There are 4 added money events on this late winter racing day on the inner dirt winter course at New York this week. The 15th race is the 9th running of The Grade III Winchester Cap to be run one mile for all horses 3 years old and up. A full field of 14 is contesting this event and will be chaising top prize from the $150,000 purse.<\/P>
Let’s take a look at today’s field:<\/P>
1)KING WORK—7\/1—<\/STRONG>perko6 sends out this 4 year old colt out of KINGMAMBO with a record of 22-6-8-4 and lifetime earnings of $227,313. This 87th divisional ranked colt is a steady cheque earner having only missed the board in 4 of 22 lifetime starts. He was a busy campaigner racing 18 times in his 3 year old season after being unraced at 2. He has 1 win in 5 lifetime stakes starts, that being his best race to date while winning an overnite stake in Dubai earning a 109 speed rating for the 8 furlong race late last year. He race in the EAAA divsion last year but crossed the pond this year for his last 3 starts finishing with a 3rd and 2 seconds and all triple digit speed ratings since racing in North America. Child (14.3%) will have this speed stalker runner close to the early pace in this race today.<\/P> 2)CERTIFABLY CRAZY—10\/1—<\/STRONG>ashford sends out this 5 year old horse out of CAPOTE with a record of 38-10-5-7 and lifetime earnings of $286,502. This 101st divisional ranked horse has one stakes win in 12 lifetime tries and is 0\/5 in Graded events. He was a $25,000 claim pickup for the current owner in 2006.\u00a0He started his stakes career at 4 years old after racing exclusively in allowances at 2 and 3 years old. His best race to date was a second place finish in Colorado where he posted a 108 speed rating over 8 furlongs. He posted triple digit speed ratings in 10 of 18 starts last year. In his 2007 debut last time out he pressed the pace in a 9 furlong Grade III event in the slop\u00a0but faded in the stretch. His form shows that 8 furlongs is his best distance. His versatile running style will come in handy in this race today leaving Davis (9.1%) many options as the race unfolds.<\/P> 3)MR.EKO(IRE)—84\/1—<\/STRONG>pointe sends out this 3 year old colt with a \u00a0record of 12-7-0-0 and lifetime earnings of $228,960. This 48th divisional ranked colt has an exceptional win percentage and that mark is even better when looking at his dirt form. He has 7 wins in 9 dirt starts while being 0\/3 on the grass. He has 4 stakes victories in 9 lifetime stakes starts and all of those came on the dirt as he missed the board in his 3 turf black type starts. His worst career race did occur in his only Graded start to date where he was never a factor finishing 13th in his 2006 finale. He won his 2007 debut with a 94 speed rating over 8 furlongs in an overnite stakes. The long odds are a result as this will be his first start against older rivals and it may be a tad to early in the season to be trying such difficult company. Cunningham (0%) will be looking for his first win of the season aboard this longshot today.<\/P> 4)ZYGOTE—5\/1—<\/STRONG>isisbabe sends out this 5 year old horse out of A.P.INDY with a record of 19-9-4-2 and lifetime earnings of $738,390. This 12th ranked horse has 5 stakes victories in 14 lifetime tries and is 1 for 7 in Graded events. His best career race so far was a 7 furlong Maryland overnite stakes where he won with\u00a0 a 114 speed rating early last season. He topped the 110 speed rating mark 6 times last year. He has started the 2007 season very slowly so far debuting in a 6 furlong sprint Grade II posting a 103 speed rating while finishing in 6th place and his last effort was a last place finish in a Grade III event where he posted an 88 speed rating in the 8.5 fulong contest. That was his lowest rating since his 2 year old campaign. Perhaps the horse is tailing off after going 9\/10 in the money at 4. Lawton (23.9%) who is enjoying a banner season to date will hope to turn things around for this closing horse in today’s event.<\/P> 5)TITAN MOON—7\/1—<\/STRONG>bulletwork sends out this 5 year old horse out of DYNAFORMER with a record of 31-10-6-4 and lifetime earnings of $343,139. This 220th divisional ranked horse has 1 stakes victories in 11 lifetime tries and is 0\/5 in graded events.He started his career on the turf but has come on to his own since\u00a0switching to the dirt\u00a0surface.\u00a0He is a streaky horse and had a nice 3 race winning streak last year including back to back 106 speed rated miles including an overnite stake in California. It should be noted that 6 of his lifetime wins were in his 3 year old season. In 2007 he has posted back to back 102 speed ratings in allowance races but did win his last—is another win streak in the making here?. Painter (14.7%) will have this one charging down the stretch with his closing style in this race today.<\/P> 6)TIZ A TORNADO(KY)—61\/1—<\/STRONG>simond4 sends out this 3 year old colt with a record of 12-2-2-3 and lifetime earnings of $306,860. This 147th divisional ranked colt has yet to win a race over 5.5 furlongs\u00a0 and has 1 stakes victory in 10 lifetime tries, 0\/3 in graded events. That stakes win was his stakes debut at 2 and while he has finished in the money since it was his last win to date. His top speed rating to date is a 94 earned in his 2007 debut while finishing 4th in a Grade III event. His last race was on the turf where he faded as the race progressed. Hard to see why this horse is trying older company right now as this one would seem better suited to running against his own age and getting back to the winners circle before trying such a difficult race. Schauer (16.7%) will have this one positioned up close at the start of the race.<\/P> 7)LEAVENWORTH—8\/1—<\/STRONG>caerleon sends out this 6 year old horse out of ATTICUS with a record of 31-8-2-3 and $169,261. This 178th divisional ranked horse was a $2000 claim pickup for the current owner in his 2006 debut. Prior to the claim he was struggling in allowance races finishing well back but the new trainer seemed to find the necessary buttons to push to get this one to pick up his game. Since the claim he has posted 6 wins and 11 money finishes in 13 starts. The best was his 2006 finale where he posted a 105 speed rating winning an ovenite allowance in Arizona. He is 2\/6 in stakes events but has tried two Graded events so far this year and has not had the same results. His last was a regression in speed rating and today’s race may indicate whether or not this horses run from the bottom claimers has peaked or whether he still has some magic in him. Whatever the case this is still a great claiming story. Haffner (6.7%) will try to have this horse with a clear path in the stretch to show his closing abilities.<\/P> 8)SO SLEW ME—7\/1—<\/STRONG>babyfarms sends out this 4 year old colt out of BELONG TO ME with a record of 25-7-4-1 and $1,227,062 in lifetime earnings. This 18th divisional ranked colt has been shipped to New York from the homebase in Minnesota for today’s Grade III event. He is last year’s California Derby winner and has 3 stakes victories of which 2 are Graded events in 19 lifetime black type starts. His best start to date speed rating wise was a 111 rating over 9 furlongs winning an overnite 9 furlong stake in California. He followed that up with a 2nd place finish in the Minnesota Derby for his 2006 finale. In 2007 he has been progressing well with his numbers improving every start and an allowance win in his last race with a 108 speed rating over 8 furlongs.He likes to be up close early and Michaels(2.6%) will have to be agressive as soon as the gates open.<\/P> 9)CREDIT GRANTED—9\/1—<\/STRONG>brentuk sends out this 4 year old colt out of FOREST WILDCAT with a record of 15-5-1-3 and lifetime earnings of $207,494. This is another shipping in from the homebase at Minnesota Downs and he is currently ranked 337th in the division. He started his career at 3 with back to back 8 furlong wins but was shortly switched to the turf for much of his 3 year old campaign.\u00a0He was returned to the dirt after the stable relocated to Minnesota last season for the Minnesota Derby where he finished 3rd with a 103 speed rating over 8 furlongs. In 2007 he has run in 3 stakes races and has posted triple digit speed rating in all of them. His best race to date was his second to last start where he posted a 108 speed rating while winning an overnite stakes, his first black type win,\u00a0overseas in Sweden at 8.5 furlongs. Gunn (7.7%) will have this closer charging down the stretch late in this race today.<\/P> 10)SLAY THE BARBARIAN(KY)—57\/1—<\/STRONG>snakebite sends out this 3 year old colt out of MINESHAFT with a record of 6-3-1-1 and lifetime earnings of $106,270. This 370th divisional ranked colt is 2 for 3 in lifetime stakes starts but all have been in sprints against field his own age. He had finished in the money in his first 5 lifetime starts before trying a Grade III route in his last start. This front runner faded badly after a speed duel finishing in 9th place. That race leave 2 questions—firstly why is he running in a route when he has clearly shown to prefer sprinting—secondly why is he trying older company Graded race when he should be competing at his own age level at this stage of his career. One can hope that he gains some experience from this race and does not regress from racing against company that is too difficult for him at this stage of his career. This is only his 7th lifetime start. Barba (11.1%) should have this one quick out of the gate in today’s race.<\/P> 11)SNICKERS THE CAT—16\/1—<\/STRONG>fatdaddy sends out this 4 year old colt out of CAT STRIKE with a record of 17-2-4-2 and lifetime earnings of $94,855. This 2053rd divisonal ranked colt finished his 3 year old season on a high note in his stakes race debut in an ovenite Upper\u00a0New York contest\u00a0finishing 2nd in the 7.5 furlong event posting a lifetime best 108 speed rating. He started his career off slowly taking 8 races to win his MSW race, with 3 turf race experiments in that mix. The question being asked is why the 4 month layoff, and should he have had a prep for this Graded event after such a long time off. Only the trainer will know the answer to that question. Jenkins (11.8%) will have this one charging in the stretch with this horse’s closing abilities.<\/P> 12)CRAFTY VICTORY—9\/1<\/STRONG>—funster sends out this\u00a05 year old horse out of VICTORY GALLUP with a record of 42-6-6-7 and lifetime earnings of $1,144,407. This 206th divisional ranked horse does\u00a0not possess the best of win percentages but has been hanging around in top notch races and has earned enough to be a member of the millionaires club. He has 4 black type win in 38 stakes runs and they have all been of the graded variety.\u00a0To show you the tough company he has been racing against he posted 13 triple digit speed ratings in 18 starts last year but failed to register a win in any of those races. His last win was in week 2601 which is over a year and a\u00a0half ago—until his last race that is. After 2\u00a0sub par runs in 2007 he dropped down to a *840 allowance in his last and found the winners circle again posting a 103 speed rating in the mile contest. We will have to see how he performs today\u00a0to see whether or not he has regained his form but the company today will be much tougher than his last race. This closer will\u00a0be handled by Foster (9.2%) today.<\/P> 13)SECRET HIDEAWAY—5\/1<\/STRONG>—brightmoon sends out this 4 year old colt out of SPEIGHTSTOWN with a\u00a0record of 18-8-6-1 and lifetime earnings of $269,890. This 553rd divisonal ranked colt is only running\u00a0in a route for the second time in his career. He has 2 wins in 7 lifetime stakes runs and this race will mark his Graded race debut. Both of his stakes victories to date have been in sprints. He has posted 8 straight triple digit speed ratings which have earned him the billing as co morning favorite for this race today. He faded in the stretch in a sprint stake two starts ago and was brought back in a route allowance where he wire the field while posting a 105 speed rating over 8.5 furlongs. He is a speed threat in this race today and will be guided by Hoskins (6.4%).<\/P> 14)KEYSTONE COP—10\/1<\/STRONG>—stablebums sends out this 4 year\u00a0old colt out of BUGATTI with a record of 20-6-3-5 and lifetime earnings of $135,783. This 527th ranked colt is making only his second lifetime stakes start, his first being a 5th place finish in a Grade III event last year in Louisiana. He started his career\u00a0on the turf at 2 but switched to the dirt in his 3 year old campaign where his speed ratings jumped up\u00a0by 20 points. All of his wins have\u00a0come in route races and he enters this contest coming off a\u00a0lifetime best 110 speed rating in a New Hampshire allowance race. If he repeats that performance today he will be one of the contenders in this contest today. This closer will be ridden by Dundey (16.3%) who is enjoying a good season so far to date.\u00a0<\/P> A great field of this New York feature and with an even mix of speed and closers this race is a difficult handicapping chore for the best of punters. I am leaning towards #8 SO SLEW ME to win in\u00a0a tight race, but perhaps my Minnesota bias may be playing a hand in this selection.<\/P> \u00a0<\/P> GOOD LUCK AND GOOD RACING<\/P> \u00a0<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ONE OF FOUR STAKES TO BE RUN ON NEW YORK WINTER INNER DIRT COURSE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"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-3794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794","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\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}