A full field has turned out for this week’s El Brass Memorial, to be run at 8.5 furlongs on dirt for a purse of $75,000. This race is open to all horses 3yo and up. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a full field, and this is a pretty evenly matched race, with no real longshots in it, so it should prove to be an exciting event. Let’s look at today’s entrants in post position order.<\/br><\/br>Leading the post parade is Stubby’s Legacy<\/b> at 7\/1. He is a 4yo by Carson City and has really come into his own under the careful tutelage of trainer ricdav293, who claimed him in July for the paltry sum of $13,500. Since that time he has won three starters and an allowance, along with a third place in a stakes race, and has run 100 or better in 5 of 8 races for his new trainer. One to watch.<\/br><\/br>In post two is Junior Rizzo(ENG)<\/b>, a 10yo son of Dynastic(ENG). No, that is not a typo, I said TEN. This old boy is a true warrior. Where’s he’s been for the last nine years is anyone’s guess, but someone saw his potential and decided that ten wasn’t too old for him to begin a new career. He has done very well, winning five races, and is coming off an allowance victory where he posted a 106. Not too bad for a grandpa, eh? D. Nickesy takes the mount and he goes off at 12\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post three is Shark Bite<\/b>, a 3yo son of Aldebaran. A mere whippersnapper compared to Rizzo, he has also won five races this year, including a listed stakes. His best effort was a 102 run at today’s distance, and he likes to come from behind. Second-place jockey A. Reed is in the saddle, and he also goes off at 12\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post four is Schoenherr(GER)<\/b>, Acatenango(GER)’s highest-earning offspring in the sim. He is a 4yo and has run his best speed figures at this distance, although he has also shown an ability to run much longer if desired. He has placed third in two stakes, including his last race, and has run a 106 at this distance. His odds are 11\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post five is Peyresurde<\/b>, ranked #24 in the 3yo dirt classic division. He is a son of Sadler’s Wells, and was a hot prospect on the Bluegrass Derby trail after his easy victory in the G2 Fedirico Stakes in April, but seemingly wanted no part of going beyond 9f. The hard campaigning earlier in the year seemed to have taken its toll on him, but he has regained his form nicely in his last two, and is coming off a victory in a stakes against older horses last time out. His odds are 11\/1 and he has top jockey Z. Kentucky in the irons.<\/br><\/br>In post six is Run The Nation<\/b>, a son of Dance Brightly, the first foal out of Canadian Triple Crown-winning mare Dance Smartly. This 5yo has been raced lightly, running no more than six times in any one year. He really found himself last year, winning three of his six starts, but was injured in his first race this year and was out for seven months. He is rounding back into form, though, hitting the board in stakes races in his last two starts, and with a career best of 110, is much better than his record indicates. He goes off at 9\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post seven is Hi Drama(IRE)<\/b>, a 3yo by High Chaparral(IRE). He may not have run the speed figures some others in here have, but he has the pedigree of a later bloomer and is coming off a turf allowance, so the turf to dirt angle may give him the boost he needs. He is stakes-placed, and has Mizzi Russell on board, so he could be a nice bet at 13\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post eight is Flying Thunder<\/b>, a 3yo by Thunder Gulch. He is a stakeswinner and is graded-placed, and runs best in the lead. His odds are 26\/1, but those are likely inflated by a failed attempt to run two miles a couple of races back. He has had better success on turf, but his speeds on dirt are similar. <\/br><\/br>In post nine is K’s Dolce Koncerto<\/b>, a royally bred A.P. Indy 4yo. He has only finished off the board once this year, and has run 104 and 106 at this distance in allowance victories. This is only his second stakes appearance, his first being his debut as a 2yo. He gets one of the top jockies in E.C. Doyle and goes off at 8\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post ten is Mozfly’s Hill(IRE)<\/b>, a 5yo son of Mozart(IRE). He won three stakes races earlier this year, but seems to have lost some of his form recently. He ran a 113 at this distance this year, and has run 115 twice before. His odds are 7\/1, but I would like his chances better if he had a decent jockey and had not been running slower speed figures in each of his last several starts.<\/br><\/br>In post eleven is Thunda Down Unda(IRE)<\/b>, a 5yo by Generous(IRE). He has not won a stakes race, but has certainly run well enough at times that he should have won one. He strung together three very good races earlier this year, and seems to pop 100 or better whenever he feels like it with no real pattern to it. He ran a 107 and a 108 in two of those races this year. His odds are 8\/1.<\/br><\/br>In post twelve is Scarborough Fair<\/b>, a 3yo by Wheaton. His speed figures have increased steadily, with his best being a 99 he ran last time out…enough to warrant a purchase price of just over $1 million in the auction. New owner sinohero trots him out here for his first start under his colors. He may not have expected such a large and talented field, but those 3yo only races are getting harder to find, so he may as well face elders sooner rather than later. His odds are 26\/1. <\/br><\/br>In post thirteen is Splinter Cell<\/b>, a 3yo son of one of my personal faves, Dehere. This young lad has only 10 starts, five last year and five this year, and has only finished off the board once so far, when he attempted 10f. He is a stakeswinner, and 8.5f seems to be his best distance, as he has run over 100 in his two starts over this distance this year. He goes off at 13\/1, and will be one to keep an eye on, if not today then definitely in the future.<\/br><\/br>In post fourteen is today’s favorite, Floating(IRE)<\/b>, a 5yo son of Black Tie Affair(IRE). He has won a G2 in his career, and ran a 110 earlier this year in winning a listed stakes. He has had a nice career, running almost exclusively in stakes races, and although he doesn’t win that often, he is a pretty sure bet to earn a check. His odds today are 5\/1.<\/br><\/br>That is our field. Wow, a lot of horses, of different ages and levels of experience, but really a pretty evenly matched group. Virtually any horse in here could take this race, so I won’t even try to guess who will be there at the end, but it promises to be a very good race. Good luck to all the runners, and may they all come home sound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Evenly Matched Field Leaves Race Wide Open<\/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-1189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1189","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=1189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}