The Vosburgh (Grade 2) (BC) – $225.000
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
September 26, 2020

This Saturday at BEL we will have the 18th running of the Vosburgh, a Grade 2 that provides an automatic bid for its winner into the BC Sprint. It has not mattered that the purse for the race is the lowest that it has ever been in its history, as the starting gate will still be full. In its early years, the purse peaked at $500.000, back when Alpha Ultimo was winning the Vosburgh for the first of his three times, though has steadily been reduced since 2015. This was a great race for Mb Stables last year, as the trainer took the top two spots, with Z One Chance and the late Lucky Star. Z One Chance would run 12th in the BC Sprint after winning as a five year old, and that would be the final race of his career, as he has been retired to stud. Let’s take a look at our field of twelve for this race!

#1- Carnoustie (Smokey Stover, ridden by C P DeCarlo)- This Ye Charley gelding was exciting in the way that he won the Grade 2 Amsterdam last month, which came in the mud at odds of 32/1. He might be hitting his best stride at the right time, with wins in three of his four starts. Overall, he has won seven out of ten, but is only recently taking on the best in this division. Rain is not expected on Saturday, so he’s going to need to prove his win was more about the track condition. In the Crosby on a fast track two starts back, he was not effective.

#2- Tudor One (Mb Stables, ridden by J Talamo)- Picked up by the trainer in private sales for $100.000, and he would start sending him long. After initial promise, that proved to not go well, and recently we have seen him revert back to long sprints. The six furlongs he runs here will be the shortest that he has run while in the Mb silks. Ran third, coming from off the pace in the Grade 2 O’Brien in his last start. I would not be shocked to see him near the front early here, despite recent tactics.

#3- Cucamonga (Tiratzo, ridden by A Bocachica)- In April, Cucamonga seemed to be running real well, winning the Grade 3 Commonwealth at KEE one start after running second in the Grade 3 GP Sprint Championship. However, he never built on that, and struggled in his two starts that followed. That would lead him to be dropped into an open allowance at SAR last month, and he’d get the win. Now, the trainer hopes he just needed a confidence boost to get back on track.

#4- Commanding Know (Delta Farms, ridden by P Morales)- After back to back wins in open allowances, Commanding Know reappeared in a graded stake for the first time since struggling in three of them during the winter. That race was the Crosby, and the result was another struggle, finishing ninth. The trainer has not been deterred by that, so is giving him another chance here. For me, he will have to show that he can step it up against this caliber of opposition.

#5- Sinissippi Star (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- Picked up by the trainer for $250.000 in private sales in July after running seventh in an optional claimer at PRX. After some time, he was entered into the Grade 1 Forego and finished a dismal tenth. Each of those races have one thing in common, and that is a muddy track. That is not anticipated here on Saturday, so there will be no excuses for him not to show that he was a good investment here.

#6- Catch The Day (Gdp Inc, ridden by A A Gallardo)- After failing to break his maiden in three races, Catch The Day was dropped into a $35.000 maiden claimer at SAR last month, and he would get the win. Naturally, the next step after that is the Vosburgh, right? Well, clearly something has clicked in the meantime for this nomination to be possible and it could be both bute and lasix. Working well, but this is certainly ambitious.

#7- Wrecking Havoc (John Henry, ridden by J J Castellano)- The rare Ohio-bred has won six of nineteen career starts, and there is an ungraded stake in the mix along the way. Recently, he has been moved up to graded competition, he debuted well, running second in the Grade 2 Vanderbilt Handicap, just missing by a neck at the end as he came from off the pace. Did not follow it up as well, running sixth at the muddy Forego. Not sure if the track was as much of a difference for him as others in there, as three starts back, he won by four lengths in the mud.

#8- Declassified (Mb Stables, ridden by G Saez)- The colt by Commanding has spent much of time running long on the grass this year, before shifting to the main track for the Queens Plate. He has had his moments in those races, but looked better after cutting back to sprinting. He comes off a second place effort in the Grade 2 O’Brien Stakes. Like his stablemate, he tends to come from off the pace, but I would not be surprised to see one of them near the front early.

#9- Remson (Two Hearts One Love, ridden by R A Vazquez)- He will make his second start after being picked up in private sales from Aer Stables for $275.000. In their first race together, he went ten furlongs in the Woodward and finished a decent fifth three weeks ago. Now, despite that decent showing, he is cutting back to six furlongs here in a move that seems a little abrupt to me. Of course, that does not mean he can’t pull this off, he just needs to be ready for the wire to show up when it does.

#10- Reach For A Latte (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- During this preview, we have talked alot about the Grade 1 Forego, and that was a race won by Reach For A Latte. It was the sixth win of his career, and followed up a second place run in the Grade 2 Nerud right there at BEL. That race was also in the mud, but he will be perfectly fine on a fast track as well. Ever since he ran second in the TX Mile at LS, his form has been strong, and this will make him one of the top contenders here.

#11- Sail Away- Scratched

#12- Akkadian (Two Hearts One Love, ridden by J Bravo)- I actually think this is the better of the trainer’s two entries, even if he is coming out of a $50.000 claimer in mid-August. He has had time to rest, and the trainer has had time to get accustomed to him, and this is a horse with stake experience in the past. He struggled in the Grade 2 True North, but did win one last year. He’s a true sprinter as well, and his works show that. In his past, he has been good at six furlongs, and a bounce back to form is possible if he just needed the confidence boost that the optional claimer provided.

#13- Stand In Line (Angelos Stable, ridden by O Mojica)- He stood in line, and now it was his turn after the scratch of Sail Away. The Manhunt gelding has won at an impressive 5-for-9 clip, but all of those are in overnights. He has tried an ungraded stake once, and has certainly earned the chance to run graded, but he has some company to deal with here. I do like horses moving up that have shown they know how to get it done, and Stand In Line is a consistent producer.

Prediction: 1-10-7-2

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES