Read Stakes – Grade II (P2)
DMR Race #7 1 1/8m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $250.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward.

1 Last Way To The Beac Maxmillion Farm Velazquez J R 124 —

On his day this is one of the best turf routers in the game. The winner of multiple graded stakes including two grade ones he is the type that pops up with a win just when you think he has peaked and is on his way down. His efforts this year have been typically inconsistent, brilliant in the Forrester Turf Classic but ordinary in the Whittingham and The Manhattan so it is really tough to know what we are going to get today. At his best he just about wins, at his worst he could be eighth but that is pretty much where we are at HRP with most races these days.

2 Real One Nakamura Stables Elliott S 124 —

The trainer took him back to allowance grade last time to give him a confidence boost and that may be just what the doctor ordered. Prior to that race he had only ever raced on dirt but won over the mile on turf in a sub 1.33 time suggesting as usual surface doesn’t matter much to most horses at HRP and sometimes it can produce improved efforts. His works are in the clone zone required to win a race like this and with the perfect draw he may just be the dark horse in this race.

3 Traveller Royalty Stables Lopez P 119 —

A lightly raced three-year-old and a decent sort but you horse’s have to be thinking of a HRP mess if you see him winning. That is not to knock the trainer for entering or the horses ability both scenarios have been good enough to beat the top older horses with the few pounds age allowance they receive in the past. I think he will run top six because of it but I can’t see him winning………if only I had a dollar for every-time I have said that and been proved wrong!

4 Letters By The Bay Wood Duck Stables Gaffalione T 124 —

Consistency isn’t this one’s middle name but then what horse can be consistent these days when many of the horses are so equal in so many ways. This one, on his day is good enough to win as he proved by nearly winning the Fort Macey this year and running very well in the KY Turf Cup last year, but it is impossible to tell whether today will be a good day.

5 Atomic Eclipse Spankys Barn Prat F 124 —

This six-year-old is another that can be brilliant on his day as he proved when taking the Poker Stakes last time in a 1.32 and 1 winning time. As a six-year-old he has been around the block but with ten wins he is no also ran and proved last time his older legs still have plenty of speed.

6 Master Of Disguise Mb Stables Garcia Mar 124 —

Though his form looks consistent when you look deeper you can see it’s not. In the San Luis Rey, he made all at a good pace and won easily in 2.23 and 1. Then last time out he tried to make all in a much slower pace but weakened off a winning time over a second slower at 2.24 and 2. So assuming he goes to the lead again we have no idea which horse we will see.

7 Wayward Prince Angelos Stable Saez L 124 —

In a race like this where there are so many horses that can be brilliant one day and ordinary the next that I like it when we see an improver like this because sometimes it can be this type that is the most reliable for the punter. A winner of four from six this year I really liked the way he stepped up to win the MTH Stakes last time and just maybe he could be the answer in a tricky race.

8 State General Mb Stables Gutierrez Mario 124 —

This one was nearly the best in ON last year running great races in the big State bred contests. He hasn’t been knocked about by the trainer and has been brought slowly out of State bred grade and into this level and looks to have reached the right level to be a winning chance. He sauntered home in the TX Turf last time after a very good second in the San Francisco Mile and falls into the same category as Wayward Prince in that he is an up and comer rather than a star waiting its turn on a win.

9 By The Night O Bay Oval Express Farms Conner T 124 —

This seven-year-old has found it a bit tough recently and gets the handicap of the widest draw to contend with which may end his chances. Having said that there are some good performances in his 38-race career, and he may be one of those outsiders who comes good from a wide draw.

SUMMARY

Wow! This is a tough one to call. There are the ones who could win a BC at their best and those that may do one day and there is a three-year-old ready to throw a spanner in the works. I tend to go for the up and comers in a race like this so State General and Wayward Prince with maybe the three-year-old thrown in but if a horse like Last Way To The Beac runs his best race it will be game over.

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES