June 29, 2016
Much like its female counterpart, the Grade II Smile Sprint Handicap is now named for a champion of the 1980’s who won the BC Sprint of 1986 along with many stakes races in Florida, leading to a hefty following and much love among the people at racetracks there. Inaugurated in 1984, it has gone through many changes in both distance and Graded Stakes level and has been won by the likes of Glitterman, Orientate, Shake You Down, Benny The Bull and Big Drama.
When it was one of the premier sprinting races in horse racing, HRP also saw its share of superstars win this event in its first years, with Ljosalfar taking the first and fourth editions around the immortal Alpha Ultimo, who beat him in 2006 and 2007 but could not in what is the fastest six-furlong race in HRP history. Jolly Be Great had a short but fruitful career with this race providing one of his four stakes victories in 2009 while New York Yankees and Fat Nick provided back-to-back wins for owner Pan Farms a couple years back before the race started a minor decline to lesser status. This year, it has still attracted a big field of ten but none of the major stars with the new BEL Sprint Championship and the Triple Bend sandwiched around it, although defending champion Five Star Five is back for a repeat against a completely new field to the one he bested last year.
1-Nefarious Leadership (Five-year-old black horse / Owner-Mb Stables)
BEL Sprint and Forego winner Nefarious Leadership has tried to reclaim his sophomore form in recent starts for owner Mb Stables but while a CAC Sprint win was quite good, his lack of late momentum in the MD Sprint leaves him with much more to prove and he will be looking to get back to his winning ways. Workouts at BEL have been solid and he draws inside, which will get him into the race early, so look for him to sit close and make ground late, with the hope of holding off the closers in the last furlong.
Analysis-Inside post helps his chances of sticking around
Fair Odds-8/1
2-Money For Charley (Four-year-old bay gelding / Owner-Blushing Meadows)
After pushing through his N4L conditions with ease over a tough CD surface, Money For Charley is ready to get back into stakes competition and finds a solid field in the Smile with which to test his front-running abilities, especially from one of the inside stalls. He should be fast enough to get a good early position and knows this six-furlong trip so the only question is class and if he can handle it as a four-year-old, he should be well suited to make a good account of himself come Saturday.
Analysis-Steps up in class but has the form to back it up
Fair Odds-6/1
3-Domination Nation (Six-year-old chestnut horse / Owner-Double J Stables)
Domination Nation was claimed for a paltry $25.000 back in June of 2014 and became a Grade I winner right off the bat before adding a runner-up finish in the BC Sprint, almost $1000.000 to his bankroll and this year, two straight huge wins in preparation for this event. His speed ratings are excellent but he makes his first trip to GP and that could be a minor inconvenience for a six-year-old who has been riding high for quite a while now and comes in with excellent form and credentials.
Analysis-Class of the field looks for three in a row
Fair Odds-4/1
4-Bonsai Gullis (Four-year-old bay gelding / Owner-Threshold)
Bonsai Gullis has always been a good horse but never broken through at this level and off a third in a minor allowance and a second in the mud at ELP, will need the race of his life to hit the board against proven Graded Stakes caliber sprinters. He would certainly be aided by a good to muddy track on Saturday and has some solid works coming in but speed ratings are not as high as needed and he will have to be faster to hit the board.
Analysis-Needs to be faster than he has been recently
Fair Odds-20/1
5-Carry The Lilies (Three-year-old chestnut gelding / Owner-Chili King Stables)
Recently gelded and off the TC trail, Carry The Lilies will try his hand at building a sprinting career but finds a very tough spot to start from, even if he is coming off a minor stakes win going short. The addition of blinkers might have helped focus his energy in the latter stages and he has certainly shown blazing speed in workouts at SA but no three-year-old has ever won the Smile Sprint and he would be a longshot to win here despite a middle post that will help his early chances.
Analysis-Faces a tough test going this short
Fair Odds-25/1
6-No More Blues (Three-year-old bay colt / Owner-Nolespan Racing)
No More Blues had never finished better than third before a track-record win in the Dine Stakes at SRP last time out and off that most unusual maiden breaking effort, makes a huge jump up in class and into open company and will be one of the toughest horses to back. Even with speed ratings in the mid-90’s and plenty of speed from a middle post, he will have to be at his absolute best and get things perfectly up front, or risk getting swallowed up in the final furlong against much more seasoned rivals at this Grade II level.
Analysis-Will try to go gate-to-wire but will face tough pressure
Fair Odds-12/1
7-Five Star Five (Five-year-old gray horse / Owner-Harrell Racing)
Five Star Five was already a Grade I winner and very highly regarded when he won the Smile Sprint last year at 4-1 and GP has been always been kind to him so on Saturday, he will be well backed once again as he looks to become the third duel-winner of this event. Third in the GP Sprint and second in the prestigious Carter, he was caught with an outside post in the CD and failed to make up any ground but a nice post here will get him into midpack and from there, he should be able to close better than most en route to a big finish.
Analysis-Won last year and faces an easier field this time
Fair Odds-3/1
8-Reel Steal (Four-year-old bay gelding / Owner-Scarletandgraystable)
Based on his win in the Fleet Sprint Handicap at OP and a sharp second in the Grade II Kona at SA, it would have been easy to see Reel Steal in the Triple Bend last weekend but he finds himself here at GP as the highweight and should be right in the thick of things turning for home. Purchased for $75.000 last December, he has been right there in each start for his new connections and on class alone, should be a solid contender but not at as low a price as he was last time out.
Analysis-Second at odds-on last time so do not take a short price
Fair Odds-5/1
9-Oh Awesome One (Four-year-old chestnut colt / Owner-John Henry)
Owner John Henry has been picking up top class horses all season long and gets a chance to record their first Graded Stakes win with Oh Awesome One, a co-winner of the Fleet Sprint with his inside rival but only third when wheeling back in the Kona at SA. He has been bounced around from owner to owner over the last year and it has been tough to get behind him with all the changes, although he should be well backed off his good form and would not be a surprise for the win.
Analysis-Will try to come through with a big effort for his new owners
Fair Odds-5/1
10-Cool Daddy (Four-year-old bay colt / Owner-Brave)
After an excellent three-year-old campaign that saw him finish off the board only once, Cool Daddy has not found his best stride as an older runner and will be one of the longshots in the Smile Sprint from his widest draw. He has been facing tough company all season long and he been close on a few occasions but this will be another tough assignment and unless he can find some way to come through in the clutch, it looks like it might be another midpack finish for him in the end.
Analysis-Has been unable to close things out and now gets a wide post
Fair Odds-15/1
Overall
There are a lot of differing opinions when it comes to picking the winner of the Grade II Smile Sprint Handicap but Five Star Five looks to be one of the top choices once again, with his love for GP and his win in this race last year tipping the scale over the current form of others. Domination Nation was excellent winning the MD Sprint in a fast final time and has the back class to handle this level with ease, while both Reel Steal and Oh Awesome One has battled tough rivals all year long and will be renewing their rivalry with others who are clearly good enough to win at this six-furlong distance.
Prediction
Win-Five Star Five (3/1)
Place-Domination Nation (4/1)
Show-Reel Steal (5/1)
Triple T Racing 🙂
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
