Having just written up the Gran Critter, I had a slight feeling of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu when, having next volunteered to cover the Mohawk Juvenile, I found that it was the exact same conditions (a Grade 3 event for 2yos going one mile) at the same track<\/U>. That\u2019s right. A veritable daily double. Rather than having one overflow field, it is essentially two divisions, but divisions with different names, rather than division one and division two. Anyway, a Grade 3 opportunity, in a week full of graded stakes opportunities for juvenile turf routers is for the taking, as a field of nine hopefuls seek to make their case for a BB bid three weeks from now. In looking over the field, this group has shown flashes of talent in their brief careers, but only one can take the next step of becoming a graded stakes winner. In post position order, this field is as follows:
1. Trifecta John<\/B>. Tallish homebred son of Montjeu has been perfect in two starts routing for george5<\/I>. His speed figures are on the lighter side, compared to some of the favorites in this group, with a 76 and 75 respectively, but he comes into this race a fresh horse, and would be no surprise if he took the next step here, in which case, he would be a bit of a value play at 12\/1.
2. Bullmastiff<\/B>. This half-brother to Unbridled View (who won the 7 furlong Bad Deal Stakes-G3 at two, and was 9th in that year\u2019s BB Juvenile Turf), makes his turf debut here for mcjonny<\/i>. On the dirt, he took the lead at the top of the stretch in the one mile Trixy\u2019s Delight Stakes-G3, before fading to fourth, then made a mild rally for fifth in the one mile Camel Juvenile-G2. By Langfuhr, whose offspring have done well on both surfaces, Bullmastiff has the pedigree to do better on the turf, but you never know until they run it. His two performances at a mile, while respectable, also leave a lingering question of whether, like the colt\u2019s half-brother, he may ultimately be best sprinting. Still, if he takes to the turf, he has just as good a shot as anyone else in this field.
3. Got No Socks<\/B>. This son of Dixieland Band is also making his first run over the weeds. Trained by breeder popsntips<\/I>, this burly colt was a precocious sort, winning three of his first four races, but has struggled a bit in his last two, and was a belated sixth in the Camel Juvenile-G2 behind fellow competitor Bullmastiff. Some questions about surface and distance, but he\u2019s got a shot at successfully making the switch, so he can\u2019t be ruled out.
4. Operative<\/B>. Futurestar<\/I> may have exactly that with this royally bred colt, who is by the fabulous Kingmambo out of Agent X, a he-mare who won two stakes, and was third in the G1 Nationwide and Duetoburst Stakes as a juvenile (both run at 7 furlongs on the turf). In his first two starts, the husky colt appears to be living up to expectations, with two victories to his credit, both gate to wire, and with speed figures of 77 and 76, respectively. If there are any knocks against this guy, it is that his margin of victory was shortening in the 7 \u00bd furlong turf allowance, and his speed figures are a little lighter than some of the others, but he\u2019s got all the right in the world to improve, and nothing suggests that he can\u2019t get a mile. Probably one of the ones to beat.
5. Bistro<\/B>. Another graded juvenile stakes, another super entry. This time, super24<\/I> sends out Bistro, a filly, to tackle the boys. Since switching to the lawn, this El Prado miss has been perfect in two starts, including a score in a DelPenn Mirror Meet allowance at this distance, posting an 83 SF in the process. Based on that effort, she has just as much chance as any of the others in the field, and at this time of year, it is not unheard of for a filly to successfully tackle the boys.
6. Mikasa<\/B>. The lone graded stakes winner in the field, this son of Cacique has accomplished the most to date. A bjbandit2<\/I> homebred, Mikasa won the Coventry Steaks-G3 with an 81 SF, before faltering badly in the Equinics eight weeks ago. Gets the leading rider in Smith, the main question for this guy is whether he can handle the added distance. If he can handle the stretch out in distance, he\u2019ll have a real shot of getting that second graded score.
7. Zytrical<\/B>. Zyro\u2019s<\/I> homebred charge is by Theatrical, and like his sire, he has taken to the turf. In his lone start over the weeds, this guy made an electrifying move from last to first to take a one mile maiden with a 79 SF. Has every reason to improve, and if he does, is a steal at 9\/1.
8. Dreamday Coming<\/B>. Brit8\u2019s<\/I> homebred son is the \u201cveteran\u201d of the group, with seven starts under his belt. The son of Noverre seeks to make amends after a dull performance in the G1 High Flyer Stakes four weeks ago, when he broke in eighth and went steadily backwards from there, finishing 13th, beaten almost 17 lengths. He had done better in his previous try over a route, winning a one mile maiden with a 78 SF, so that poor performance had to come as rather a shock. If that race was a toss-out, the quick turnaround is less of a concern, and improvement should be expected, but we won\u2019t know that until the race is run. Those who back him stand to get rewarded to the tune of 13\/1.
9. Waki Shadow<\/B>. Son of Dane Shadow is coming into this race the right way, riding a two race winning streak. After breaking his maiden going six panels, he then took another step forward in winning a 7 furlong allowance with an 84 Sf. The tohavetohold<\/I> colt\u2019s running style seems to suggest that he will appreciate the added distance, and his speed figure is the best of the bunch, so he\u2019s got an extremely good shot at the win, and his 11\/1 odds would only be the cherry on top.
Good luck to all of the handicappers trying to figure out the winner, and best wishes to the runners and their connections!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talented Juvies in Double Header<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":438,"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-6675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6675","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\/438"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6675\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}