{"id":8051,"date":"2010-05-13T11:55:33","date_gmt":"2010-05-13T11:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=8051"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=8051","title":{"rendered":"Saint Larry blesses opportunistic trainers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ITCH<\/STRONG><\/P>

Surely among the best benefits of BTB work are these company-sponsored trips all over the Simulated racing world.<\/P>

This week, Roys hands the Old WV reporter a blank check and a laptop and sends us off to Paris for a tremendous card of top-level turf racing. I apologize in advance for the bill.<\/P>

Our race is the Grade I Saint Larry<\/STRONG><\/EM>, a $500,000 turf race going 10 furlongs for 3yo fillies. I think the primary issue in the Saint Larry is going to be the mile and a quarter. Many of the contenders here will be racing this distance for the first time in their young lives. More than likely, there are going to be false contenders. Speed figures will place them among the favorites, but in reality, a filly or two in here will have been eliminated effectively by the distance of the race.<\/P>

That’s going to be our key handicapping factor as we delve into this Grade I, which is going to be a great accomplishment for one of these fillies.\u00a0Who will\u00a0get the distance in Grade I company?<\/P>

This field looked like it was going to be short as late as 3 a.m. Wednesday, when only six fillies had entered, and remains a short field, with only eight going postward. However, the trainers who were relishing their luck at finding such a short field for a Grade I had to be sorely disappointed when Topicount<\/EM> went striding confidently into the Parisian racing office at 1:16 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. She brought an entry slip with the name BUDA AT THE DANCE<\/STRONG>, a chestnut daughter of Medicean who lends instant credibility to this race. Before she came to town, this race looked quite soft, with none of the runners proven at both the class and distance. Not now. Buda at the Dance has not one, but two, graded wins at this distance on the turf. She’s an undefeated two-for-two at 10 furlongs. She beat fields of 11 by open lengths in both of those Grade 3’s, so the wins were not cheap. In only 12 career starts, BATD has already banked half a million dollars. She’s No. 11 in this division and looks to move up with Grade I points in what looks like a comfy spot. She’s holding the cards over these fillies in terms of stakes experience. About the only hole you might try to knock in her is the fact that she’s the most heavily raced filly in the field. She’d have to regress not to play a big role in this race, and if you don’t see her fighting for the win Saturday, you’ll know something’s gone wrong. She handicaps that clearly as the best filly in the race. <\/P>

Pedro’s Racing Empire<\/EM> has a nice filly indeed with HYPERINFLATION<\/STRONG>, who will carry the colors of EAAA racing in this Grade I. A powerful daughter of Red Ransom, Hyperinflation has impressed while running up an early career record of five-for-10, capped in rapid fashion with a two-racing winning streak two and three back. Nobody wanted anything to do with this filly two back, when she faced a field of only four in her second-straight non-graded stakes win. This filly has robust speed figs topped with a blazing 105, but the question becomes whether she can hold her speed at 10 furlongs. She has impressed at 8.5, but this is a different ballgame. She regressed last out when stretched out to nine furlongs. She shortened stride in the stretch at nine furlongs, what’s she going to do at 10? Maybe she’ll get a clear lead and it will change the way she feels about things. Whether or not she can get this distance, Hyperinflation a super-duper filly with more than a quarter-million earnings in 10 starts.<\/P>

Rockriver Stables<\/EM> will carry the banner of the Great Plains residency into this Grade I with CHOOSE UP SIDES<\/STRONG>, a very consistent daughter of Redoute’s Choice who, like Hyperinflation, is getting a big-time distance test here Saturday. Choose Up Sides has been a model of consistency in her seven-race career. All seven of them on the turf, and all seven of them on the board. But also, none of the seven past a flat mile, so Rockriver will ask this filly to carry her speed for a full two furlongs farther than she’s ever gone, and in a Grade I to boot. A good Simmer knows where to take his chances, however, and it’s hard to fault Rockriver for doing so with Choose Up Sides in this spot. She was only the sixth to enter, so it has to be said that it looks like the race is coming up soft. That’s no knock on the fillies in here, only on the number of them. An eight-horse field has to be a much more likely spot than a full field of 14, and it’s a nice chance to earn Grade I stripes in the Saint Larry. Choose Up Sides was second in a Grade 2 last out, so you have to respect her class. If she can keep up her turf consistency at this distance, she’s even more impressive than she already is.<\/P>

Biglou Stables<\/EM> of the GR Simsters could have any kind with MARISA<\/STRONG>, a late-running daughter of Forestry who has gotten bigtime respect from the French morning line oddsmaker at 7-2. This filly has only started six times and is only beginning to prove herself. She could not find her late run in the Grade I The 1000 Guineas last out when ninth, but won three of four prior, capped by a non-graded stakes win. Marisa has shown a huge late run at seven furlongs and eight, but at 10? What if she does indeed have that range and shows that same late run? Could be devastating. But, her late-running style is no guarantee she’ll like the added ground. Very much an X factor in the race. If she comes running, you cannot really be surprised but she runs the risk of not firing at all. We’ll see.<\/P>

Now here is a training trick. The extremely-well accomplished Kevoman <\/EM>will try to win a Grade I turf race in France with an Indiana-bred. By the Danehill sire Marcus Andronicus, ROMAN TRIBUNE<\/STRONG> already has vastly outrun her meager bloodlines. Normally in real life, you might see an Indiana-bred staggering home the last furlong of a six-furlong dirt race at Indiana Downs in 14 seconds or so. But Roman Tribune? This\u00a0filly lays it down in the stretch of allowance turf races in open company. Sure enough, there she was, winning three in a row for Coolk on the turf. This horse has been remarkably consistent on the turf, running first or second in six straight races until she was a disappointing seventh in a Grade I going even farther than today, 11 furlongs. Kevoman shows his faith in this filly by shooting right back in the Grade I. She won two of her races at just about Saturday’s distance (9.5 furlongs), so it may be that the cut back to 10 furlongs may be much more in her distance wheelhouse. She has a good bit to prove here classwise, making the jump from conditioned allowance to Grade I. If a sharp trainer like CoolK says this is the right spot, however, you have to respect that. More than 20 percent winners after the number of races this trainer has run is impressive.<\/P>

Speaking of all-time great Sim trainers, how about Foxon Stables<\/EM> entering here with the very lightly raced FANTASY UPDATE.<\/STRONG> If we’re giving Kevoman props for that 20.6 career win rate, we have to give even more to Foxon for the tremendous career number of 24.4 percent. If Foxon says this daughter of Cryptoclearance is ready for a Grade I try in her fifth career start, we have to respect that. Foxon obviously thinks highly of this filly. No matter what happens Saturday, we have to say, by golly, what an astronomically good claim. Foxon spotted Fantasy Update three back in a maiden claimer, and picked her up for a modest $30,000. (We’ll omit the name of the previous trainer because this has to be a painful experience.) Foxon took the maiden claiming winner and jumped her to nine furlongs in an entry-level allowance, and away she went. Fantasy Update ballooned to a 90 speed figure, and backed that up with a second-place finish and a 96 in her non-graded stake debut. If she wins this race, she may have “Best Claim of 2010” nailed down early.<\/P>

It’s now 3 a.m. on Wednesday, and we’re starting to think Kevoman<\/EM> may be onto something in this race. There is only a total of six fillies entered so far (ended up at eight), and it seems highly unlikely that we’re going to have anything approaching a full field of 14 for this Grade I. At this hour, unless there is a rash of late entries, Kevoman has manuevered nicely into a spot where he has two runners in a short field with a great chance to do some Grade I earning. SMART SYMPHONY<\/STRONG> is the second half of the CoolK entry. This daughter of the Elusive Quality sire Raven’s Pass has been very consistent on the turf, hitting the board in six of seven career starts while winning three. What’s more, this filly won going away last out at Saturday’s exact distance. Of the five fillies we’ve handicapped so far, she’s the only one with a win at the exact distance. (Then Buda at the Slew came along.) Nice speed figure in that win as well, with a 96. She’s taking a significant class jump but has factors in her favor which could allow her to do it.<\/P>

Unlike the leading qualifier, Buda at the Dance, HOOHAH<\/STRONG> was a late entry of a different order. Well, maybe she was not all that late. Tees Stables<\/EM> entered her name early Wednesday morning, long before the deadline, but after six of her opponents While BATD was a late entry at the top of the qualifying order, Hoohah is at the other end with only three stakes points. She qualifies at the bottom and goes to post as the second-longest shot in the field. Is there any reason to suspect she might be part of the ticket at 11-1? She won at very close to this distance two back, when she finally cleared her entry-level allowance condition. It took Hooha four runs at the first level to get her second career win, which is not exactly a sign of a filly bursting to win a Grade I. No, Hoohah has a lot to prove classwise in this race, having failed to threaten the board when sixth and fifth in her only two graded forays. This entry looks a lot like a shot taken by a trainer who saw a short Grade I field. You cannot blame Tees for rolling the dice here but Hoohah would surprise.<\/P>

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!!!<\/STRONG><\/P><\/FONT><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only eight fillies go to post in a Grade I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"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-8051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8051","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\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8051\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}