CC Jewel ($175.000 Purse)
CD- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
November 12, 2022

The biggest purse of the day for the CC races comes in the CC Jewel, where $175.000 is up for grabs between the top four finishers. To be eligible for this race, a horse had to have been entered for a $35.000 claiming price, or less, since the beginning of 2021. The race last year was won by John Henry’s Skylight Sword, a horse that is still active and has been claimed twice, for $35.000, since that win. John Henry has won the last two editions of this race, but will not have a horse in this edition. Neither will be Mb Stables, who has the most wins (three) of anyone in this race. Here’s a quick look at the field!

#1- Whitsunday (Gdp Inc., ridden by A Beschizza)- Picked up in a $25.000 claimer last November, and would be entered for $20.000 again this March. Whitsunday began to hit his stride in April, and eventually a pair of wins sent him into stake company in recent starts. He was a half length away from winning the $135.000 Alydar in August at SAR.

#2- Tropicality (Arindel, ridden by R Gutierrez)- Commonly entered in claimers of late, with five of his last six races being such a race. The lowest tag that he was in for over that stretch was $15.000, coming in May. He’s been able to win these races, doing so three times out of this last five starts.

#3- Pearls Before Swine (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by M Murrill)- Hoping to be another horse that his sire, Jung, can be proud of. This gelding comes into this on a modest two race winning streak, starting in a $25.000 claimer before grabbing a starter allowance at PRX last month. Was in for a $14.000 tag back in August.

#4- Bring The Pain (Spankys Barn, ridden by T Gaffalione)- This eight year old gelding has made over $1,300.000 in his career, and has won fourteen times in 49 starts. Early this year we saw him entered for some lower claiming prices, and he would arrive at Spankys Barn for $20.000 in June. The new trainer has done well to bring Bring The Pain back into stakes company. Hasn’t won one of them since, but he’s been competitive.

#5- Komodo G (Acber Farms, ridden by G Corrales)- From a horse making their 50th career start to one making just their third. Komodo G can look like a baby next to some of these, but he’s shown promise in each of his two starts. Both were maiden claimers, and that includes a $35.000 tag when he made his debut in July.

#6- Boogaloo (London Racing, ridden by L Saez)- Only once has this gelding ever run in a claimer, coming in November for $15.000, and that is where London Racing scooped him up. Boogaloo at first did well against TX-breds, then carried that into open company with a win in the $75.000 Lost in the Fog. After that, he’s been first or second in three of next four starts, but he doesn’t have much experience going long.

#7- Suspect (Arindel, ridden by C J Hernandez)- We saw this one run in a couple of KYD preps at the starting of the year, but they didn’t go well. He rebounded better in a pair of CA-bred races, then struggled again. That led to him being entered into a $32.000 claimer in September that he won, and Arindel is hoping that Suspect will be able to show some of that promise he has periodically displayed.

#8- Di Canzone (Invicta Group Llc, ridden by J Talamo)- This veteran gelding has won twelve times over his 45 race career, and he has been owned by ten trainers at various points in time! This January, he was entered for a $20.000 claiming price, where Spankys Barn picked him up, but he would never race there. In his present barn, Di Canzone three wins and three places in over nine starts. His last race is an obvious throw out.

#9- Smoking Makes You Il (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Another long time veteran of the game, this seven year old gelding makes his 41st career start but has not passed through as many barns. He’s actually had a lengthy career now with Night Rider Stables, making quite a few recent stake starts, and the horse has stepped up in terms of hitting the board but not winning. Barely got his eligibility here, running for a $25.000 claiming price in January 2021.

Prediction: 2-8-9-3

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded