CA Cup Sprint
 SA Race #7 6f Dirt Stake
Purse $150.000 For Four Year Olds And Upward Foaled In CA.

1 Wyatt Langmore   Fractious   Smith M E 125 —

If there is a stable that can defy a penalty in a stakes races at the moment, it is this one but to be fair to the horse he looks a real progressive type that could give the weight away whoever he is trained by. The big thing for him will be the transition from three to four which can be difficult for some in the early part of the year, but he has the sort of form on the board that even being behind the development curve he may be good enough to win. He ran a super race in the Cigar Mile Handicap last time which was no surprise after a solid season clocking up a decent stakes win in the Harrods Creek and King Corrie. This is a tough race, but he gets a great draw and must be a winning chance.

2 House Command   The Sidley Stud    Contreras L 123 —

I like the five-year-olds at this time of year and this son of Commanding has good enough form on the board to be a contender. Lightly raced, the trainer has always had confidence in him even if he hasn’t always repaid that confidence, but there is a case to be made here if he turns up with his best form. A good third in the grade three Thunder Road last year and a solid fourth in the Fall High-weight Handicap were good enough efforts to see him in this at the end.

3 Better Dumbell   Mojica Racing   Rispoli U 123 —

His win record is impressive with eight victories in fifteen starts but he has been kept to the lower grades and this is his first try at this level. Looking at his works he is ready, and he certainly knows how to win so he could be the dark horse here ready to go in at long odds.

4 Range Rover   Arindel    Maldonado E 123 —

I had this one on my list of KYD hopes early last year but that never happened as he contended with difficult draws through the qualifiers. Back to sprinting he managed a huge effort when second in the grade one Jerkins Memorial and that form looks out standing for this type of race. On paper he has a big chance but after a long break he may need this run.

5 In Action   Spankys Barn   Prat F 123 —

HRP always throws up a horse like this, in fact it is one area that makes the claiming game such an enjoyable part of this game. Here we have a five-year-old that was beaten when claimed from a $9.000 claimer last time working a flat 1.10 and potentially the fastest in this field of Stakes winners. No-one could blame the stable for having a go here because although his form is pretty awful his work times are suggesting something very different, Keep an eye on this one.

6 What A Joke   Delta Farms   Dettori L 123 —

Another that was looking like a KYD contender after a third in the Davis Stakes, he ultimately would fail to make the field after a terrible draw in the SA Derby saw him trail in eighth effectively ruling him out of the TC. The trainer then took him back to sprinting where he had some success but met off tracks in both his stakes attempts. I think there is a lot more to come from this one.

7 Knoblauch   Angelos Stable   Van Dyke D 123 —

A consistent sort he looks like the late developing sort and reaches the age where horses can turn a corner. Racing over his best trip he ran a good second in the Grant Stakes where the seventh furlong looked a bit far but coming back to six today, he may be in it for a long way. He looks the obvious speed influence in the race and there isn’t so much so he may be able to get an uncontested lead which will give him his best chance.

8 White Fury   Paradise Stable    Gonzalez Ru 125 —

A seven-year-old entire and you don’t see many of them these days, he showed he was a late bloomer last year with some improved form including again, win in the Lost In The Fog. He carried on developing and whilst he didn’t win again, he did run some decent races and with some luck from this wide draw could well use his age and development to get into the top four.

9 Scott The Cherokee TwinTowersRacing Gutierrez Mario 123 —

We find another solid older type out in the cheap seats, and you would be a fool to write him off, not least because of the stable he comes from. He went from a 12-furlong turf route to a six-furlong dirt sprint and proved equally effective which may not seem so real life but here at HRP we see it all the time. He proved in the The Bet On Sunshine last time that he can do this trip, but it looks like he may go back from this wide draw, and he will need a bit of race engine magic to give him a chance.

SUMMARY

There are a couple of scenarios that could play out here. Firstly, we see a 22 and change opening quarter and Scott The Cherokee storms home wide and wins or more likely an average pace and In Action goes from cheap claimer to Stakes winner. They are two possibilities that I have seen many times in the years I have been reviewing these races but both rely on unknown variables so it is hard to be too bullish about either happening, I think the winner may be older than four but that’s about the only thing I can really say about who will win this.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded