Welcome to a sunny California on this Friday, the start of the Breeders’ Bowl event. History is ready to be written on this major event and we have 14 G1 races lined up for this fantastic Breeders’ Bowl weekend. Across the globe of DerbyFever there is also a lot of other nice G1 races.<\/p>\n
The Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Mile is of course run over 8 furlongs on the dirt track and have the fine purse of $1.000,000. The field is packed with quality and all the runners have been winning at graded level, we have only colts in this line-up and we have a mix of 3yo’s, 4yo’s and a 7yo horse.<\/p>\n
The race goes back to 2008 into the DerbyFever history and the highest speed performed by a horse in this race was set at 2013 on the same track as we have it today. The record was set by fine Of Whitehorse<\/strong> who managed to do 119 and I wouldn’t be surprised if that or more is needed to win today. Of Whitehorse<\/strong> is also running the race this year, so a BIG welcome back!<\/p>\n In real life this race started 2007 and had some influential runners over the years. This years event also seems to have a few influential runners that we should be seeing as sires in the coming years.<\/p>\n At gate number 1 we have the lightly raced 4yo K’s Gorgo<\/strong> (Distorted Humor x Storm Cat x Alydar) getting ready to chase the leaders in this race. This 4yo seems to be in the form of his life, winning 6 of the 7 starts this year. He has already proven to be a G1 winner, but that is also the only graded win this year, the rest have been listed and allowance. I think this horse have a major chance in doing something magical today. The question is if he is ready to be on G1 level only and follow up that nice performance from New York in May. I have seen one time performers before, but I think this guy have it in him!<\/p>\n At gate number 2 we have have the 3yo Middle Jewel Stakes winner Infantry<\/strong> (Soldier Hollow x Wild Again x Mr. Prospector). There are a lot of nice breedings and pedigree in this race and I really like to see that we have a German breed horse in this race. This 3yo seems to have struggled last races and coming here after a long rest, it will of course be interesting to see how he can do after this rest, but what is clear is that he needs to step-up another level in able to reach top-5. He is one of the horses that most likely will try to go to the lead and set the tempo for the race.<\/p>\n At gate number 3 we have the 3yo triple G1 winner Dragos<\/strong> (War Front x Ghostzapper x Kingmambo). He have been running good all year, except for the Kentucky Derby, it could have been the extra distance causing this performance since he have come back really nice after that race with winning a G1 and two 2nd’s in G2 level. I think you will find this guy in the middle of the field somewhere after 1-2 furlongs in the race and normally he starts going halfway there. He sure looks like he come here well-prepared. Good amount of races this year and had a good rest from the last race. I think he can also do really good on mile even if he normally runs between 8.5 and 9 furlongs.<\/p>\n At gate number 4 we have the Kentucky Derby winner from this year Mountnoir<\/strong> (Malibu Moon x Storm Cat x Mr. Prospector). I think what we are all asking ourself looking at his form, is what happened after the Kentucky Derby? Did he burn his energy in that race or was the short rest between the triple crown races the problem? I don’t have an answer and I don’t think anyone have. After the Kentucky Derby performance he had 4 G1 starts with only being able to finish top-5 one time. What is interesting is that he seems to have been best when getting the lead early in the race. He might be a runner that need to be in the lead, I had a few of those myself. If he goes for the lead I think he can cause some damage, but I would be surprised if he is the horse in the winner circle after the race.<\/p>\n At gate number 5 we have a horse with good form in Packin The Heat<\/strong> (Pulpit x Unbridled x Halo). This lightly raced 4yo had a nice 2014 so far, hitting top-3 in all starts, with all wins but one there it was a 2nd in a G1 action. He seems to have gotten proper rest and also is looking to come here in good form with very solid numbers. I will not judge any speednumbers from a hot-race. I do however feel that he needs to step-up 1 level to win this race. Last year the winner had 119 and I see a lot of the horses are producing these kind of numbers from time to time. Do I think he is ready for this? Yes I do, I think we will see a lot of nice races from this one in the future and the start would of course be excellent if it is in Breeders’ Bowl.<\/p>\n At gate number 6 we have Wait N Again<\/strong> (Awesome Again x Dynaformer x Kingmambo)\u00a0standing ready for the biggest race of his career so far. He also had a very solid year and was part of the Kentucky Derby discussions, but seems he maybe isn’t able to handle that distance. As we can see the trainer did a really impressive job to notch back to 8-9 furlongs where I think he is ready to be the real deal. This year has been all about improvements for this guy, going fast and faster in each race. I think this is a horse that can be overlooked by many, since he haven’t been able to win G1 yet, but if he improve again he can be the horse in the winner circle at the end of the race. He might go for the lead in this race, but I think his best racing is just behind the leader and I am pretty sure the jock know how to handle him.<\/p>\n At gate number 7 we have another 3yo in Calloway<\/strong> (Mineshaft x El Prado x Strawberry Road). He comes here in good form after a solid year, I do think he have produced really good speed and I am sure we will see this horse also racing for the next 1-2 years in top-level. I am a bit concerned that he haven’t won in G2 or G1 level yet, that is though my only concern, regarding speed he have been solid! I think he will be in the middle of the field or at the end to start his chase halfway.<\/p>\n At gate number 8 we have the oldest horse of the race, the 7yo Harper II<\/strong> (Maybry’s Boy x Smart Strike x Dehere). To be honest I would expect a 7yo to have a few more races, but he only have 22 races so far and I think he have been doing pretty well winning 8 of those starts. It is a bit tricky to judge his chances in this race, his racing this year have been on 10 furlongs, so is he able to take a step back to 8 furlongs and produce the goods? I would say he have the chance, but he needs to play the a-game for sure. The concern here is the 2 latest races where he seems to have been a bit slower and also the concern is that he only managed to win G3 level. Going from G3 to G1 winning is hard, but in the Breeders’ Bowl it is much harder than hard.<\/p>\n At gate number 9 we have the 4yo Nectar Of The Gods<\/strong> (Pulpit x Nureyev x Bold Ruler). He comes to California with hopes of winning, of course as the rest of the trainers. He had 20 career starts and managed to win 10 of them so far, it is a pretty good record. This year he raced 7 races and managed to finished top-5 in all races, coming into this race with 2 wins in a row from a G2 and an allowance. Should be able to get a good result here today if he can manage the normal speed he produce, but to win he need to have a top-day. I think we will see him in the middle of the field and halfway he will accelerate and looking for an opening.<\/p>\n At gate number 10 we have the Irish breed 4yo Top Buzz<\/strong> (Raven’s Pass x Encosta De Lago x Distorted Humor). He is coming here with 11 wins in his 20 career starts, but I think he have struggled a bit to find the form this year. His last race was a nice allowance win, so maybe he gets the momentum from that race and can build to a solid performance in this race. He started the season super fast in the Equinics, but after that he have struggled to get first over the finish line. If he can get to the lead and hold on for awhile I think he can be top-5, but a top quality performance is required.<\/p>\n At gate number 11 we have the most experienced runner of the race with 25 starts. Ello Guvnor<\/strong> (Dynaformer x Seattle Slew x Storm Cat) have however been struggling this year, only managed to get 1 win under the belt. The performance in Equinics was good, but after that it seems to have gone slower and slower. This 4yo have seen it’s best days and would need to step-up more than 1 level to get away with a good result today. Think he will be last in the field after a few furlongs, so I am pretty sure he is hoping that there isn’t to much front speed. Maybe the trainer know something I don’t (very likely), but I will be very surprised to see this horse finish top-5.<\/p>\n At gate number 12 we have the 22 race experienced Intentions<\/strong> (Candy Ride x Deputy Minister x Mr. Prospector). This guy is a rock solid performer, what he is missing is that extra gear against these kind of top quality horses. I think this guy have the chance of hitting top-5 and he would need the right kind of race to win. What I don’t question is his consistency, it has been really good this year with top-5 placings in all starts. Maybe that isn’t so impressive, until you know he only been running G1 and G2 races this year. I am sure he will be able to get another solid performance today, but the concern is that he never won G1 and he haven’t shown the speed I think is required today.<\/p>\n At gate number 13 we have the 3yo Lucky Sensation<\/strong> (Looking At Lucky x Storm Bird x Easy Goer). This runner have had a solid 2014 with 5 wins in 8 starts, 2 of these wins was G2 level. For this race it remains to see if it is either a sensation or lucky. What I can judge from the speed this horse have the potential to hit top-5 today, but it hasn’t on regular basis produced the kind of numbers needed. Last race also give some question marks regarding the form of this young guy, he finished 9th in a G2 far behind the winner. If he can manage to get close behind the leader he should be able to get his things together and produce a nice result, but I don’t see him as the winner in this race, but top-5 shouldn’t be impossible.<\/p>\n At gate number 14 we have the last year winner of this race in Of Whitehorse<\/strong> (Danehill Dancer x Pivotal x Storm Cat). I am happy to see that we have the champion of last year back to try to get the title again. This year he has been a bit inconsistent in his performance, running a few good races in a row and then a few not so good. Maybe he will hit the good race cycle again for this one, last race showed he was on a down peak again. But I will never rule out the last year champion, so I think he have a good chance, but he need to step-up to the same level as last year. <\/p>\n Daniel\u2019s top-5: K’s Gorgo, Packin The Heat, Wait N Again, Calloway and Intentions<\/p>\n Daniel\u2019s crazy bet: Ello Guvnor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to a sunny California on this Friday, the start of the Breeders’ Bowl event. History is ready to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"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-25998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25998","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\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25998"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26016,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25998\/revisions\/26016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGood luck to all runners and trainers!<\/p>\n