The fifteenth race on the card, and highlight race for Saturday is the Grade 1 St. James Tavern here in Ascot. The prestigious race is run over a mile on the turf and is open to all three year olds with a prize purse up for grabs of $500,000. The weather has been fair all week with light afternoon showers, though this is not expected to interfere with Saturday’s running of the St. James Tavern. Look for only possible clouded skies, free of rain, with the turf track listed as firm at post time. This Grade I race has drawn almost a full field, with thirteen of the fourteen starting gates to be full at post time. Lets take a look at each of the thirteen contenders.
Drawing the rail is Awesome Song<\/b> (Unbridled\u2019s Song x Awesome Again x Storm Cat). This royally bred dark gray three year old is owned and trained by goldcity<\/i>. The Kentucky-bred colt been lightly raced with a total of ten lifetime starts, half of which have been wins. The colts most recent start came in the mile long Roy Rogers Handicap (G3) where he was held back in sixth but quickly started taking down front-runners, going on to win by one and three-fourth lengths with a speed figure of one hundred six, a lifetime best for the colt. A previous start in the ungraded nine furlong Machine Scale Memorial also earned the colt a win.
At 29\/1 is Agent X<\/b> (Storm Cat x Mr. Prospector x Nijinsky II), who is trained and owned by futurestar<\/i>. This royally bred bay three year old has also been lightly raced with a total of eleven career starts, including three lifetime wins. His most recent start came in a six and a half furlong allowance caliber race in Portugal in which he was held just off the front running pace in second during the dirt sprint, but faded in the stretch and finished fourth, setting a speed figure of seventy-two, well below his average speed figure the colt had set on prior turf starts. His most recent win came on the six furlong ungraded Coronado\u2019s Gold Challenge on the turf where again he sat behind the pace in second but accelerated in the stretch, going on to win by one and three-fourth lengths with a speed figure of eighty-two. His most recent graded start came on the six furlong After Shave Sprint (G2) where he finished a well-beaten and disappointing thirteenth. Primarily a sprinter, the colt has only run over a mile in one other start, The KyH Juvenile (G1) as a two year old where he finished sixth.
Longshot Forklifts (IRE)<\/b> (Singspiel (IRE) x Rahy x Zabeel (NZ)) is next in the field. The three year old bay colt is owned by home<\/i> and has a total of fourteen lifetime starts with three career wins. The colts most recent start came on the dirt during the eleven furlong ungraded Triangular Dragon Special in Athens where he hung off the front-running pace in second but faded in the stretch finishing fifth in the six-horse field, thirty and three-fourth lengths back. His most recent win came in late September of last year during the eight and a half furlong ungraded El Artful Bonanza on the turf where he was held slightly further back in third, gained ground in the stretch and went on to win by one and three-fourth lengths while posting a speed figure of eighty-two. His most recent graded start came in the Sydney Derby (G1) where the colt crossed the wire eighth.
In the number four post will be New Information<\/b> (Polish Miner x Arch x Chequer). The bay three year old is trained by bohemia<\/i> and has been lightly raced as well with a total of twelve lifetime starts. Only one of these starts did the colt not finish on the board. His most recent start came in the After Shave Sprint (G1) where he sat back off the pace stalking the front-runners in third, moved up to second in the stretch where he crossed the wire just a length off the pace while recorded a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred two. His most recent victory was just the start before in the ungraded seven furlong Sultry Warning (GB) Memorial, where he was slightly closer to the pace in second, overtook the leader in the stretch and went on to win by one and one-fourth lengths.
Next is The Fast Layne<\/b> (Rahy x Sadler\u2019s Wells x Gone West), who is trained and owned by seacadet<\/i>.. The bay three year old has only raced a total of nine times, but only one of these starts has not earned the colt a place in the top three finishers of the race. His most recent start came in the mile long 2000 Guineas (G1) where he was held far off the pace in eleventh and made his move in the stretch, going on to cross the wire second, one and one-fourth lengths back with a speed figure set of one hundred. His most recent win came in mid-February during the Frio Frio Mile (G3) where he again was held at the back of the field, made his move in the stretch and went on to win by a length over his nearest competition.
Following will be Torino<\/b> (Eurosilver x Danehill x Storm Bird), who is owned and trained by wistful<\/i>. The light gray colt has a total of eleven lifetime starts, including two wins, three places and a show. His most recent start came in the mile long 2000 Guineas (G1) where he was held back in sixth and gained little ground in the stretch, crossing the wire where he started with a speed figure of ninety-five. His most recent win came in early January during a mile long allowance caliber race in Longchamp where he raced in fifth and drew away from the field in the stretch to win by two and one-fourth lengths.
Breaking mid-pack will be Paycheck (IRE)<\/b> (Montjeu (IRE) x Green Desert x Roberto), who is trained by deyoto<\/i>. The bay Irish-bred has a total of eleven lifetime starts including five wins, all on the turf. His most recent start came in the 2000 Guineas (G1) on the turf where he sat just behind the front runner in second and overtook him in the stretch of the mile long race, going on to win the prestigious 2000 Guineas by one and one-fourth lengths while recording a speed figure of one hundred two, a career best for the colt.
Favorite Unintentionally<\/b> (Dixieland Band x Wild Again x Fusaichi Pegasus), who is out of the graded race-running dam Imawildone. The chestnut colt is owned by pjlracing<\/i> and has a lucky thirteen lifetime starts including eleven finishes on the board. The colts most recent start came in The Ascot Mile (G2) where he ran from wire to wire in second, finishing just two and one-fourth lengths off the pace while recording a speed figure of ninety-nine. His most recent triumph came in the ungraded mile long Royal Roo Challenge where he was held more off the pace in fourth, but started picking off other horses early as they tired during the race, going on to win by two lengths. The spectacular colt has finished no worse than second in nine starts.
12\/1 shot Sister Awake<\/b> (Woodman x Northern Dancer x Affirmed) is next in the field. The bay Kentucky-bred colt is owned and trained by lenny5<\/i> and has been very lightly raced with only a total of eight lifetime starts. Six of these starts have all been top three finishes. His most recent start came in the twelve furlong Sydney Derby (G1) where the colt was held a good bit off the pace in twelfth and sent forward to challenge in the stretch, ultimately finishing fifth, still a good twelve and one-fourth lengths off the pace, though setting a speed figure of ninety. The colts most recent win came overseas in Texas during the nine and a half furlong ungraded Tea Party Stakes where he stalked mid-pack and went on to win the race by one and a half lengths.
In the ten post is Cugat\u2019s Stage<\/b> (King Cugat x Theatrical (IRE) x Hennessy), who is out of the race-winning dam Jasmine Jazz (IRE). The bay colt is trained and owned by patwilliam<\/i> and has a total of eleven lifetime starts, nine of which were finishes on the board for the impressive colt. His most recent start came in the nine furlong ungraded Uncensored Handicap where he started out in fourth but lost ground early on and finished fifth in the six-horse race, back fourteen and a half lengths, setting a speed figure of eighty-five. His most recent victory came in March of this year during the mile long ungraded Texan A.P. Stakes where he sprinted along in fourth, poured on the steam in the stretch and went on to win the mile long race by one and three-fourth lengths. This will be the colts first attempt at graded stakes company this Saturday.
Next is PJ Blaze Of Glory (GB)<\/b> (Millenary (GB) x Priolo x Baynoun (IRE), who is out of the race-winning dam Laydown and is owned by tarepjff<\/i>. The chestnut colt has a total of ten lifetime starts including two wins. His most recent start came in a nine furlong allowance caliber start in Epsom on the turf where he sat just behind in fourth and went on to overtake the front-runners in the stretch, winning the race by one and three-fourth lengths, setting a lifetime best speed figure of ninety-two. His most recent stakes start came in the mile long ungraded Sal Is Gone Stakes where he finished fifth. This Saturday will mark the colts first attempt at graded stakes caliber competition.
Following will be Rock Ballad<\/b> (Seeking The Gold x Dixieland Band x A.P. Indy), who is trained by opinora<\/i>. The bay Kentucky-bred colt has a total of thirteen lucky starts, eleven of these being finishes on the board, of which seven were wins. The colts most recent start came in the mile long Black Velvet Turf Stakes (G3) where the colt held back in third and rallied in the stretch to take the race home by one and three-fourth lengths with a speed figure set of one hundred three, a career best. Previously he\u2019d also won the ungraded Abdul En La Future Stakes over a mile as well as a mile long allowance caliber race in North Carolina. Should the colt go on to win the St. James Tavern on Saturday, it will be his fourth straight win.
Last in the field and breaking from the far outside is Fast Lane<\/b> (Eddington x Rahy x Storm Cat), who is owned by tihsho<\/i>. The bay colt has a total of ten lifetime starts including three wins, two places, and a show to his credit. His most recent start came overseas in Wisconsin during the eight and a half furlong ungraded Wine Will Challenge where he was paced back in ninth and set forward in the stretch to challenge, moving on to cross the wire third while setting a speed figure of ninety-one. His most recent victory came in early April during an allowance caliber race over eight and a half furlongs on the turf, where he again was paced towards the back of the field, showed impressive speed in the stretch, and went on to win by two lengths. This Saturday will mark the colts first try at graded stakes company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Several Rematches Take Place From 2000 Guineas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"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-4367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4367","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\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}