8/8/2020
9 SAR The Troy (GIII)
$200.000 4yo&Up 5 1/2f Turf 123lbs
Eleven speed-balls will be headed to the starting gate on Saturday and we look at the field for The Troy (GIII) a five and a half furlong sprint on The Spa grass and a nice $200.000 purse on the line in this one. There are a bunch of nice horses in this one, but consistency may be a bit lacking. My top choice is on the rail, as Southern Fame looked good winning the Connaught Cup (GII) at WO two back… now he was third vs. Alw horses, proving my point a bit, but I think this is a spot where he can get the job done again. Any time Gleaming Spirit lines up, you have to give him a serious look. He’s a 6yo now and has sixteen lifetime wins including a slew of graded wins. Perhaps his best days are behind him, but he cannot be ignored. Steppe Cossacks is another 6yo with class and a nice bankroll. He won The Lure last out, so he’s obviously not ready to head off to retirement quite yet.
Here’s The Field –
Looked good winning the Connaught Cup (GII) at WO, but as it seems to always happen, he was third vs. OptAlw horses over the same surface… I can never explain this stuff, but he certainly has some talent and should be give a chance to get the job done here as well.
Sold at the June Auction and ran third in his first start for the new connections while facing Alw horses on the ELP turf. That’s his game of late as he now has five consecutive third place finishes. They’d probably like to do the same here as well.
Ten wins in his career, so he certainly is no stranger to the winner’s circle, but it’s not quite as easy as it used to be for this 5yo. His only win this season was vs. OptClm at GG where he closed to get home by three-quarters of a length. He didn’t put $600.000+ in the bank that way… can his old class come back?
Nice back to back wins on the SA turf taking an OptAlw sprint, then getting the job done in the Lure. That makes him 3-for-4 this season and he has eleven lifetime wins. I wouldn’t let him go unchecked in this one because the 6yo looks to be in top form.
Lightly raced this season, this being his third start, but he has a win at CT vs. Alw types and a second at the $20.000 tag level at AQU back in Feb. This is obviously tougher than that but he has some sprinting ability and could raise his ceiling here.
Comes back to a sprint after trying the mile and marathon mile-and-a-half distances in his last two. He got the job done at a mile but just never got going in that soggy BEL Gold Cup (GII). This may be a better spot for him, although he will need his best to get a minor share, in my eye.
He was third last out in the Banrock over the BEL Turf facing NY-breds in that stakes. He won the Kelly Kip at AQU back in Mar, so he has shown ability on both main/turf surfaces. This is a step up but he’s usually around when they hand out checks hitting the board in eighteen of twenty-eight starts. I’d use him in the EX/TRI.
Claimed for $25.000 three back and it’s been tough going while facing stakes horses since that hostile takeover. He was fourth i the Man O War (GI) and fifth in the Wicker… all of those at a mile or more, so he shortens up here looking to wake it up.
He’s still looking for his first win of the ’20 season but does have a second and two thirds from his four starts. He was fourth in The Sprint at TAM and has been third in his last two starts vs. Alw types. He will need his best to be part of this one.
Classy 6yo has sixteen wins from thirty-four lifetime starts and a pair of wins this year, both of those coming in his first tow starts. Since then, it’s bee a bit tougher but he was third in the Connaught Cup (GII) but was eighth last out in the Highlander (GI) with more than $1,800.000 in the bank, you know he has what it takes.
Got back to the winning ways last out taking the Wicker at DMR, going a flat mile on the turf out west. That was his first win of the ’20 season, but he was also third in the San Simeon (GIII) at SA on soggy footing. Seven wins from sixteen starts… yeah, he can run.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
