaps he can once again use this race as a springboard to better performances. His fan club is hoping so.<\/br><\/br>This will definitely be an exciting race. It has been won before by horses coming from off the pace, as well as horses that wired the field, so the finish will depend entirely upon the ability of the frontrunners to get a large enough lead to hold off the top two favorites. The main question in most racegoers’ minds, though, is…will the General remain undefeated in sprints? There’s only one way to find out. This race is one for the history books, and you will NOT want to miss it. Good luck to all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Top Turf Sprinters Turn Out In Droves For Historic Matchup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"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-1186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186","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\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}