The Metropolitan Handicap (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.000 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
June 10, 2023
The final jewel of the TC is not the only major race taking place at BEL, as there are six Grade 1’s with half of them having major implications for the BC. Here we will look at the Metropolitan Handicap, a “win and in” race for the BC Dirt Mile with a nice $1,000.000 purse to be divided up between the top four finishers. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the starting gate will be full to capacity for this race. Most of the horses in this handicap will be carrying either 117 or 118 pounds, but this number will go up as high as 122. Looking back at the history of the race, an impressive moment came right from the beginning with Alpha Ultimo winning three of the first four races while being second in the race that he did not win. More recently, we had another repeat winner in 2020 and 2021 with So Profound. The race last year was won by the simply named Buck, for Big Jd Racing. It would be the final win of that one’s career, and he now serves as a stallion for that same trainer. Here’s a look at our fourteen entries here!
#1- King Pigeon (Delta Farms, ridden by S Elliott)- The first king in the race is coming off a come from behind effort in the Grade 1 CD last month where his late stretch move saw him go from the back to a fourth-place check. While he does not always use this tactic, it is what is most commonly seen out of him, but sometimes he has not been able to make that move. The Grade 1 Malibu last December is an example of where it did not come, and he’s only raced three times since then. Interestingly, this will be the third time in four starts where he draws the rail.
#2- King Ranch (South Shore Stables, ridden by M Franco)- The two kings will be the first ones to be loaded into the gate, and for King Ranch, the Metropolitan Handicap will be an infrequent main track start. He has predominantly run on the turf, but as it has now been over a year since his last win, the trainer is looking to change things up. For him to be entered here, South Shore Stables must feel as though he has discovered something. His works on the main track have been good, but is he ready for this type of challenge? Time will tell!
#3- Hard To Forgive (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- Comes into the Metropolitan Handicap off of back-to-back triple digit SRF’s with one of them resulting in a win. That came at GP in the Grade 3 Ghostzapper two starts ago, and there was nothing wrong with his runner up in the Grade 2 Alysheba, which followed it. This was an important turnaround for him, because he had a three race stretch right before it where was not getting it done. He will have to carry 120 pounds here but I think he is good enough to overcome that.
#4- Strong Kommand (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by J Crawford)- In his second tour of duty for Maxmillion Farm, who at one time sold him for $687.000, and then ended up getting him back with a $25.000 claim two years later. Since his return, he has been hot and cold with his lone win being in an N1X allowance which he was actually still eligible for. He’s had several opportunities at the graded level and has finished in exactly the seventh position in four of his last five graded times (and the one where he didn’t, he was in a dead heat for sixth, so in a way he was seventh there too!) At least this time, he’d finish in the middle of the field if he did so again.
#5- Crack Stone (Mb Stables, ridden by Ru Silvera)- The Safecracker colt has won four of 20 races, but none of those victories are in any of the several stakes that he has attempted. This includes races like the AR Derby and the Queens Plate when he was younger though he has not been in a stake in over a year. In allowance and optional claiming company, he has been regularly hitting the board, and that includes an allowance win around six weeks ago. Now, he’s back in graded company and getting quite an assignment for that return.
#6- Home Spirit (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Here is the high weight in the field, as Home Spirit will need to carry 122 pounds, which is 4-5 pounds more than pretty much everyone else here. He’s been running very well of late, with four straight races of triple digit SRF’s. Two of them were wins, including one in the Pegasus World Cup, and that’s a big reason why he gets the added weight. However, his other win came in the OP Handicap, where he carried between 2-4 more pounds than everyone else, so he can handle the weight disadvantage. Has a late running style, typically, so never think that he is out of it unless he never comes.
#7- Cioppino (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Davis)- Picked up by the trainer in late November with a $20.000 claim, and has since made five starts. It is too early to call this a half-length to riches story, because despite being entered into the graded level in all of those starts, the best he has to show for it are a pair of thirds. Certainly, that shows that TwinTowersRacing has done a great job with him, and he is entered here, he is certainly very confident. For now, we’ll have to wait and see, but he has turned in some good works in preparation for this race.
#8- Tehran (Mb Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- This one had been a solid allowance horse for Wolf Ridge Stables while running on the grass before he was dropped into a $30.000 claimer in March. It was there that he got the attention of Mb Stables, he put down the claim to acquire him. However, he would have a different plan, and instead of running him on the grass, and in sprints, he would be entered directly into OP Handicap, which is at a mile on the main track. Tehran finished third in a race, being within a half-length of the winner, but more importantly, Mb knew for good that he claimed a good one. Working very well since that race and is plenty capable of pulling this off.
#9- A Born Dancer (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Jaramillo)- In 33 starts, this seven-year-old gelding has picked up eight wins and has made over $500.000 for his career. His best year was in 2021, with a win in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at PRX being his biggest result. While he would eventually be taken out of regular stakes competition, he continued to race at high level tracks with decent results, including a runner up last month at a CD optional claimer. This will be his first stake attempt of 2023 and comes just a little more two months after he was entered for a $32.000 claiming tag, with no takers.
#10- Valvano (Royalty Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Last April, Valvano opened eyes with a good-looking win in the $400.000 Lafayette at KEE. Since then, he has not run well, failing to hit the board in eight of eleven starts. His only win in that stretch was an optional claimer at SA, which while a good result, has not been the norm for him. Every now and then you will run into these horses that have the ability on their day, but their day just does not come often enough. And I couldn’t put real or virtual money on a horse like this.
#11- Mr Pancake (Arindel, ridden by L Saez)- Last summer, Mr Pancake picked up two impressive results, running second in both the Haskell and the Travers. Sure, they weren’t wins, but those are two very tough races and to get that performance back-to-back is an accomplishment. He would go right to the BC Classic from the Travers but did not have one of his better races there. Not to worry, because he rebounded well by finishing third in the Pegasus World Cup and second in the Ghostzapper. He has not actually won since the FL Derby last April, though, so that might make one hesitate on picking him to win as opposed to hitting the board. He’ll carry 119 pounds here.
#12- Gigabyte (Smokey Stover, ridden by D E Centeno)- Added his name to the legendary list of KYD winners thirteen months ago, and went on to finish third in the PRK and fifth in the BEL. So, it’s good to see him back here on BEL Day again! He’s been productive, if not a winner, since he left here last June, running third in both the Dandy and in the Travers before ultimately cashing the fourth place in the BC Classic. He has two wins this year, which each came in overnights. The other races he has been in here as a fourth year old where Grade 1’s, where he was a non-factor. This would be a great time for him to return to the winner’s circle, but I am not sold on that happening here.
#13- Sexy Back (Night Rider Stables, ridden by L Dettori)- We saw Sexy Back run in the Metropolitan Handicap last year, and he ended up finishing fourth. He took that into the Whitney, where he did not run well but recovered to hit the board in both the Pacific Classic at DMR and the Awesome Again at SA. Moving onto this year, the gelding rolled off back-to-back victories in both the Hooper and the GP Mile before narrowly missing out at making it three in a row at the OP Mile. Scored triple digit SRF’s in each of those last races. We’ll hope that his last race was a throw out, though at times Sexy Back has had some pretty bad duds. May have got that out of the way. He’ll carry 120 pounds.
#14- Pluckzy (Gdp Inc., ridden by R M Hernandez)- Our final horse to enter the starting is one that was here for the BEL last year, a race that he finished third in. He had also run in the KYD and got there thanks to winning the SA Derby. However, the SA Derby is still the last stake race that he has won. Despite appearing in several graded races since then, and even the BC Dirt Mile, Pluckzy’s only win since the SA Derby was an optional claimer also at that racetrack in January. A work in mid-May does not give a lot of confidence for this one, but there can be many reasons for it.
Prediction: 3-11-6-8
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
