Race:<\/b>The Commonwealth – Grade II – $400,000
ID:<\/b> 4645.8311
Track:<\/b>Eastern Kentucky
Restrictions:<\/b> All horses, 3 years old and up
Distance:<\/b> Seven furlongs on the Dirt
There is no shortage of graded races this weekend in Eastern Kentucky with a total of six graded opportunities on the racing card for this Saturday. The eleventh race on the schedule is The Commonwealth, a Grade II race open to three-year-olds and up. The race, run on the main dirt rack is a seven furlong sprint and will likely attract some top level sprinters from the region. Last year The Commonwealth (G2) was won by given<\/i>\u2019s Rains Of Castamere<\/b>, who went to Kentucky the first Saturday in May, not for the Derby, but for the Bluegrass Sprint (G1), and finished second. This race will likely be a popular stepping stone for trainers looking to get their horses in the Sprint in a few weeks. There will be some scattered thunderstorms this weekend, however these are not going to be coming in until after the races are run this weekend, leaving the track to be fast. A total of fourteen horses drew into this year\u2019s field, lets take a look.
1. Aurora Slew Ted<\/b> – (Council Member x Mr. Prospector x Blushing Groom (FR)) – aurora<\/i> of Aurora Stables – L. Dorchak – 16\/1
Going to the post on the rail this weekend, the four-year old colt, out of the stakes-placed broodmare Pro Groom, has won a total of seven of his lifetime twenty-six starts. The California-bred colt made his most recent trip to the track in the Dan\u2019s Payment Dirt Memorial, a listed stakes race at seven furlongs overseas in Argentina. The colt broke out of the gate just off the pace of a couple front runners, but faded just before the came into the stretch and finished a well-beaten eleventh, seven and a half lengths off the pace of the victor. He colt set a speed figure of ninety-four. September of last year saw the colts most recent win, this coming in the form of a seven furlong allowance race which the brown colt won in wire to wire fashion. Last October was his most recent graded start which earned him a tenth place finish in the seven furlong The Select Bud (G3). The colt will be forwardly placed this weekend, possibly even be the pacesetter out of the gate.
2. Northern Bluegrass<\/b> – (Bluegrass Cat x Alydar x Northern Dancer) – italia1<\/i> of Baggio Stables – M. Hibby – 14\/1
With seventeen lifetime starts, the brown colt has won six times in his career. Bred in Kentucky, the son of Bluegrass Cat made his most recent start here in Eastern Kentucky during the Looking For More Dirt Dash, a listed stakes race at six and a half furlongs. He broke out of the gate towards the rear of the field but began to pick off the other horses in the race fairly quickly. After putting in a good stretch drive the colt would come up short, finishing sixth, though one three and a quarter lengths off the pace. He set a speed figure of one hundred three. His latest victory came in October during a nine furlong allowance race, so the colt is certainly capable of getting a much longer distance than what he will be run over this weekend. His latest graded start was in The Curious George (G2) over seven furlongs in which he never seemed to fire during, finishing tenth. The colt will likely be far off the pace at the start.
3. Shetan<\/b> – (Storm Cat x Fusaichi Pegasus x Seattle Slew) – cdragon<\/i> of Twoofus Stables – P. Thorson – 14\/1
Well-seasoned with a total of forty-four lifetime starts, the six-year-old horse has won eleven of these races and brought home over a million in career earnings. Overall he has finished on the board in about half of his starts. The most recent race for the horse was in the Colts Neck Dirt Special, a listed stakes race over six and a half furlongs. Breaking near the front just behind a few front-runners, the horse didn\u2019t advance much in the race and finished where he started in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. He won his prior start the month before overseas during an allowance race in Jamaica. His most recent graded start was November of last year during the Camelot Road (G3) at six furlongs, where he did make a bit of a move, but only managed to finish sixth. The horse will likely be running in the middle of the pack at the break, possibly even further back off the pace.
4. HBS<\/b> – (Giacomo x Military x Kingmambo) – paposse<\/i> of Cuetec Stables – R. Zamora – 13\/1
With a total of five lifetime wins in nineteen career starts, the light gray colt is returning to graded racing for the first time this racing season. The Kentucky-bred made his most recent start here in Eastern Kentucky during the Looking For More Dirt Dash over six and a half furlongs. He broke out of the starting gate as one of the last horses out and settled into thirteenth. He was urged to start making his move before the field came into the stretch, at which he rocketed forward and went on to win the race by a length. He set a speed figure of one hundred nine. The most recent graded start for the colt was in The Malibu Sprint (G1) out in California. The colt broke in the middle of the pack but loss ground throughout the race, crossing the wire eleventh. The colt is a versatile runner that could either be placed far off the pace or just off of it behind a few front runners.
5. Don\u2019t Let Go<\/b> – (A.P. Indy x Storm Cat x Forty Niner) – desperado2<\/i> of Desperado Stables – W. Desantis – 7\/1
Making his twentieth career start this weekend, the brown colt is out of the broodmare Hold On Loosely. The colt, at four years of age, has won eight of his nineteen starts and has brought home a total of $335,055 in lifetime earnings. The most recent start for the royal-bred colt was in the Count Fingers Sprint (G3) at six furlongs in North California. The colt broke out of the gate and settled in around the middle of the pack and didn\u2019t make too much of a move to challenge any other horses until the stretch. This may have been a little late and the colt would finish fourth, three lengths off the pace, though setting a bristling speed figure of one hundred ten. His most recent win was at seven furlongs late last year during The Orca Stakes, a listed stakes race. Again the colt was set out of the gate and hung back towards the middle of the pack. He would make an earlier move here though and go on to win by a length. Unless the pace is slow this weekend, the colt will probably break out of the gate in the middle of the field and begin to make his bid just before the field goes into the stretch.
6. Ninja Silence<\/b> – (Dehere x Forty Niner x Nijinsky II) – peeps7<\/i> of Conquest Farms – P. McGauun – ???odds
Well-seasoned with a total of thirty-three races, the five-year-old horse is out of the stakes-winning broodmare Forty Ninjas. Winning an impressive ten of his lifetime starts, the brown horse made his most recent start in the Colts Neck Dirt Special, a listed stakes race over six and a half furlongs in Nebraska. He broke out of the gate late and settled into twelvth position. He began to pick up his pace before the stretch and poured on the steam coming down the stretch. He would win the race by a length and a half, setting a speed figure of one hundred ten. The horse hasn\u2019t made a graded start since the middle of last year when he started in The Binger Handicap (G1) at six furlongs out in California. Again the horse was one of the last out of the gate. His stretch drive came much later in this race, perhaps too late, as the horse came home to finish eighth, six and three quarter lengths off the pace. The horse this weekend will most likely be far off of the pace out of the gate, but will hopefully put in a strong kick at the end. The horse has only been tried at seven furlongs once, as a three-year-old, where he finished second.
7. Jumpin And Alert<\/b> – (Jump Start x Gold Alert x Hennessy) – dgrsong<\/i> of Wilmington Parliaments LLC – J. Sorrell – 10\/1
Finishing off the board only twice in his career, the four-year-old brown colt is lightly raced with just thirteen career starts. The colt made his most recent start in January up in New York during The Summer Sluice Challenge, a listed stakes race over seven furlongs. The colt broke out of the gate as one of the last horses in the field and wasn\u2019t urged to make a move until about the midway point of the race. He went on to win by a length and a quarter though, setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. He will be returning to graded competition this weekend after a disappointing finish last year in the Prince\u2019s Knight Stakes (G2), also at seven furlongs. The colt broke further back off the pace at the very rear of the field, and though he made an impressive drive down the stretch, it was only enough to finish seventh, eight lengths off the pace. The colt is very versatile and can be up near the pace, or be completely off the pace, depending on what will best suit him that day.
8. Haloguska<\/b> – (Yonaguska x Halo x Criminal Type) – frontrunna<\/i> of Legendary Stables – R. Moffett – 14\/1
A striking roan colt, the Kentucky-bred has won eight races out of a total of eighteen lifetime starts. The homebred has also finished ten times on the board. His most recent race was the Gilded Lake Dirt Special, a listed stakes race over seven and a half furlongs in Michigan. The four-year-old colt broke out of the gate and settled into the middle of the pack. He made a challenge before the field went into the stretch, but couldn\u2019t get past fifth where he crossed the wire, three and a half lengths off the pace. He set a speed figure of one hundred nine. His prior race was a victory in the More Endurance Special, a listed stakes race over seven and a half furlongs as well. This weekend will mark the colts graded stakes debut, so he will be facing a step up in class since his previous races. The colt will most likely be forwardly placed, possibly just off the pace of a few pacesetters.
9. Cranky Squirrel<\/b> – (Maria\u2019s Mon x A.P. Indy x Mr. Prospector) – isitingood<\/i> of The Squirrel Empire – K. Chesterman – 4\/1
At six years of age, the light gray horse is one of the oldest to take to the post this weekend. The Kentucky-bred horse is out of the stakes-winning broodmare A.P. Goodbye. The six-year-old horse made his most recent start in The Sand Castle Golden Sprint (G1) overseas in the United Arab Emirates at six furlongs on the dirt. The horse broke out of the gate in the middle of the pack, but he began to gain ground just before the field entered the stretch. The horse would put in a nice drive down the stretch, coming in home to finish second with a speed figure of one hundred eleven. The horses most recent victory also came in in the United Arab Emirates a few months ago in The Shindig Sprint (G3) over six furlongs. The horse was held slightly further off the pace in this race, but had his move at the same point, going on to win by a length. The horse is also proven at the seven furlong distance he will be going this weekend. Most likely to be placed mid-pack or possibly off the pace this weekend, this horse could be a contender, finishing on the board in nearly half of his forty career starts.
10. Department H<\/b> – (Five Star Day x Giant\u2019s Causeway (IRE) x Kris S.) – willyam47<\/i> of Willyam13 Stables – E. Martinsen – 10\/1
Lightly raced for a five-year-old with a total of just eighteen career starts, the brown horse has impressively won eight of his career starts. The most recent start for the brown Kentucky-bred was a seven furlong open allowance race in Indiana. The colt was one of the last to break out of the gate that day and he didn\u2019t start to advance on the field until the horses neared the stretch. He was impressive in the stretch, however, going on to win by a length and setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. The latest graded start for the horse was in the six and a half furlong Deep South Sprint (G2) last December in South Carolina. Further up on the pace at the middle of the pack, the horse didn\u2019t do much in the race and crossed the wire in sixth, four and three quarter lengths off the pace. Ideally the colt will probably be settled in the middle of the pack or off the pace this weekend.
11. Dickenson<\/b> – (Eddington x Boston Harbor x Pleasant Tap) –caveat<\/i> of CVBear\u2019s House Of Fun – J. Caves – 9\/1
Getting on the board in half of his twenty career starts, the brown colt has won six times bringing home career earnings of $323,945. The most recent start for the Kentucky-bred was in Maryland during The Curious George (G2) at seven furlongs. Breaking towards the back of the field in the race, the colt wasn\u2019t asked to make a move until very late in the final furlongs, and he only managed to come home ninth, setting a speed figure of one hundred and three. The most recent victory for the colt was in December when he won, in a photo, the Kenny Joe Stakes (G3) at seven furlongs in Florida. He set a top speed figure of one hundred eleven during this race. The colt is a versatile runner, capable of being nearly anywhere, though we can probably expect him to be forwardly placed off of a few other runners, with the amount of jostling there will likely be for a mid-pack position.
12. Vermonsters Own<\/b> – (Two Punch x Storm Cat x Gulch) – mano2<\/i> of Mano Stables – B. Obwan – 11\/1
Bred in Maryland, the light gray five-year-old horse has made a total of thirty-eight lifetime starts. Winning twelve of these races he has finished on the board in over half of his races. This will be his stakes debut this weekend, but the colt has been extremely successful at the allowance ranks, almost never finishing off the board. The most recent start for the colt was in a six and a half furlong allowance race in Ontario, Canada. The colt broke mid-pack and started to make a move on the field just before the stretch. He went on to win modestly by a quarter of a length, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. The colt has been tried, and won at seven furlongs. The colt will likely want to be mid-pack, but he can be pushed forward some until he is just off the pace and still be successful.
13. A.P. Hi<\/b> – (A.P. Indy x Royal Academy x Danzig) – highfive<\/i> of rodots – S. Bogue – 12\/1
Another quite impressive horse, the chestnut six-year-old has finished quite a few of his races on the board, including ten victories in his thirty-four starts. The A.P. Indy sired horse will be making his first graded start in nearly a year. His most recent race was the Lost Empire Dirt Sprint, a listed stakes race over seven furlongs in Rhode Island. Breaking in the fifth position and held just off the pace to the front runners, the horse didn\u2019t make up much ground in the race, finishing fourth and setting a speed figure of one hundred three. His most recent win was just a few races ago during a five furlong allowance race where he was much further off the pace and won by three-quarters of a length. It was March of 2010 when the horse saw his last graded start, this coming in the Toboggan Handicap (G3) at six furlongs. Forwardly placed for nearly the entire race, he faded in the stretch and finished seventh. The horse will likely range from being forwardly placed just off of a few front runners to running in the middle of the pack.
Adrastos (AUS)<\/b> – (Zeditave (AUS) x Pure Prize x Northern Dancer) – hollandia2<\/i> of Hollandia2 Stables – W. Mauriello – 9\/1
The only horse in the race this weekend not bred in the United States, the Australian-bred five-year-old is out of the broodmare Pure Hollandia. With twenty-eight lifetime starts, the brown horse has won seven races. Making his last start in the Colts Neck Dirt Special, a listed stakes at six and a half furlongs, he broke towards the back half of the field but quickly started to take down the other horses as he made his way to the front. He would run out of ground with a length and a half remaining to finish third, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. His last win was in the Mine Flute Challenge in New Jersey over a good dirt track. He was closer to the pace on this race, settled down in fifth, and went on to win by a length and a half in the six furlong race. The horse hasn\u2019t had a graded stakes start since 2009 in the Bluegrass Cup Sprint (G3) where he finished seventh.
Flrancho\u2019s Picks<\/b><\/u>
Win:<\/b> Cranky Squirrel
Place:<\/b> Adrastos (AUS)
Show:<\/b> Don\u2019t Let Go<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cranky Squirrel Clear Favorite<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"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-9069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9069","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\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}