DMR Futurity (Grade 1)- $250.000 Purse
DMR- For Two Year Olds
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
September 7, 2020

This Labor Day we will have a chance to see some of the top juvenile horses in the game right now, all of which currently have big aspirations. It is the 18th running of the DMR Futurity, a race that has been won twice by the eventual KYD winner the following season. The most recent horse to accomplish this was Water Mummy, who won this race back in 2015. Ghost Walker did the same in 2008. Other well known past winners of the DMR Futurity include Circumflex, Guilty As Sin, and last year’s winner Spirited Stride. Mb Stables will hope to win this race for the third straight year, a run that is not as impressive as his DMR Debutante streak, but certainly shows his stranglehold on the big races for two year olds that get run during this meet. The gate is full of twelve ambitious horses, none of which have won a graded race yet. Let’s meet the candidates to finally get that first one.

#1- Dawn Rider (John Henry, ridden by D E Centeno)- This one has already been on the track seven times, going to post every other week it seems. That has only resulted in one win, which came right after a geld on the fourth of July. He’s raced twice since then, in both the Grade 3 Sanford at SAR and the Grade 2 Best Pal, and shows promise. His works also look good, and he certainly has the experience in hand.

#2- Creepy Havoc (Estero Farms, ridden by R M Hernandez)- He would be gelded after his second start, and would end up breaking his maiden right after it, at WO. That was against fellow ON-breds, and he makes a leap into this race right off of that. Works have improved since the last time he was on the track, and with the nature of this field, I am not worried about the jump up in class. He will be one to watch in here.

#3- Hunting Foxes (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- After winning on debut, he has only run in stakes company, and has earned a couple of second place finishes. One came in the $150.000 Tremont, where he missed the headbob on Marine One, and he will get a chance for revenge here. He was also second in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor. He was not as effective in his last start, and the blinkers and shadow roll have gone off that were tried there. I like his chances.

#4- Pocantico (Smokey Stover, ridden by A Beschizza)- If you thought you just saw that dam’s name, Happy Clapper, recently, you did. She is the dam of Carnoustie, who won the Amsterdam at SAR last week. Now, can Pocantico make it two in two weeks for her? He was second here in the Graduation Stakes for CA-breds last month, and is showing improvement in recent works.

#5- Sports Page (Aer Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Picked up in the June auction for $135.000 after one start, Sports Page made his debut for Aer last month at ELP and broke his maiden while running a mile. It would be a wire to wire victory, so based on that, this is certainly one to be watching right out of the gate. He’s also another who worked well here recently.

#6- Full Body Cast (Mb Stables, ridden by D Davis)- The Compress gelding has run in both the Bashford Manor and the Best Pal Stakes, and picked up third place finishes in each of them. His style in both races was similar, so I do like that consistency. A similar effort to them figures to give him a great chance once again, but can he improve just a little bit from that?

#7- In A Major Way (Jive Inc, ridden by J J Hernandez)- This colt has been successful every time he has hit the track, finishing first or second in each of his three starts. That has given him this chance to make his stake debut, and he might like the added furlong here. He has shown that he likes to come from off the pace, and runs well in the stretch, so others will need to be looking over their shoulder for him.

#8- Marine One (Smokey Stover, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Early in his career, Marine One is showing a lot of ability, and is the only horse in this field that has accumulated more than $100.000 in earnings. In June, ten days after he was gelded, he beat a good field at BEL in the $150.000 Tremont, and would follow that up by running third in the Grade 3 Sanford at SAR. He gets another good test here, and if he were to win, then we might have to put him near the top of the list of BC Juvenile hopefuls.

#9- Babylonian (Barcelona Farms, ridden by D Van Dyke)- He is 2-for-2 in his career thus far, winning on debut very cheaply at LA, but then was able to build on that by winning the $50.000 Manzano Stakes at ALB last month. That gets him the chance here to jump in class and see how he fares against a much improved field.

#10- People Pleaser (Mb Stables, ridden by J K Court)- In his last start, he was able to beat a few of these in the $100.000 Graduation Stakes for what was his second win in four races. Now this colt that is out of former BC winner Good Line looks to take another step forward with a graded win. I like his works, and think turf may be in his future (that’s where mom made her money), but right now it’s all about showing what he can do here.

#11- Nashua (Fractious, ridden by A Cedillo)- Placed fourth in the Graduation Stakes in his race, beaten by People Pleaser by a length. He was coming on very well in the stretch in that, so the added furlong and a half can be all that is needed for him to turn the table. Starting from the outside was not an issue there.

#12- Seattle Sloo (Waldo, ridden by J Alvarado)- Finally, this Moment of Madness gelding makes a step up in class after breaking his maiden at DMR last month. The win came in his fourth start, and was at a mile, and it does seem as though he was just waiting for the distances to increase. He is one to keep an eye on regardless of what happens here today, as his works a re quite appealing if he still will be progressing even more.

Prediction: 3-8-10-6

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES