Bradley Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
January 20, 2024

A field of nine will take part in the nineteenth running of the Bradley Stakes, and there will be one horse that immediately gets your attention within the field. Two-time BC Mile participant Pxg is certainly the headliner of the field, but everyone else will be looking to bring down a big gun. Overall, this is a very good group of horses, outside of Pxg, who probably deserve to be running for more than $100.000 but that is where we are for this race. There has not been much change in the purse over time, with previous editions either running at the present level or $125.000. The late Proud Bo was the winner of the race last year for TwinTowersRacing, and he continued to run well until June, when the dreaded switch flipped for him to decline, and it looked to have been a rather sharp one. TwinTowersRacing is back with one of our runners to battle Pxg. Here’s a look at this field of nine!

#1- Lumpenproletarian (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by D L Parker)- For most of his career, this gelding was a consistent horse in overnights, and that would lead to him taking on stronger competition in stakes since last fall. That started out really well, too, by winning the Grade 3 Saranac at SAR, which is his signature race thus far. We last saw him in November at the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf where he placed second. He’s not the one to beat here, but this is a good spot for him.

#2- Disciplinary (Nakamura Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- Early in his career, there was a lot of hope on this horse, with sales in late 2021 and early 2022 combining for $775.000. He was briefly on the KYD trail, but that never panned out and Disciplinary would be moved to sprints. Results in them were inconsistent, and the next move has been to move him to grass, where he has been in three of last four races. After an impressive wire to wire victory in an ON-bred optional claimer, Disciplinary hopes to follow that up. I’m not sure I fully trust him against this company, but he should not be ruled out.

#3- Pxg (Mb Stables, ridden by J P Spencer)- Well, here he is. Over his career, Pxg has established himself as one of the top horses in this division by running in the BC Mile the last two years. That makes him the biggest name here, but does that necessarily mean that he is the favorite? That’s up for debate, as after all, since his Shadwell Turf Mile win in 2022, Pxg has only won once, which was an $18.000 open allowance at FE. It’s close calls, like the near victory eleven days after that allowance in the Grade 1 WO Mile, where Grand Opening got the head bob on him, that made him a BC runner. This may “only” be a $100.000 race, but there’s some very good horses here that can knock him off.

#4- Elite Fire (High Voltage, ridden by B J Hernandez Jr)- The last two winners of the Grade 3 Saranac at SAR are here, since Elite Fire won that race in 2022. After that, he went on a dry spell from visiting the winner’s circle but still hitting the board. Placed second in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby and Grade 1 HOL Derby after that. However, he would be lightly raced in 2023, running only four times with three disappointments before winning an open allowance at PRX on Halloween. He’s been idle ever since.

#5- Chai Danger (Wolf Ridge Stables, ridden by C J McMahon)- In many races, especially for ones that run for a $100.000 purse, Chai Danger would be your signature runner. The now seven-year-old gelding has eleven wins over 46 starts and it is very rare that he has a bad race. Last year concluded with him winning LCD Turf, which should be renamed after him since he has now won it for three consecutive years. He’s been fine in graded races, but it hasn’t been enough to get to the BC. Still seems to be at the top of his game.

#6- Broad Brush (Czech Out Farms, ridden by J A Guerrero)- I’m honestly not sold on this one. The last time that he won was in September 2022 in an optional claimer at AQU, but after that he still ran pretty well, all the way up to running Johns Call at SAR, where he missed the head bob. His last two races are not good, with a particular struggle happening at the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes, which was on dirt. Can we dismiss that as being a dirt race? If so, then Broad Brush can be competitive here on his best day. I’m just not ready to throw it out.

#7- Fire And Ice (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- After getting a win here last year with Proud Bo, the trainer looks to Fire And Ice to get another win. While the name of the horse screams making hot and cold comparisons with his previous races, he has actually been consistent so I can’t do that. He’s run in a little bit of everything of late, condition wise, with attempts to elevate him into this level not resulting in all that much. Much better in overnights, with two wins in three races, leading him to another stake opportunity.

#8- Royal Niner (Riggins Racing, ridden by V Del-Cid)- This is the type of horse that maybe you would expect to see a little more of in a race like this. It’s not his stake debut, as he did run in the DED Mile last fall, but his other six starts have been in overnights. He needed four races to break his maiden and has hit the board in five of seven. I like the way he ran in the starter allowance at the beginning of December as well even if it was not a win. Against this crowd, Riggins will certainly be able to see where this horse stands.

#9- Cucamonga Sin (Asgar, ridden by P Lopez)- Over sixteen starts, Cucamonga Sin has gotten plenty of opportunities against stake company, but more often than not, he is not cashing a check at the end. Because he has been close in those races, he keeps getting more chances, but as of now, for a horse that’s made less than $100.000, that’s a lot of entry fees to be eating up. Can things be different here? Well, it always can, but I’m going to have to pass.

Prediction: 3-5-7-1

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded