2-Year Old Champ Looks to Get Back on Track in State Penn Derby<\/b><\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s 2 year old champ ION MY WAY<\/b> entered his 3 year old season with a lot of hype and to this point has fallen extremely short of those expectations. It would seem that his peers had matured and finally caught up to the talented colt. Through 5 grade one races on the dirt including running in all three Triple Crown races, ION MY WAY<\/b> hasn\u2019t finished better than 5th<\/sup> which occurred in the California Derby. He also gave turf a try in the G2 Adam Gene in which resulted in an 8th<\/sup> place 10 length loss. The one thing all of these races have in common are they were all longer than any race ION MY WAY <\/b>took part in as a 2-year old, and up to this point he hasn\u2019t shown any type of affinity for wanting more than 8.5 furlongs against cream of the crop 3 year olds. Maybe it\u2019s the level of competition he\u2019s been facing, or maybe it\u2019s the distance, whatever it is I still believe he\u2019s an uber-talented colt that can get back on track, I\u2019m only of the opinion that it\u2019s at a mile and a 16th<\/sup> or shorter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 MOUGAL MARCH (10-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (FARHH x MALIBU MOON x STORM CAT) <\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: jbcri38<\/b><\/p>\n Recently placed 2nd<\/sup> in\u00a0 the Star Prospector Dirt Route Stakes posting an impressive 111 speed fig. He\u2019s won at this distance previously and looks like he fits in well here. He could take my money at 10-1.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 ION MY WAY (15-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (VAR x MIDNIGHT LUTE x INDIAN CHARLIE) <\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: drsafbreds<\/b><\/p>\n As mentioned above I think he\u2019s a super talented colt, I just don\u2019t think\u00a0 he wants any part of anything longer than 8.5 furlongs at this level. However, this is by far a big class drop in in comparison of the 3 year old\u2019s he\u2019s faced this season which means he\u2019s got a punchers chance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3.NIZARI (5-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (GIANT GIZMO x TESTA ROSSA (AUS) x KRIS) <\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: Neolithic<\/b><\/p>\n He\u2019s been consistently running against graded rivals dating back to April and has performed relatively well with victories in the G3 Barbara Walters Special & G3 Vinny Barbarino. He tried 9 furlongs once in the G2 Buckeye Derby and finished 5th<\/sup> by 12. He\u2019s another with questions on the distance but is one of the more accomplished runners in here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. SHOW ME NINE (7-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (GHOSTZAPPER x STORM CAT x FORTY NINER)<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0Trainer: cougar<\/b><\/p>\n He was starting to close really well in the G3 Colorado Sophomore Classic before running out of room and finishing 4th<\/sup>. If he\u2019s going to get up in this one he\u2019s going to have to make that final run a bit sooner than he did in his last.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5. REASSURANCE (18-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (CURLIN x DANZIG x ALYDAR)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: harrylaneexp18<\/b><\/p>\n He\u2019s got back to back 2nds going 9.5 furlongs in a listed stakes and the G3 Chief Snow Handicap. He gets a bit of a cut back in distance and should still manage to be running at the front of the pack.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 6. MAGIO (11-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (GIANT\u2019S CAUSEWAY x FRANKEL x KINGMAMBO) <\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: hrsescents<\/b><\/p>\n Based on the pedigree the talent level is there, but this is his first crack at graded runners and the 9 furlongs distance which leaves\u00a0 a lot of questions surrounding this one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 7. HARBLAH (10-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (CAIRO PRINCE x WAR FRONT x KING MAMBO)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: balnkpoin1<\/b><\/p>\n He\u2019s already shown an ability to run with graded company in his 3rd<\/sup> place finish in the G2 Buckeye Derby. What\u2019s interesting is his tactics have changed a bit as he\u2019s been running out on the lead in his last two as opposed to sitting off the pace. This handicapper thinks his best chance will come from sitting just off the pace before making his move but we\u2019ll see what blankpoin1 has in store for him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 8. CHRONONAUT <\/b><\/p>\n (ESKENDEREYA x UNBRIDLED x TOM ROLFE)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: nepenthe26<\/b><\/p>\n Kind of has a trend of good performance followed by mediocre performance. After such a big performance with a monster speed fig (113) in the G2 Big Liar I\u2019m skeptical on if we\u2019ll see it again though. His Stablemate sits right to his outside so maybe he\u2019s the rabbit in here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 9. KERBONAUT (17-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (EMPIRE MAKER x TALE OF THE CAT x THEATRICAL)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: nepenthe17<\/b><\/p>\n He\u2019s got a deep closing style in which he likes to come from about 15 lengths back before he starts picking up the pieces. There\u2019s lots of speed to his inside and having his stablemate there to set a hot pace will certainly help his chances in burning out some of the others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 10. HELIANTHUS (6-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (CURLIN x UNBRIDLED\u2019S SONG x A.P. INDY)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: mamaseals<\/b><\/p>\n He\u2019s already won the G3 Affirmative posting a 112 and after leading briefly in the G1 Eddie Haskell finished a game 2nd<\/sup>. He\u2019s got a nice stalking style that might lend itself well here as he should get first crack on the pace setters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 11. THE FORMING STORM (8-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (DEEP IMPACT x STORM CAT x MISWAKI)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: simroscoe9<\/b><\/p>\n He gave 9 furlongs a shot in the Prospector Paunchi Dirt route and dominated, winning by 2.5 lengths. This is obviously the logical next step for a horse who\u2019s steadily improving with every start. I think he could be a real competitor with his midpack running style.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 12. TACTICAL BOX (13-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (UNCLE MO x SCAT DADDY x SAINT BALLADO)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: cowboyland<\/b><\/p>\n After three lack luster performances in the G2 Liar, G1 Labatts Ontario Oaks, and G2 Captain Hook he was given the old snip. Now this UNCLE MO gelding will run for the first time as a gelding with graded foes. I\u2019m not sure what to make of him but I\u2019m sure cowboyland knows what he\u2019s got.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 13. CRACKERJACK RIDE (12-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (RIDE ON CURLIN x STORMY ATLANTIC x UNBRIDLED\u2019S SONG)<\/b><\/p>\n Tfon21<\/b><\/p>\n Having run 18 times in his career and not really seeing much of a break this horse seems to be of the old guard. While he has been a sturdy horse he\u2019s only really ever run well once in graded company and that was in the G1 Vermont Is 4 Lovers where he finished 2nd<\/sup>. However, since that cool February day he\u2019s had three other graded runs in which he finished no better than 7th<\/sup> by 7.5 lengths. Not sure he\u2019s got enough left in the tank to make an impact here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 14. GIANT DOGWOOD (15-1)<\/b><\/p>\n (GIANT\u2019S CAUSEWAY x SEATTLE SLEW x MR. PROSPECTOR)<\/b><\/p>\n Trainer: squity<\/b><\/p>\n He\u2019s about as blue blood as they come and is coming off of his best performance yet in the G2 Trial by Night Stakes that saw him finish 2nd<\/sup> with a 111 speed fig. He\u2019s got the breeding to run the 9 furlongs but the only attempt he ever made at doing it was a poor showing. Despite that after his last performance I\u2019m a believer and think he\u2019ll be able to run with this group.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n COLUMNIST KISS OF DEATH<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. HELIANTHUS<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. SHOW ME NINE<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. GIANT DOGWOOD<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2-Year Old Champ Looks to Get Back on Track in State Penn Derby Last year\u2019s 2 year old champ ION<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124228,"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-46549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46549","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\/124228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46550,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46549\/revisions\/46550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}