{"id":9872,"date":"2011-12-24T02:08:56","date_gmt":"2011-12-24T02:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=9872"},"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=9872","title":{"rendered":"DPCD X Mumtaz Mahal Stakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

DPCD X Mumtaz Mahal Stakes<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Fourpeat or trudge sadly into retirement?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

So, a lot of you may wonder, \u201chow did these DPCD races get their names?\u201d More of you likely wonder, \u201cwho gives a damn?\u201d But, just so you know, there is a method to the madness\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The two year old races, I tried to name them after two year old Eclipse Award Winners. You know, names like Eruption\u2026.Epiphany Too\u2026..Mother Story\u2026..Dancing Blade. The sprinters, that was tougher, since sprinters rarely win the two year old Eclipse. Super Gold did. Lever Sparky, Digging the Grave and Thxmsslew? Uh, no. But look- I was pressed for names, so I came up with historically great sprinters for the race names.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Races for older horse?. Easy. With the exception of the Delaware Mile and Penn Dash, the two original races on the DPCD card, and whose names will never be changed, it\u2019s pretty easy to get a race named after your horse. Just send me 5000 credits, and we\u2019ll make it happen.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Nah. Not really. The real story is, you win twice in the graded races for horses three and up on DPCD, and you get a race named in your honor. It\u2019s that easy. Well, maybe not easy, but it can be done. How not easy? Well, out of some 200+ races, over 2000 entrants, it\u2019s been done all of twice. Pretty exclusive company. Uh, not twice. I meant thrice. So why aren\u2019t there three honorary names? Well, one horse is still running. When said horse retires, there\u2019s a named race in waiting.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The two are fairly obvious. Devil\u2019s Slide repeated in the formerly named Penn Distaff, and Allied Assault threepeated in the former Penn Marathon.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The third horse? Not so easy. Echo Pass didn\u2019t repeat in any one race. She went out three times, and won three different graded stakes on DPCD.<\/i> Yeah, she\u2019s mine, but I still think it\u2019s pretty cool, especially since I never specifically carded any race for her. She won the Thxmsslew at 2, the Lightning Ladies Sprint at 3 and the Mumtaz Mahal last year. Two dirt races, one turf race. Now, she tries to do something unlikely to ever be done on DPCD again- win a graded stakes race four years in a row. When she was two, the Thxmsslew was a Grade 1; ditto for the Lightning Ladies Sprint. After revamping the card last year, and downgrading a lot of the races, she won the G2 Mumtaz Mahal. Still, pretty spicy stuff.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

All that said, she faces perhaps a much greater challenge than did Allied Assault in his quest for the threepeat. Father Time hasn\u2019t been good to Echo Pass this year ,and her trainer (yours truly) has really mucked things up for her this year. That moron insisted on trying to beat the boys in Grade 1 Sprints. Got \u2018em in a Grade 2, but it\u2019s been all downhill, and quickly, after that. Unless the old legs can turn back the clock pretty quickly, the fourpeat is gonna be toast after about three furlongs tomorrow. But I can always hope, right?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The challenges are mountainous, but not impossible. Let\u2019s have a look at who figures to blow the fourpeat to pieces.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

TELLURIDE doesn\u2019t figure to be the one to do the rotten nasty. Filly has yet to win a stakes race, and figures have been absolutely pedestrian. Top fig of 95 migh tbe good for 11th<\/sup>, since there\u2019s at least one horse in here who\u2019s actually more overmatched than is Telluride. But that\u2019s OK- Telluride is a beautiful place. At least no one can take that from this filly, even as they rip her heart out and trample on it on the lawn tomorrow.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

ECHO PASS looks to become the biggest winner in the history of DPCD tomorrow. At age 2, she ended the year as the #1 dirt filly sprinter. At age 3, she ended the year as the #1 ranked dirt three year old filly sprinter. At age 4, she ended the year as the top ranked older mare turf sprinter. At age 5, she\u2019s ranked #4- and falling faster than a dead Russian satellite. Since spanking the boys in the G2 Cool Lightning Stakes, her first race after a rousing win in last season\u2019s Mumtaz Mahal with a 115, she\u2019s pretty much fallen apart. There have been a couple good efforts, but even those are becoming less and less common. She was trounced in listed company LTO with a fig that may have her battling Telluride for 11th<\/sup> place. That\u2019s bad. What\u2019s good? Well, at her best, she can beat anyone in this field. She\u2019s faced Network News twice, and beaten her twice. She lost to Famous Peking Duck leading up to the Mumtaz Mahal last year, and avenged that loss on DPCD IX. Finally, each of her DPCD wins has been directly preceded by an ugly loss. OK, so I\u2019m reaching. Can I catch a little break here? Besides, who wants to share a piece of Sim history with that hog Allied Assault? Not me. I want it all to myself!<\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

SCREAMO is another formerly sharp filly who must be driving their trainer, in this case younggroup, absolutely insane. A year ago, she\u2019s nearly unbeatable. Now, she\u2019s nearly unbettable to even the drunkest guy at the track. Figs have been heading south faster than migratory birds, even worse than poor Echo Pass. Yes, ladies and gents, we may have found yet another who is racing to finish 11th<\/sup>! Does ANYBODY want to win this stinkin\u2019 race?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 DEAD CITY may actually want to win it. This four year old is really hitting her best stride coming here. Carefully handled by the astute Given, she\u2019s been brought along slowly, and just missed in her graded debut LTO. Figs are getting better with almost every race, and she looks to have a big shot. There are, however, two potential flies in the ointment- she seems to prefer longer sprints, and Given, despite all his successes, largely blows huge chunks come DPCD. He managed to win a couple last year, but before that, he was way, way below Pye\u2019s \u201cSim Mendoza Line\u201d on DPCD. Was last year a fluke, or a sign of change? We\u2019ll see.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Next up is ESTERHAZY CASTLE,\u00a0 and a pattern seems to be developing here (and no, it\u2019s not the bizzaro spacing that\u2019s coming in before my eyes, which I seem to have zero control over). Of the five horses we\u2019ve looked at so far, this is the third with Giant\u2019s Causeway in the pedigree. Nice prop for the Coolmore Giant. She\u2019s been up and down, but clearly seems better suited to shorter sprints, so the 5.5f today may just fit her like a nice glove. On the other hand, if she gets left at the gate by some of the speedier types in here, that glove may look remarkably similar to the infamous OJ glove at the first \u201cTrial of the Century.\u201d <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the font size is going berserk on me. I really have no clue what\u2019s happened to my computer now. It\u2019s like it\u2019s been possessed by the ghost of Stoners or something. Anyways, FAMOUS PEKING DUCK again looks to be in with a solid shot. Recent back to back winner of the prestigious G1 Fujimoto Turf Sprint, \u00a0she\u2019s in the best form of \u00a0her career, and hasn\u2019t been off the board in her last five. During that skein, she\u2019s run some big numbers, and her frontrunning style should suit her fairly well in here. She\u2019s live, unless she gets swallowed whole like she did in last year\u2019s Mumtaz Mahal. That said, she\u2019s looking for redemption, and is in with a superb chance.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

While the four year old Screamo and the five year old Echo Pass look to have gigantic forks stuck in their bodies, the six year old FIT TO ROMP just keeps on rolling after 46 starts. Her best races in the past year have been her last two\u00b8 and she\u2019s suddenly become relevant in Graded stakes races again. Looks like desimster5 has uncovered the fountain of youth for this gal. She prefers to close, and that seems to spell trouble in these shorter sprints. She never got untracked in last year\u2019s Mumtaz Mahal, and finished somewhere around Telluride-literally. Looks for a different result today, and it HAS to be better.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Once again,the spirits have nabbed the cpu, and the spacing has magically flipped back to where it was at the beginning of this article. Just know, I\u2019m not drinking, and I still have no control over this. Speaking of control, that\u2019s pretty much what GRENDEL\u2019S SONG has been in for her last streak of turf sprints. Lightly raced four year old has suddenly come to hand and is quickly putting up faster and faster numbers. Dead closer has shown ability in short sprints, having won a stakes at 6f. This is, however, her first try in Graded ranks, and she hasn\u2019t been utterly dominant in listed events. Nonetheless, she looks plenty ready to make the jump.\u00a0 Will encounter traffic issues, and probably has to hope a couple of the others in here don\u2019t run outof their skin to have a legit shot.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT GOES UP is a strange case. Three year old filly by Newton (yes, Newton, not Newman) has never been off the board in sprints, but puts up much, much better numbers routing, where she\u2019s a tepid 1 for 6. So, after five straight efforts at eight panels and up, one of which resulted in a Graded win and another that saw her pop a lifetime best, the LOGICAL step is to turn back to a Grade 1 sprint. Right? Right? Any takers on that maneuver? Count me as puzzled, but stranger things have happened- like that horse that won the Bluegrass Derby a couple years back and hasn\u2019t won since. Yeah, that\u2019s right, I can\u2019t even remember his name, and frankly, I don\u2019t want to. Nice horse here, but I just get so bamboozled trying to figure out why she\u2019s in this race, I can\u2019t even think straight anymore. Now, of course, she\u2019ll go out and win by about 10 lengths, which will prompt Lenny to quit the game for the umpteenth time in frustration.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of Lenny, here\u2019s his newest, shiniest beast- NETWORK NEWS. This filly is so smoking hot, she has to have a fire truck follow her around the track. Second against the boys in the BB Turf Sprint where she ran an ungodly 117, she came right back to take down the boys (again) in the G1 King Kong Sprint. Yes, I said AGAIN. She\u2019s beaten the boys three times this year alone, in a G3, a G2 and a Grade 1 now, and if not for an otherworldly effort in the BB by Shickendanz (by the way, where the hell is HE today?) she\u2019d actually be riding a FOUR race win streak against colts. How\u2019s that? Well, for me at least, it means she better get some sort of consideration for an Eclipse, or Lenny may quit (again). Actually, I\u2019m kinda pissed with Lenny. \u00a0\u00a0He could have gone to the Penn Dash with Network News. He could have sat out, since the King Kong was only two weeks ago. But no, the greedy SOB has to come here and try and spoil Echo\u2019s chance at history. Despite never having defeated Echo Pass in two tries, it looks like form, luck, speed, class, looks, size, weight, everything is in his favor this time. Swear to God, he noses Echo at the wire, we\u2019re gonna hunt him down and take that huge Polish frame of his and make sausage out of him. FREE KIELBASA FOR EVERYONE FOR A YEAR, BABY!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

CUERVO GOLD isn\u2019t just tequila. It\u2019s actually a very sharp four year old filly by Curlin.\u00a0 A lightly raced winner of half of her 18starts, Cuervo Gold is one of those who will only do what she has to do to win. She has to run a 110, no problem. Faces hogs and needs to trot home with a lousy fig, no problem. What she does consistently well is win. She\u2019s six for her last eight\u00b8 and hasn\u2019t been off the board in any of those races. She\u2019s a speedster who\u2019s won at short and long sprints. She just kinda goes out there and thumbs her nose at her opponents and never lets them get by her. \u00a0Problem here is, she\u2019ll likely unknowingly set it up for a closer like Network News today. If she can give that one the thumb, she gets all the credit. Finally, who the hell is dpcd1? A stable named for this day? Oh, the humanity if this one wins. Has to be one of those louses from DelPenn.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

OK, the cpu is now blinking on and off furiously, so this article is about to disappear, so I gotta finish fast.Which should be easy, since there\u2019s nothing good to say about LOSE THE DOLLAR.\u00a0 Four for 24 lifetime, with a top career fig of 96- while getting killed. \u00a0I have no idea why this one is here, except perhaps to prevent Telluride from finishing last. I thought Mike ended the 10bp\u2019s you used to see George W. Loser get for getting murdered in Grade 1 races a couple years back? Ahh, I don\u2019t know. Maybe Obama forced him to reinstate that BS bonus. I dunno. Sometimes, I just don\u2019t get it.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And there you have it. Even though he\u2019s stunk to high heaven on DPCD in the past, this looks like Lenny\u2019s race with Network News. Even on short rest, even with the knowledge that she\u2019s never defeated Echo Pass, it still looks like it\u2019s hers to lose. She better win, or Lenny might just quit (again).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had a lot of fun with this, and I hope all of you realize the vast majority is with tongue planted squarely in my cheek. Except for the part of wanting Echo Pass to win. Badly.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Enjoy DPCD, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Yeaaaaahhhhhh\u2026.the cpu made it to the end!e HH<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fourpeat or bust!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"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-9872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9872","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\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}