Four weeks before the Breeders\u2019 Bowl, and it is a virtual extravaganza of graded stakes this week. Many seek to punch a ticket to the big dance this week, and hopes will be both realized and crushed in 24 hours\u2019 time. No less than five graded stakes at 1 \u00bd miles or further on the turf are carded for this week, but despite the number, the Grade 2 Big City Handicap has drawn a proven star in Bristol Rovers, primarily because it was the answer to the off-track specialist\u2019s prayers. A week of steady, unrelenting rain has left the course in good condition, and a prime opportunity for those who love a bit of give to the ground to earn some critical stakes points. They can worry about doing the Churchill rain dance later; for now, this race is the goal. There\u2019s a new television show called \u201cThe Nine\u201d, about a bunch of survivors of a bank robbery. In this race, each of the nine is hoping to pull off a heist of both stakes points and the lions\u2019 share of the $300,000 purse. In post position order, your nine co-stars are as follows:
PP1: Hollowfly\u2019s Hollow<\/B>, 4yo (Beat Hollow x Green Dancer)
As you can guess from the name, this guy is part of the brundlefly empire, hailing from the hollofly<\/I> division. Not sure he really wants this type of going, as he\u2019s been a badly beaten seventh the last two times he\u2019s tried the off-turf, although he was second in his only other foray over the good going. Should like the distance, but the combination of the step up in class and the off-track puts the odds against him. Still, has solid connections, so if they can work their magic, he could pull off the 10\/1 surprise.
PP2: Dal House<\/B>, 5yo (Chester House x Ajdal)
Trained by peeps<\/I>, the colt has never tried dirt, and never sprinted, but has been pretty effective going long on the turf, so you really can\u2019t fault his connections for not experimenting with him. Just a cut below the best – he was a distant third in the Sword Swallower – he\u2019s still a very nice individual indeed, with a pair of stakes victories and a second in the ever-tough Smackdown series prior to that graded attempt. His times haven\u2019t been stellar over an off-track, but it\u2019s really hard to gauge, as Dal House won a 16 furlong allowance easily, so he wasn\u2019t pushed. Gets a bit of a class test here, but definitely belongs with this group.
PP3: Bristol Rovers<\/B>, 6yo (Rahy x Danzig)
Odds of 5\/2 is a gift on this guy, the proven star of the field, as he tries to run his unbeaten streak to seven over an off-turf course. Swampy\u2019s<\/I> luck finally changes after four straight races over a firm going. Last time he got this kind of give on the ground, Bristol Rovers waltzed off with Equinics gold. Has tailed off a bit in his last few, so wear and tear has got to be a concern with the miles piling up, but the wet stuff and an honest pace scenario might be exactly what the doctor ordered in order to get win number 25 in a distinguished career, and would push him to just shy of $7 million in earnings.
PP4: Sir Opal<\/B>, 3yo (Royal Academy x Luskin Star
Woodlands<\/I> is taking a bit of a gamble with this guy, who is still eligible for nonwinners of two lifetime. In fourteen starts, the Opal has shown that he is headstrong and rank, fighting his jockey on the lead, until he fades, exhausted. Will probably help set up a quick early pace, but would be a definite surprise to see him sticking around at the wire.
PP5: Green Street II<\/B>, 5yo (Street Cry x Green Desert)
Doesn\u2019t have quite the credentials of a Bristol Rover, but still, this guy is compiling a pretty nice record on this surface, as he broke his maiden over a good course, and last time out, he was an even third in the Grade 3 Fusahoochie Turf Classic, over a similar surface. The additional quarter mile should be to his liking, as he won a 13 furlong stakes two starts back. Zeco7<\/I> has done quite a nice job with Green Street II since acquiring him from breeder dancigar at the end of last season. In four starts, the horse has posted three wins and a third, and a graded stakes victory would be quite a feather in the proverbial training cap. Lots to like about this guy, and probably the value play in the exotics.
PP6: Neon Swan<\/B>, 4yo (Festival of Light x Nureyev)
The start is going to be the key to this guy\u2019s fortunes. If he can get an easy lead, the race may be over in the first quarter. Other horses in the race do appear to have a turn of early foot, in which case, he\u2019s going to have a tough time of it, but it isn\u2019t clear that they can match his proven speed. He held on stubbornly for third in the Grade 1 Long Walk two weeks ago, and this is a furlong shorter. A graded stakes winner at a mile, he\u2019s been effective going further, but has yet to pull down a grade win at these distances. This is his first try over a wet track for db<\/I>, so lots of question marks here, but has the potential to answer them all with a definitive yes. If you guess right, though, 3\/1 isn\u2019t much of a reward.
PP7: Prized Indy<\/B>, 5yo (Prized x A.P. Indy)
Lightly raced horse has shown an affinity for the off-going, with a pair of second place finishes in stakes competition to show for it. Like Neon Swan, he does his best running on the front end, a fact that helps neither. On his current training pattern, the m92885<\/I> charge is poised for another speed figure flirting with the 100 barrier, which may be good to pull this off, if Bristol Rovers falters. Low percentage jock a concern, other than that, a definite contender.
PP8: Rage More Piper<\/B>, 5yo (Sadler\u2019s Wells x Nureyev)
Lone filly in the field, she has handled the boys before, including a G1 score in the GSR Cup, so gender isn\u2019t a concern. However, she\u2019s fallen on hard times this season (to be honest, ever since she won the G1 Brisbane Distaff last season), a mere shadow of herself, and has failed to crack the 80 SF mark in each of her last four starts. While she has won four of six over an off-track, her last three attempts have been with an 82 SF or less. Success here would push the pm2<\/I> trainee over the $1 million mark, but she\u2019ll really have to turn things around in order to get the job done.
PP9: Cozy Delta<\/B>, 4yo (Cape Canaveral x Cozzene)
Probably the main threat to the favorite, the airtiger<\/I> grey has already won one graded stakes over an off-track, the G3 Fusahoochie two starts back, beating rival Green Street II, and the Houston Dawn Special. Only disappointment over a yielding course was in the Equinics. Main question mark is the distance. Never gone this far, but has won at 12 furlongs, although ultimately this may prove to be a touch beyond his best. Legitimate shot to add another graded stakes tally to his record.
Good luck to all, in what should be an exciting affair!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bristol Rovers headlines field<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":438,"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-3099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099","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\/438"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}