The Thirteen Star Special has drawn a field of 7 to compete on a turf track, going a distance of 6f. The oddmakers have the field pretty evenly matched, so I will try to pick a winner out of this field.<\/p>\n
1. Libertine 7-2 Last 3: 2-1-4
Libertine has been hot lately. In last 7 starts he has a record of 3-3-0 with speeds all above 100. Libertine likes to launch his attack from the back and needs to time his strike just right, as this field lacks front runners. Libertine has won over $500k careerwise and his last 6.5f victory was in 1:15.2<\/p>\n
2. Sail By Star 5-2 Last 3: 1-3-1
Another horse that has been hot and picks up a hot jockey in Scott (26% wins). His last 10 races all were 100 or higher in speed ratings, and I don’t see any reason for that streak to end here. Sail By Star has a record of 6-2-2 in these last 10 outings, with a recent 6.5f victory in 1:15.1. Sail By Star rarely misses hitting the board for trainer Hardnfast with a career record of 29-13-4-7.<\/p>\n
3. Shuffle Your Feet 6-1 Last 3: 6-5-1
Shuffle has struggled a bit in the stakes level. This colt shows a stakes record of 12-1-3-2. His most recent 6.5f victory back in December was won in 1:16.0 and he will need to improve vastly in order to win this race.<\/p>\n
4. You Must Acquit 5-1 Last 3: 2-2-1
You Must Acquit has only run one stakes race, which was in January where he finished second, missing my a length, in a speed of 108 (career best). You Must Acquit does fit in this group showing a recent 1:15.3 at 6f. The field lacks speed, and I expect this horse will fill the role as the pace setter and may end up running away with a victory.<\/p>\n
5. Desert Nasu 5-1 Last 3: 4-2-1
Desert Nasu makes his first stakes start for trainer Sabbath at the 6.5f distance. He has won over $290k winning an impressive 10 of 20 starts. He is capable of launching a massive attack from the back of the field when he is fired up. However, he has a checkered history of not scoring, particularly in stakes races (career stakes record of 6-1-1-0). Consistancy counts in this race, and Desert hasn’t shown it within the stakes level.<\/p>\n
6. Tete Drakon 6-1 Last 3: 8-5-3
Trainer Kartago returns Tete to the turf after two failed attempts on the dirt course. Tete has struggled to hit the board lately, only scoring a third place finish in his last six outings. Tete hasn’t been sharp since August and his last 4 turf appearances were rated in the 90’s. I suggest a pass on him until he returns to his prior form.<\/p>\n
7. Dark Prophen 4-1 Last 3: 1-1-1
Dark Prophet shocked quite a few people by; winning the 7.5f Texas Storm Stakes in last (beating out Shuffle Your Feet who was 6th). He set a career speed mark of 113 and won the race at 9-1 odds, and to top it off, it was his first stakes appearance. He has won 4 of his last 5 and seeks his 4 straight in this race. Out of 25 career starts, he has won 8 and has just recently started running sprints with a record of 4-2-0-1. If he wins here, he will proof himself destined for future competitive stake races.<\/p>\n
Sail By Star likes the 6.5f and has won 13 of 29. He is ranked 77th in turf sprints and is very reliable becoming my top choice in this race. You Must Acquit has a record of 8-5-1-1 at 6.5f and will be a factor as my second pick. A toss-up for my 3rd choice between Libertine and Dark Prophet. Libertine has been sharp and consistant. Dark Prophet looks powerful and explosive. Sometimes explosiveness implodes and consitancy is best, so Libertine wins my third selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Star Could Sail in Thirteen Storm Special<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"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-5511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5511","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\/363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5511\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}