Gallant Bob Stakes – Grade II (P7)
PRX Race #14 6f Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $300.000 For Three Year Olds
1 Strider John Henry – Scratch –
2 Grande Geek Mb Stables Bridgmohan S X
Lightly raced this young sprinter has been under the radar for a while now despite having notched up a grade one placing and $350 in purse money. In most peoples stable he would be a major player but in Mb Stables he has had to wait his turn and today he gets a great chance to move into the higher ranks. His work times say he can sprint and there have been four wins over short trips so he is certainly capable even though his best performance to date has been over further than a mile. Early pace from this gate will be his biggest problem but with HRP’s click and play type instructions we may see him closer today and if he is then he will be a threat.
3 Cantstopwhatscomin TwinTowersRacing Ryan S
This one has never won at a sprint trip but that doesn’t mean that he can’t and here at HRP the distance they travel means very little. His only win came in a turf route and i must admit he does seem better on that surface. On the face of it he has very little chance of winning this but i have said that about horses from this yard and they have proved me wrong before.
4 Roundhead Riggins Racing Saez L
It is great to see Riggins Racing back in stakes racing and this one who ran third in the grade one Jerkins Memorial looks just the sort to push them back into the limelight. Claimed from a big ticket claimer after running in four consecutive claimers the new owner has really brought him on and he is starting to look like a furnished sprinter who is up to this sort of level. The works are very solid, the draw in good and this trip ideal, a winning chance.
5 Rotarian Mb Stables Saez G
Well the stable has three runners and all of them in the top half of the draw so it is worked out very nicely for a stable that doesn’t need much help to win graded stakes. This one optomises the fact that trip doesn’t matter much if you are good, running well in both sprints and routes although it has to be said he has been more successful over the shorter trips. His form is a tough read because of the flipping between trips but he has worked 57 and 2 for the dirt five furlongs so i suspect that is a better guide to his chances here. Very different to his stable companions but no lesser chance of winning.
6 Golden Treasure Mb Stables Gonzalez Ru
A winner of nearly half his races he took out the Amsterdam at grade two before a puzzling effort in the Jerkins Memorial when a strong morning line favorite. He clearly has ability but that last effort poses a few questions that need to be answered today. If it rains then he clearly has a chance on that grade two win but if it doesn’t i have him in as a whisker behind his stable companions.
7 Ziconic Smokey Stover Velazquez J R
The stable has been bringing many of their horses along pretty gradually this season running down the levels with horses that are clearly better than that. This one ran up four wins in a row at tracks like LAD and FL but last time came out to run second in the Jerkins Memorial at grade one showing the level he is really capable of . The 1.10 and 1 work says he is ready to go one better today and he would come out on top of my reckonings, certainly on the form book.
8 Bolt Arindel Garcia Mar
In May this one was being beaten in a $10 claimer but by August he was winning a huge ticket allowance at SAR, such is the ride we take when owning a horse at HRP. The improvement curve can just take off for no apparent reason and this one certainly falls into that catagorey with his move from obscurity to grade two contender. The stable has been in a great form this year but whilst this one has a great record he does need to step up in this grade and from a pretty tough draw.
9 Tko Fractious Cedillo A
The winner of the Wood Memorial and then a great sixth in the KYD where else would he end up than going for his second graded sprint in a row. After a failure with excuses in the Preakness and then an average run in the Dwyer the trainer brought him back in trip where he ran a strong fourth in the Crosby but then surpassed even his best routing form with an impressive win in the Jerkins Memorial last time. Clearly this horse is a class animal and his works say he can do anything over any trip which is pretty much the case for a lot of these top horses. If there is a reservation today it is the draw, he won last time from the one gate and had a great trip but today things will be very different and we all know how much the draw can change results here at HRP. Could easily win but is opposable.
10 Greatness G Jive Inc. Jaramillo E
We are getting out in the cheap seats now but this is a solid sort who deserves a chance although a draw nearer the rail would’ve enhanced his chances. Clearly improving as he showed with a big ticket win at SAR last time he jumps up sevens pounds and a level or two in class today so has something to prove.
11 Seydoux II The Freakshow Gaffalione T
Another big ticket winner from SAR this gelded son of State Police gets a chance to show something more today but has been given the car park to do it from. Claimed for just $15 this would be a fairytale for the trainer should he prevail but there are a few things against him and it would need a set of circumstances to happen to see him winning.
SUMMARY
A tight race with the Jerkins Memorial form looking key here. Mb Stables has their usual strong hand and TKO was brilliant last time so it would be easy to pick between those four runners but i rather like Ziconic here.
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
