{"id":60676,"date":"2023-01-12T20:17:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T20:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=60676"},"modified":"2023-01-12T20:17:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T20:17:51","slug":"a-field-of-eight-older-horses-celebrate-thirteen-years-of-esr-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=60676","title":{"rendered":"A Field of Eight Older Horses Celebrate Thirteen Years of ESR History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A field of Eight Older Horses will enter the Big Apple<\/em> starting gate for the for the $100,000 ESR 13 Years Celebration Series<\/em>.  The race will be run at Twelve Furlongs over the Turf Course. The race is highlighted by BRUSHING, <\/strong>son of HOF <\/strong>Mare GUSHING<\/strong>, and JUST THE DREAM<\/strong>, a son of HOF<\/strong> Mare STREET CREDS<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LARIKA \u2013 <\/strong>the valesa<\/em><\/strong> trained 4 Year Old Bay Filly by Galileo<\/em> out of a stakes winning Deep Impact<\/em> mare has not quite lived up to her pedigree in her two and three year old campaigns, but her previous two outings over the Dirt Course show a potential for successful 4yo campaign; while the distance of today\u2019s ESR<\/strong> feature will not present a problem for the IRE bred, her presence in this Turf Stakes against the boys appears to be nothing more than a participatory gesture from her spirited connections; tab this one in her return to the Dirt and expect a marked improvement\u2026watch list<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BRUSHING \u2013 <\/strong>a long awaited return to the ESR<\/strong> circuit, the celebrated balata <\/em><\/strong>connections enter the equally celebrated, multi Graded stakes winning Sea the Stars<\/em> 6 Year Old Bay Horse out of the HOF<\/strong> multi-G1 producing mare GUSHING<\/strong> into the ESR<\/strong> feature; unfortunately much of the hype stops there as the one time superstar hasn\u2019t visited the winner\u2019s circle since October of 2020; with two starts in 2021 under her belt, the fields lone millionaire may need to rely on past glory to factor into this weeks outcome; having said that, she still knows how to pop those triple digit speed figures and the rest of this field need to take notice; much the best if she\u2019s up to it, but that\u2019s a big IF\u2026your call<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GHOSTNTHEGRAVEYARD \u2013 <\/strong>the sremel<\/em> traineeby Gleneagles<\/em> out of a multi-stakes producing Ghostzapper<\/em> mare has had a steady diet of Stakes appearances in her 2021 -22 campaign and has flashed some lofty triple digit speed figures in each of those starts, however the 6 Year Old has been unable to finish closer than second in any of those ten starts; with a 3rd<\/sup> place finish LTO in a conditional allowance, the Morning line 5-1 odds might be a little more optimistic than his actual chances; strong second place finish o the G1 winning ROCK IT CADET<\/strong> last year  in the  ESR<\/strong> Trainer of the Year Stakes might suggest he fits with the ESR<\/strong> crowd but I prefer to look elsewhere\u2026must show more<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE THAN TOUGH \u2013 <\/strong>expect a strong performance from the kingab<\/em> trained 5 Year Old Bay Gelding out of a stakes producing Dansil<\/em> mare; the winner of the ESR Player Contribution Stakes 37<\/em> at this distance has propelled herself to a stakes victory in the Euro Test Stakes<\/em> before contending the pace in the G2  Longstickgoboom Stakes<\/em> in his following start; entering the field off of a three month layoff, the KY bred has done some of his best racing with time off and should be considered a major player in this field\u2026dangerous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUST THE DREAM \u2013 <\/strong>to say today\u2019s appearance in the ESR<\/strong> feature is a welcome class relief for the 5-Year-Old Roan Horse by Medgalia D\u2019Oro<\/em> out of the multi-graded stakes producing HOF<\/strong> Mare STREET CREDS<\/strong>, might qualify as the understatement of the year; the spinround<\/em> trainee has taken on nothing but the best in his last five starts while giving a good account of himself with three ITM finishes in those appearances; a glimmer of hope in beating this one to the wire might come from his last start, albeit a G2 Stakes, where he uncharacteristically lost ground , during the stretch running of the race, perhaps an indication of  waning form\u2026class edge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCRETE KING \u2013 <\/strong>the trotter1<\/em> trainee by Bricks and Mortar<\/em> out of a Frankel<\/em> mare just missed LTO in the Southern Bird King Turf Stayer<\/em> while boasting a 119-speed figure; the 5 Year Old Bay Gelding has found his best stride while excelling at today\u2019s distance; listed as your morning line 2-1 favorite, the JPN bred looms the\u2026one to beat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LUKADERO \u2013 <\/strong>the 4 Year Old Bay Gelding by Divisidero<\/em> out of a Pivotal<\/em> Mare will have his work cut out for himself here on Saturday despite three consecutive wins at the claiming level; the ace<\/em> connections have done a great job climbing the ladder with this gelding, but mid 90 speed figures might be an indication that the reach is too far; nice test for this KY bred, but 59-1 says it all…not with these<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOMICIDIO \u2013 <\/strong>the woette<\/em> trained 4-Year Old Bay Colt by Orfevre<\/em> out of a Gleneagles<\/em> mare was a clever $12,500 claim paying immediate dividends for his connections earning back 8x the claiming price while proving class worthy with a second place finish in the Mecca – Epsom Derby<\/em> in June; speed figures may not be up to this level yet, but the start of his 4yo campaign brings lots of possibilities for this improving JPN bred\u2026might surprise<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HANDICAPPING THE FIELD<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BRUSHING<\/strong>, MORE THAN TOUGH<\/strong>, JUST THE DREAM<\/strong>, and CONCRETE KING<\/strong> are the major players in this field.  BRUSHING <\/strong>could be much the best if he regains prior form, but as a betting man, I\u2019m betting he won\u2019t, at least not now and not here.  Looking for a horse that shows class and form, then look no further than JUST THE DREAM.  <\/strong>I just wish he didn\u2019t lose so much ground in that last start, something he\u2019s done only once, and that was 16 panels, a race he was far back throughout and wanted no part of.  MORE THAN TOUGH <\/strong>is a kingab<\/em> trainee, and usually that\u2019s all you need to know, and such may be the case here again today.  I can\u2019t find a wrinkle in his armor and must be used here in all exotics.  At the risk of being a homer, I like CONCRETE KING\u2019s <\/strong>chances against this field.  His form has been good, his last speed eye-popping and a 12-furlong specialist.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I have seen this type go up in flames, both SIM and real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GHOSTNTHEGRAVEYARD<\/strong> comes in just below the top four and could surprise based on his second place finish o the G1 winning ROCK IT CADET<\/strong> last year  in the  ESR<\/strong> Trainer of the Year Stakes.  I\u2019d like LARIKA <\/strong>a lot more if this was a Dirt race, and although I like the direction HOMICIDIO <\/strong>is heading, I don\u2019t think he\u2019s ready for this kind just yet. I think by now ace<\/em> want\u2019s me to pick against her horses, she almost always make me eats my words, so I am fully prepared to eat crow if LUKADERO <\/strong>wins this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PICKS  <\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE THAN TOUGH \u2013 kingab\u2019s the 2022 TOY for good reason<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCRETE KING \u2013 in top form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUST A DREAM \u2013 best chance to overthrow top two picks<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A field of Eight Older Horses will enter the Big Apple starting gate for the for the $100,000 ESR 13<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443,"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-60676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60676","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\/443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60676"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60679,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60676\/revisions\/60679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}