{"id":21447,"date":"2014-05-07T19:52:29","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T00:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=21447"},"modified":"2014-05-07T18:53:55","modified_gmt":"2014-05-07T23:53:55","slug":"speed-abounds-in-group-1-french-2000-guineas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=21447","title":{"rendered":"Speed Abounds In Group 1 French 2000 Guineas"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s speed galore on display this weekend in Paris for the 2014 running of the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, there\u2019s so much legitimate speed in this weekend\u2019s big three year old $500,000 turf classic in Paris that you might want to turn an eye to the few late closers in this race, if you\u2019re handicapping this event.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lenny271 Racing\u2019s Northwest Evil looks like the most legit of the legitimate speed here this weekend in the 1600-metre event.\u00a0 But Ryan\u2019s colt will have to avoid falling into a speed duel trap and then hope he has enough left in the tank to hold off the closers here in Paris on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most impressive of those closers just might be Skunkbarn Racing\u2019s Zoom Lens, a real blueblood if ever there was one.\u00a0 When you look at Skunk\u2019s colt\u2019s running lines, you might think he wants longer than the mile he\u2018ll see this weekend in France.\u00a0 But one thing that is easy to see is that Zoom Lens definitely belongs with this group in Paris this weekend.\u00a0 And, his late closing running style might just suit him perfectly in a race that seems to be loaded with early speed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, that\u2019s going to be the line in the sand for most of these speedsters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you go with North West Evil early and tempt fate and try to steal it on the front end?\u00a0 Or do you hold back a little, saving some energy for the turn for home, hoping to stave off the late closers who will surely be trying to run down the early speed burners in deep stretch?<\/span><\/p>\n

But those two, as well as the rest of the field, will have to deal with a couple of even more impressive colts in your 9\/2 morning line favorite, Unbridled Cry, who has drawn the far outside post here Saturday in Paris.\u00a0 The colt from Balata Racing Stables looks really impressive coming in here, with a win in an 8.5 listed stakes two starts back in which he popped a 107 speed figure, the best of this bunch this weekend.\u00a0 If Rick\u2019s colt runs back to that 107 speed ball race two starts back, he will be a deserving favorite come Saturday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, then there\u2019s the second favorite, K\u2019s Teahupoo, who\u2019s 5\/1, according to the morning line odds makers.\u00a0 As usual, the colt from Bacchus Racing Stable has been brilliantly placed throughout his brief career so far.\u00a0 But the second favorite going into this Saturday\u2019s race was beaten in the Grade 3 Stubenville by an 8\/1 shot in here, an interesting colt who goes by the name of Theatre Critic.<\/span><\/p>\n

All in all, this is a pretty serious field of 3 year old milers here in Paris this weekend.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be one of the more interesting editions of the French 2000 Guineas in recent memory, that much is certain.<\/span><\/p>\n

French 2000 Guineas\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 (Group 1)<\/span><\/p>\n

About 1600 Metres, or 8 Furlongs<\/span><\/p>\n

Purse:\u00a0 $500,000\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Restricted To 3 Year Olds Only<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 1 )\u00a0 ZOOM LENS\u00a0 (KY)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Skunktime<\/span><\/p>\n

(Giant\u2019s Causeway x Magnification (Kingmambo x Storm Cat))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 7 \/ 1\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 6:\u00a0 3-0-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $87,381<\/span><\/p>\n

Zoom Lens might be exactly the kind of colt that could take advantage of the huge amount of early speed in this race and use his late charge to pick up a lot of the pieces.\u00a0 Class, class, and more class here.\u00a0 This colt\u2019s blood is about as royal blue as it gets.\u00a0 He\u2019s by Giant\u2019s Causeway, and he\u2019s out of the Grade 1 millionaire he-mare Magnification (Kingmambo x Storm Cat), who is out of another Grade 1 millionaire dam by the name of Explosive Storm (Storm Cat x Danzig x Gone West).\u00a0 I mean, come on.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t a single weak link in this colt\u2019s pedigree.\u00a0 If Zoom Lens is anything less than a superstar in his career, he would be a huge disappointment to his ancestors.\u00a0\u00a0 Zoom Lens lived up to his pedigree in his first three starts, winning two out of three.\u00a0 In his fourth start, he finished out of the top three when he went 9 furlongs.\u00a0 But he was coming on strong late there, and that class was starting to show. Two starts back, Skunk turned him back to a mile in an allowance event, and all Zoom Lens did there was come from 9 lengths off the lead midway through the race to score by a little more than a length.\u00a0 Now, here\u2019s where it gets interesting.\u00a0 Last time out, he ran in the Group 3 Irish 2000 Guineas Trial, which, despite being a group 3 event, is usually a pretty loaded race every year.\u00a0 This year was no different.\u00a0 That field was stacked\u00a0 with some pretty nice horses.\u00a0 Zoom Lens was taken back behind most of the pack there, as he usually is, and midway through the race he found himself in 11th<\/sup> place, about 10 \u00bc lengths off the leaders.\u00a0 Two furlongs later, at the six-furlong pole, he still hadn\u2019t made up much ground on the leaders, finding himself 9 lengths back.\u00a0 Against a field that was really stacked, Zoom Lens then\u00a0 turned on the jets and cut the gap between himself and the leaders by six lengths.\u00a0 That is some serious late flying!\u00a0 He finished in fifth place there, but he was only beaten by a little over 3 lengths.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to say whether this field here in Paris on Saturday afternoon is as good as the one in the Grade 3 Irish 2000 Guineas Trial.\u00a0 But the field this weekend in France definitely has a ton of speed.\u00a0 And it\u2019s that fact that makes Zoom Lens so dangerous here.\u00a0 If he can get some of these speed burners to kill each other off, he might just have his first group score.\u00a0 And, that would make his owner, Skunk, and his ancestors pretty darned proud.\u00a0 This colt has the class, the breeding, and exactly the right come-from-behind running style for this group in Paris this weekend.\u00a0 And, you can bet he\u2019s going to be very dangerous against this group.\u00a0 The horse just has way too much class not to be dangerous in this field.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think it will matter much if he gets a dozen lengths behind this bunch in Paris.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to come charging late in this spot, and it might just be enough to get him over the top in the French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 He may need more distance, as he gets older, but here in Paris, he might have found the perfect field to help him put together his first group score.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 2 ) SEEKING THE LYPH\u00a0\u00a0 (KY)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Thehippos<\/span><\/p>\n

Gio Ponti x Pharsquaw (Seeking The Gold x Lyphard)<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 19 \/ 1<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0\u00a0 7: 2-2-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $376,450<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeking The Lyph has just enough speed on the front end of his pedigree and just enough stamina on the back end to make you think that he could pull off a win in the 1600-metre French 2000 Guineas here in Paris this weekend.\u00a0 There\u2019s only one hiccup.\u00a0 The 3 year old son of Gio Ponti has never run the 1600 metres he\u2019ll be asked to go this weekend in a career which includes a sparkling win in the 1000-metre Group 1 Nonethorpe across the channel in Surrey last August, when he was a 2 year old.\u00a0\u00a0 He jumped out in front of a full field that day in the U.K., and he stayed there the entire way, beating a couple of graded winners in the process as the sixth betting choice in the field of 14.\u00a0 Seeking The Lyph showed off his impressive front-end speed that day, chewing up a pretty impressive field of sprinters, including graded winners Bedlamite and Careful Choice as well as four other group stakes-placed colts.\u00a0 After his next start in the 1200-metre Grade 1 Middle Park Stakes last October resulted in a pretty sluggish effort that saw him give up the lead late and finish a fading sixth, his owner, Davarto Racing Stables, gave Seeking The Lyph the winter off and brought him back in January of this season.\u00a0 The three year old out of the Seeking The Gold mare Pharsquaw seemed to have retained his early speed over the course of the winter layoff, but he has given up the lead late in two listed stakes efforts since his comeback at the beginning of the season.\u00a0 He does have one open allowance win two starts back at 4.5 furlongs over this same Paris racecourse that he\u2019ll be running on this weekend.\u00a0 He held the lead the entire way in that event, as he staved off a late charge by Blue Choice to win by a quarter of a length in what was a visually impressive win for Seeking The Lyph.\u00a0 Still, Seeking The Lyph has yet to show he can cover successfully the 1600 metres he\u2019ll be asked to run in Paris on Saturday.\u00a0 You might think this is a pretty tough task Davarto is asking his colt to accomplish for the first time at this distance in a tough Group 1 field.\u00a0\u00a0 But one thing Davarto has always had is a great feel for when his horses are ready to step up to the plate in new or uncertain circumstances, and he generally won\u2018t enter his horses against fields he thinks they can\u2018t do well against.\u00a0 This might just be the right time for Davarto and Seeking The Lyph here in Paris.\u00a0 Trust the owner\u2019s gut feelings here.\u00a0 Davarto might have a live entry here in this prestigious Group 1 event this weekend.\u00a0 After all, Davarto is averaging about $55,000 every time he puts Seeking The Lyph on the track, and he\u2019s one of the few in here who can boast that.\u00a0 You might want to go with the money horse in the French 2000 Guineas this weekend, despite his lack of experience at this distance.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 3 )\u00a0 ROCK HARD REBEL\u00a0 (SKOR)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Droppinthhammer<\/span><\/p>\n

(Rock Hard Ten x Silly Moose (Dansili x Cozzene))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6 \/ 1\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 8:\u00a0 5-2-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $143,905<\/span><\/p>\n

Normally, sons of Rock Hard Ten like to run a bit longer than 1600 metres.\u00a0 But it looks like Bill of Nextbonus Racing has himself a pretty hot little miler here in Rock Hard Rebel.\u00a0 This colt has done very little wrong in his first eight starts.\u00a0 He\u2019s finished in the top three in all eight starts, and he\u2019s coming off a career high 105 speed figure while finishing third in his first graded event last time out in Kentucky.\u00a0 Rock Hard Rebel was in the middle of the pack early in the Grade 3 Dracula in Kentucky last month.\u00a0 He made a pretty tremendous late move and made up a lot of ground late to pick up a third place check in that spot.\u00a0 It was kind of a different show put on there in Kentucky by the three year old out of the stakes placed Dansili he-mare Silly Moose.\u00a0 In most of his previous seven starts he was either on or near the lead most of the race.\u00a0 He had utilized that front-running style effectively in winning five of those seven events.\u00a0 But, when he hit graded company for the first time, Bill\u2019s colt took back quickly early before finally settling in mid-pack for much of the race.\u00a0 He was in sixth place in the 14-horse field about six lengths back of the leaders, before he slowly began picking off horses one by one.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think he was\u00a0 worse than any of these horses in front of him at the finish, by any means.\u00a0 I think what happened was that Rock Hard Rebel was learning how to rate behind the leaders in the Grade 3 Dracula, and that third place finish was no disappointment.\u00a0 Most owners would bring him longer this time.\u00a0 But not Bill.\u00a0 He\u2019s been doing this Derbyfever thing a long time.\u00a0 If he didn\u2019t think his colt wanted a mile, he wouldn\u2019t have Rock Hard Rebel in this spot.\u00a0 I think Bill believes this colt is going to grow even more in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas Saturday, and I believe Bill thinks his colt can rate just behind a field that\u2019s full of speed and then pick them off at the end and possibly score his first graded win.\u00a0 There is, indeed, a lot of legitimate early speed in this race, and this could set up nicely for a stalking type like Rock Hard Rebel.\u00a0 He might be picking up more than just the pieces here late in the French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 He has a real shot to pick up the whole thing, if he can run anything like he did in his last effort.\u00a0 Watch this colt closely as the front-end speed burners try to out-duel each other early.\u00a0 If the early pace makes this race fall apart on the front end, and if Bill\u2019s colt isn\u2019t too far back by the 4-furlong pole, he could be a very dangerous beast in this 2014 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 Definitely a colt to watch here this weekend in Paris.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(\u00a04 )\u00a0 K\u2019S TEAHUPOO\u00a0 (ENG)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Bacchus\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dansili x K\u2019s Slew Wells (Sadler\u2019s Wells x Seattle Slew))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 5 \/ 1<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 10:\u00a0 5-5-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $165,460<\/span><\/p>\n

K\u2019s Teahupoo has as much (if not more) stakes experience as any three year old in this field in Paris this weekend.\u00a0 The three year old son of Dansili out of K\u2019s Slew Wells has ten career starts dating all the way back to February of his 2 year old season, and he really hasn\u2019t been given a very long break from racing since his debut over 14 months ago.\u00a0 He started off his career with easy maiden and allowance scores in his first two starts.\u00a0 But the lights didn\u2019t really come on for this colt until career start number 7, which just happened to be his first try at a mile in a November listed stakes event in Thailand.\u00a0 K\u2019s Teahupoo threw his first 100-plus speed figure of his career in that event, and he absolutely trounced a field of six others by open lengths.\u00a0 He scorched the track that day in a time of 1:35.41 for the 1600 metres, and that says a great deal about him as a late two year old.\u00a0 If that wasn\u2019t impressive enough, Bacchus Racing Stables threw its brilliant Dansili colt right back in against listed stakes company in his next start on the continent in Spain, where he nearly busted the 1:35 mark for the 1600 metres there.\u00a0 He led 7 others in the field from gate to wire to score by a length and a half in the Irish Tarbash Turf Juvenile, a race that closed out his two year old season in early December.\u00a0 K\u2019s Teahupoo was then entered in the 3 year old Group 1 Equinics 1600-metre event in his 2014 debut after about six weeks of rest.\u00a0 He picked up in 2014 right where he left off in 2013, throwing his third consecutive 100-plus speed figure run, before he finished a pretty impressive fourth, beaten only a length and a quarter.\u00a0 He actually held the lead briefly there at the 1200-metre pole, flashing a pretty swift time of 1:09.36 at that point in the race, before being caught and passed in the final two furlongs.\u00a0 In his last outing, K\u2019s Teahupoo might have been asked to go a little bit longer than he liked in the Group 2 South African Classic at 1800 metres, fading in the last 200 metres to an 11th<\/sup> place finish there.\u00a0 But this weekend, he\u2019s back to his preferred 1600-metre distance.\u00a0 And it looks like his owner might have him ready to roll against this group in the French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 He\u2019s been brilliantly placed so far in his career, and a win here in Paris this weekend might put K\u2019s Teahupoo squarely back in the conversation for some of the\u00a0 end of the year honors in the three year old division.\u00a0 This is a pretty impressive son of Dansili here who\u2019s held up well while running a pretty stiff schedule so far in his career.\u00a0 And this test in Paris this weekend may show us exactly what this colt is made of.\u00a0 Definitely one to keep your eye on here this weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 5 )\u00a0 NORTH WEST EVIL\u00a0 (ENG)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Owner:\u00a0 Thethumb2<\/span><\/p>\n

(Makfi (GB) x The South Side (Hussonet x Galileo))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 8 \/ 1\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 6:\u00a0 3-3-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $123,570<\/span><\/p>\n

Lenny271 Racing sends North West Evil here to Paris on Saturday afternoon.\u00a0 The English-bred three year old son of Makfi only has six career starts coming in here.\u00a0 But look carefully at his PP chart and see what he did two starts back.\u00a0 He ran against a pretty good colt by the name of Illusion Shaker, who went off as the second favorite in that allowance event behind North West Evil.\u00a0 Ryan\u2019s colt simply left scorched turf in his wake, when he jumped out to an early lead to win convincingly by open lengths in that spot.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing about that effort.\u00a0 Illusion Shaker came back in his very next start to run a 107 speed figure, and I think that gives you a pretty good idea of exactly the type of colt Ryan\u2019s North West Evil beat in that race two starts back.\u00a0 This colt is one of many colts in here who will probably be dueling on the front end early, and North West Evil\u2019s jockey will have to be extremely careful not to let himself get burned out early with the other flame throwers running here this weekend in Paris.\u00a0 Ryan threw his colt on the dirt to start his career, and he did pretty well on that surface in his first three starts.\u00a0 But after a couple of second place finishes that Ryan obviously wasn\u2019t happy with, he tossed North West Evil on the turf.\u00a0 He showed immediate improvement in the speed figure department, and he won his last two starts at a mile in pretty convincing fashion.\u00a0 Ryan dropped him back down in distance to 7.5 furlongs in his first listed stakes attempt last time out, and he blew out to a big lead once again.\u00a0 You usually don\u2019t see that when a horse turns from a route back to a long sprint.\u00a0 Usually you\u2019ll see them taper off a bit and run with a bit shorter lead or not make the lead at all.\u00a0 But North West Evil really turned on the burners in that 7.5 listed stakes and actually had a 4+ length lead two furlongs from the wire before he got caught late and finished second.\u00a0\u00a0 I think it\u2019s very important that Lenny\u2019s colt showed the same type of front end speed in that long sprint as he did in his two previous 1600-metre events, because that tells us that this colt\u2019s speed is not of the cheap variety.\u00a0 He\u2019s got legit speed.\u00a0 He might just be the one who burns out all the other speed burners and hangs on for the win.\u00a0 At the very least, I think he\u2019s got the best chance of all the front-runners here this weekend.\u00a0 He should get the lead early here and hold it.\u00a0 Can he hold off the late charges by some of the stalker types in here?\u00a0 That\u2019s the big question for North West Evil.\u00a0 If his early speed is as legitimate as I think it is, the rest of the field had better not let Lenny\u2019s colt get too far out in front early.\u00a0 If he\u2019s on his game on Saturday in Paris, the rest of the field may never catch this colt.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 6 )\u00a0 STREET ARTISTE\u00a0 (KY)\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Owner:\u00a0 Boble<\/span><\/p>\n

(Street Cry x Bogiantniner (Giant\u2019s Causeway x Forty Niner))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 7 \/ 1\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6:\u00a0 4-1-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $103,975\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Street Artiste is pretty regally bred, much like Zoom Lens.\u00a0 He\u2019s by Street Cry, and he\u2019s based on the Giant\u2019s Causeway he-mare Bogiantniner.\u00a0 Street Artiste\u2019s low place in the pecking order here based on his entry points is a bit misleading, and that\u2019s because this is only his second career turf start.\u00a0 I know, I know.\u00a0 That seems to be asking a lot of a three year old to make his second career start in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 But Boble Racing feels his colt has the class to run with this bunch.\u00a0 After all, he\u2019s won four of his six starts so far, finished second once, and he\u2019s only finished out of the top three once.\u00a0 He won his first two starts at seven furlongs, and he won easily when he went to his first route race at a mile in his third start on the dirt.\u00a0 He had a little bump in the road in his fourth start, a listed stakes in Colorado, where he finished fifth.\u00a0 Still, Blazing Sad Racing had faith in his colt\u2019s dirt ability, and he even moved him up to 9 furlongs two starts back.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t exactly awful there, finishing second.\u00a0 He did lose a little ground late, as he maybe wasn\u2019t quite ready for the 9 panels.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure what happened there.\u00a0 But Boble probably thought at that point, enough is enough.\u00a0 He switched his colt to the turf for the first time ever in an 8-furlong allowance event in Colorado, where he won geared down late by three very easy lengths.\u00a0 It was an eye-popping win, if you happened to be lucky enough to watch it.\u00a0 He scored a 99 speed figure there, but if you watched that race, it\u2019s pretty easy to see that if he were pushed harder late, he could have easily broken the 100 speed figure barrier.\u00a0 The race in Paris this weekend is his first race across the pond, and Street Artiste has his work cut out for him here against this field in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 He\u2019s not only facing his first group level field, but it\u2019s only his second start on the turf and his first in the EAAA Region, where the turf racing is king.\u00a0 He\u2019s got the deck stacked against him here, but if he can show that his first easy win on the turf home in America at this distance wasn\u2019t a fluke, he might be a live long shot here this weekend.\u00a0 If you\u2019re looking for a long shot, watch this guy in his second career turf start.\u00a0 The quick pace expected here certainly favors his off-the-pace stalking style.\u00a0 But he\u2019s never faced a group quite this quick.\u00a0 Can he stay within striking distance early on in this race, especially against this seasoned bunch of 3 year olds?\u00a0 That\u2019s the big question for Street Artiste, and only he can answer it.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s watch and see how he handles big-time EAAA turf racing.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 7 )\u00a0 THEATRE CRITIC\u00a0\u00a0 (KY)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Jockeymax7<\/span><\/p>\n

(Tale Of The Cat x Land Speed Record (Theatrical x A.P. Indy))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 7 \/ 1\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 8: 4-2-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $211,195<\/span><\/p>\n

Theatrical Critic got his career off to a flying start, winning three of his first four starts, including the 7-furlong Group 3 Stubenville.\u00a0 His first two starts as a two year old came on the dirt, interestingly enough, and he did extremely well there before his owner, Jockeymax Stables, decided to try him on the turf.\u00a0 The switch paid quick dividends, when Theatre Critic shipped across the pond to England for his first graded win at Surrey back in October of last season.\u00a0 The Group 2 Lafitte Criterium proved a bit too much for him, when he turned in a 10th<\/sup> place finish there.\u00a0 Maybe it was the turn back in distance to six furlongs.\u00a0 Maybe Theatre Critic just had a bad day.\u00a0 Jockeymax shipped him back to the states, where he quickly regained his form, finishing second in an 8.5 furlong listed stakes in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 That was a Del Penn Champions Day race, so you know it was probably loaded with talent that day in December.\u00a0 In his last start, he won an allowance event at 8.25 furlongs in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Despite that being an allowance event, it was a big race for Theatre Critic for a couple reasons.\u00a0 After his owner went back and forth with the distance, trying to find the right spot for his brilliant colt, he probably found that this colt\u00a0 really likes to run around a mile or so, which is the distance he\u2019ll see this weekend in Paris.\u00a0 He absolutely coasted in that last time out allowance win with that huge 105 speed figure.\u00a0 That definitely showed Jockeymax that his colt belongs with this bunch here in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas this weekend.\u00a0 What\u2019s nice about this colt is that he can run on the lead and win gate to wire, which could be dangerous in this race, with so much front-end spend.\u00a0\u00a0 He can also rate right off the leaders and make a late charge in deep stretch.\u00a0 It\u2019s extremely nice to have a young colt with only eight career starts who\u2019s already showing this type of versatility.\u00a0 It\u2019s exactly the thing that could make this a big payday for Theatre Critic this weekend.\u00a0 Keep an eye on this one.\u00a0 If Theatre Critic runs anything like he did last time out in that allowance, look out.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 8 )\u00a0 FAST IN THE PAST\u00a0\u00a0 (AUS)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Pmjstable\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Fastnet Rock x Nureyev x Roberto)\u00a0 (Scratch-bred)<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 8 \/ 1\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 10:\u00a0 3-1-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $247,786<\/span><\/p>\n

The Australian-bred Fast In The Past started off his career in the EAAA Region, winning two of his five career starts there.\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t until his owner, Mark Baggio, brought him across the pond to Canada that this three year old son of Fastnet Rock would score\u00a0 a graded win in his first graded attempt ever.\u00a0 The scratch-bred colt who has a pretty impressive back end that includes Nureyev and Roberto was doing just fine to kick off his career, where he won a MSW and a local-bred allowance event in his five attempts in the EAAA Region.\u00a0\u00a0 But no one could have foreseen from those performances what Mark\u2019s colt was capable of doing when he entered Fast In The Past in the Grade 3 Summertime in Ontario in his first graded attempt ever on North American soil.\u00a0 Certainly the betting public in Ontario didn\u2019t see this colt coming that early October day, when they made him the fifth betting choice (at 6\/1) in a pretty strong field of ten colts, one of whom would be the eventual Grade 1 Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile Turf winner and Grade 1 Futurity winner Bit Of A Buzz.\u00a0 Fast In The Past came from dead last with a pretty mad rush and caught Bit Of A Buzz in deep stretch in the Grade 3 Summertime before drew off to win by a length and a half.\u00a0 Fast In The Past also beat the post-time favorite and a pretty decent colt in his own right in Wayward Star that same day.\u00a0 Mark\u2019s colt then tossed a decent fifth place finish in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile Turf, where Bit Of A Buzz would extract his revenge on Fast In The Past.\u00a0 But Fast In The Past was closing quickly late that day on the big Breeders\u2019 Bowl day in California and simply ran out of ground late.\u00a0 From there, Mark took his colt to the dirt in Louisiana to run in the Grade 3 Sam\u2019s Town Delta Jackpot, a pretty important million-dollar Bluegrass Derby prep for late two year olds.\u00a0 Fast In The Past showed he didn\u2019t want much to do with the dirt on his first time on that surface, when he finished a well-beaten 10th<\/sup> that day.\u00a0 After that, he took about a month and a half off before he tried the turf again, this time in the 8-Furlong Grade 2 Fainting Goats Nightmare Stakes.\u00a0 He threw a 95 speed figure that day, which tied his career high up to that point, in a very deceiving tenth place finish in Arizona.\u00a0 What was so misleading about that tenth place finish was that Fast In The Past faced a pretty stiff field that day, yet he was only beaten by 3 \u00bd lengths.\u00a0 Ten colts squashed together in a space of 3 \u00bd lengths?\u00a0 Yes, it\u2019s fair to say that it was pretty deceiving when you saw that he finished tenth that day, beaten by that scant margin.\u00a0 Mark\u2019s colt ran fifth his last time out in the Grade 2 Palms in Florida, coming from 12th<\/sup> place in a field of 14 to grab a minor check there.\u00a0 This colt has a pretty nice late charge in his bag of tricks.\u00a0 If his jockey this weekend in Paris can keep him a little closer to the leaders early on, there\u2019s no doubt this colt has the talent–as well as the class–to run with the best in the world.\u00a0 He\u2019s shown us that already, when he beat Bit Of A Buzz late last season.\u00a0 Can he do it again here?\u00a0 Can he make a strong enough late charge to beat an extremely talented field of colts in the $500,000 Group 1 French 2000 Guineas in his first return to an EAAA track since midway through his two-year old season?\u00a0 That\u2019s the big question for the Australian-bred Fast In The Past here in Paris on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 9 )\u00a0 ALIEN FRED\u00a0\u00a0 (IRE)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0 Fredjed<\/span><\/p>\n

(Sir Prance lot (IRE) x Young Sensation (Medicean x Danehill))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 20 \/ 1\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 7:\u00a0 2-2-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $64,896<\/span><\/p>\n

Alien Fred is the outsider in this field this weekend in Paris.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have the blue blood pedigree like some of these have, and he doesn\u2019t have the speed figures most of these have coming into the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 He\u2019s by an Irish sire named Sir Prancealot, a sire who has yet to throw his first stakes winner, much less his first group winner.\u00a0 In his first four starts, Alien Fred has done very little wrong, winning two of those first four starts.\u00a0 And, he was throwing around some pretty decent speed figures.\u00a0 Then in his next two starts, a 7-furlong sprint and a 6.5-furlong sprint, he faltered just a bit, finishing second and fifth, losing a little ground late in both efforts.\u00a0 When Fredje Racing finally brought his colt up to a mile last time out, he ran against a pretty quick bunch there in his homeland in Ireland.\u00a0 The winner ran the mile in 1:35 and change, and Alien Fred kept close early on, before he faded to third.\u00a0 Still, he was only beaten by four lengths.\u00a0 Four of his starts have been in Ireland and three have been farther south in Newmarket, so he\u2019s used to running against some pretty good turf colts.\u00a0 But he hasn\u2019t quite seen anything of the calibre that he\u2019ll see in Paris this weekend in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 That much is certain.\u00a0 Still, there is hope, because Alien Fred\u2019s last three speed figures have risen to the low to mid 90\u2019s in those last three races of his.\u00a0 That might not be good enough to compete with this group, but it\u2019s always a lot of fun to watch a horse like Alien Fred step onto the track in a group 1 race, because everyone loves a long shot.\u00a0 And, Alien Fred is definitely going to be a real long shot come post time here in Paris this weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 10 )\u00a0 GIANT CIZIN\u00a0 (KY)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0\u00a0 Musse<\/span><\/p>\n

(Giant\u2019s Causeway x Slew Montjeu (Montjeu x Seattle Slew))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 10 \/ 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 7:\u00a0 4-0-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $129,311<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another one that could benefit from an early speed duel this weekend in Paris.\u00a0 Giant Cizin, from Daniel Racing Stables, won two of his first five starts, including a fifth place finish in a listed stakes his second time out of the gates way back in October of last season in Germany.\u00a0 In fact, this weekend, when he hits the turf course in Paris, it will be his first time racing outside of Germany.\u00a0 In those first five starts, the son of Giant\u2019s Causeway was doing pretty well, but he still hadn\u2019t broken through with anything like a 90 speed figure.\u00a0 Then, two starts back, he caught a bit of an off turf course in Germany, and the lights really came on for this colt.\u00a0 He got up late to score a \u00be length victory in an allowance race, after stalking the early leaders.\u00a0 What\u2019s even bigger is that he popped a 98 speed figure in that start, his highest speed figure of his career up to that point.\u00a0 After that, in his last start, Daniel put him in a NW4L allowance event, once again in Germany at a mile, and he popped his first 100 speed figure of his career, once again coming from just off the pace midway through the 8-furlong race.\u00a0 Those last two 8-furlong starts will make him competitive here.\u00a0 The colt who is out of the Grade 3 winning mare Slew Montjeu will have to be careful he doesn\u2019t get too far behind the early leaders, because he has yet to face a field with this much early speed.\u00a0 That\u2019s going to be the key to Giant Cizin\u2019s success–the ability to stay in touch with the leaders without expending too much energy early.\u00a0 If Daniel\u2019s colt is within three to five lengths of the leaders midway through the race, he\u2019s got a very live chance to take this race this weekend in France.\u00a0 Any farther back than that, and Daniel\u2019s colt might be in trouble.\u00a0 Daniel knows his turf racing.\u00a0 He is a veteran turf-meister, especially in these big European events.\u00a0 And he wouldn\u2019t have his colt in this spot, with only one listed stakes try on his record, if he didn\u2019t feel Giant Cizin was sitting on a big race.\u00a0 I\u2019ll trust Daniel\u2019s gut feeling here, and I have a feeling that Daniel\u2019s gut is telling him is colt is ready to roll in Paris on Saturday in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0 Giant Cizin\u2019s won all three of his tries at this 1600-metre distance so far in his career, and he\u2019s one of a few in here who can say that.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( 11 )\u00a0\u00a0 UNBRIDLED CRY\u00a0\u00a0 (KY)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Owner:\u00a0\u00a0 Hoganapex<\/span><\/p>\n

(Street Cry x Unbridled Motion (Pine Bluff x Unbridled))<\/span><\/p>\n

Odds:\u00a0 9 \/ 2\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Record:\u00a0 6:\u00a0 3-2-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earnings:\u00a0 $137,240<\/span><\/p>\n

Balata Racing Stables sends out the lightly raced Unbridled Cry here in Paris this weekend for a crack at the $500,000 purse on offer in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.\u00a0\u00a0 What Rick\u2019s colt may lack in experience (only six career starts here), he more than makes up for in class.\u00a0 This three year old by Street Cry is out of the sparkling Grade 1-winning dam Unbridled Motion, who showed precocity while scoring two graded wins in Ireland and Paris before she was three years old.\u00a0 And, she also showed her longevity by winning over $1 million dollars in a ten-year career that included 52 starts.\u00a0 Her first foal will be trying to do this weekend what his dam did, when he attempts to win his first Group 1 event on the same Paris racecourse that she won her only Group 1 event on.\u00a0 Unlike a couple of these he\u2019ll be running against this weekend, Unbridled Cry started his two year old season late, not debuting until early November, when he threw an 81 speed figure on the dirt while finishing second in a MSW event.\u00a0 That would be good enough for most people to keep this colt on the dirt, but it wasn\u2019t good enough for Rick.\u00a0 After that debut, he immediately put his blueblood colt on the grass, where he absolutely demolished the field in a gate to wire allowance win at 6.5 furlongs.\u00a0 What was more important was that Unbridled Cry busted out with a 91 speed figure, a ten-point increase over his MSW debut at the same distance on the dirt.\u00a0\u00a0 It was enough to show Rick that his instincts were correct.\u00a0 His colt popped an even bigger number in his first allowance event in his next start, again winning gate to wire.\u00a0 And, what\u2019s most important to note was that all three of these starts came in Kentucky, where the best of the best generally run in North America.\u00a0 After that, Unbridled Cry would lead most of the way, before giving way late and finishing second in an 8-furlong listed stakes in Minnesota.\u00a0 But he threw his first 100 speed figure that day.\u00a0\u00a0 So the Unbridled Cry train was rolling along right on schedule.\u00a0 He threw an even bigger number in his next start, a 107 speed figure, when he simply crushed a field of 12 others in the 8.5 listed stakes Propect Learn Turf Route.\u00a0 He led from gate to wire there, cruising to as much as a 3 \u00bd length lead before gearing down\u00a0 to an amazingly easy 2-length win.\u00a0 You don\u2019t see many numbers like that for any horse in only career start number five.\u00a0 Balata\u2019s colt is the real deal.\u00a0\u00a0 In his last attempt, Rick took his colt to the EAAA for the first time, and he suffered a bounce there in his first graded attempt, the Grade 3 Doctor Is In Memorial in Germany.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that the field was too stiff for Unbridled Cry.\u00a0 To be sure, it was a good field that day in Germany, but it was nothing this colt couldn\u2019t handle.\u00a0 I think he just did what most horses do after a Herculean effort like throwing a 107 in his fifth career start.\u00a0 He suffered a bit of a bounce.\u00a0 He jumped out of the gates alertly in that group 3 race in Germany, and he actually led halfway through the 8.5 furlong event.\u00a0 But what made this race different was that Unbridled Cry wasn\u2019t putting any space between himself and the horses chasing him early.\u00a0 And, when he began to fade a little more than halfway through the race, it quickly became apparent that it just wasn\u2019t going to be his day.\u00a0\u00a0 Look for him to come back strong\u00a0 here, if Rick\u2019s got Unbridled Cry ready this weekend.\u00a0 And, if he does get back to his previous form, you could be looking at a gargantuan speed figure number from Unbridled Cry–one that is maybe big enough to take down this Group 1 race in Paris on Saturday.\u00a0 One thing is certain:\u00a0 They\u2019ll be calling this one\u2019s number early and often on the lead this weekend, if he\u2019s on his game.\u00a0 This colt\u2019s got speed to burn.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

There\u2019s speed galore on display this weekend in Paris for the 2014 running of the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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-21447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21447","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=21447"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21457,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21447\/revisions\/21457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}