The Vanderbilt Handicap – Grade I
SAR Race #8 6f Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $350.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward.

With the handicapping system here at HRP. these handicaps become less about handicap weights than most other races with this example having just one pound between all eleven runners. So, without worrying about who has a good handicap weight let’s try and figure out which of these sprinters will take this grade one and just about book a ticket to the BC Sprint.

1 Clairvaux Threshold Salles L 120 —

The six-year-old is in good form this year but is untested at this level and may find it hard to live with these. He has run races as fast as most of these though and is working pretty well so must be given an outside chance of being in the mix.

2 Demon Wood Duck Stables Ferrer J C 120 —

This five-year-old was well known for his sprinting exploits and ran a fine race to be fourth in the BC Sprint last year but after two good wins over a mile plus the trainer felt compelled to move him into the routing category. Four races later and he comes back to sprinting after a couple of poor recent efforts and he may be a dangerous wild card here as he was a very good sprinter last year. The winner of the grade two Nerud as well as running a fine race in the BC, he is certainly a winning chance if his enthusiasm for racing hasn’t suffered.

3 Crypto Maxmillion Farm Jaramillo E 119 —

He has won six of his eight races over route trips, but we mustn’t forget that he won the Vosburgh in 2022 before a decent effort in the BC Sprint and a nose second in the grade one Malibu in that year. He has become a little inconsistent recently but is still working times that say he is ready to run a big race and the trainer is in fine form at the moment. He gets the perfect draw to launch from mid pack and see him as a real danger.

4 Everest Mo Mentum Farm Lopez P 120 —

He is certainly the talking horse of this race and there are plenty of good reasons to believe that we may be patting Mo Mentum Farm on the back after this for an inspired purchase. Working lightening times, his previous owner had kept him out of the limelight preferring a sparse campaign at lower level, but the new owner is having none of that after an easy win last time out in a competitive ELP Allowance. If work and race times won races, then he would be a confident choice, but he still has to prove himself at this level.

5 Peace Pipe Mb Stables Moore R L 119 —

Bought from Arindel as that stable moved away from the game and sold their extensive yard, he is lightly raced this year but showed plenty of speed in his last start to suggest he will be a contender here. After winning the grade one Champagne at two he was given the chance to make it in the TC but came up short eventually reverting back to sprinting. He ran in the Malibu last year and did pretty well to be fifth but looks to have matured nicely and may have improved for the break in racing he has had. His works certainly say he is a huge contender here with a sub 1.10 six-furlong dirt work and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him winning.

6 Neo Mb Stables Gaffalione T 120 —

Drawn next to his stable mate he is a 43-race veteran who was also bought from the Arindel dispersal sale. Another that ran well after a break and in his stable debut, he too is working phenomenal times and could well be ready to pay back that purchase price. Beaten a head when third in this race last year carrying two pounds less, there is no reason why he can’t be a top contender again.

7 Regal Halo Fractious Pennington F 119 —

You expect a grade one to be packed to the rafters with the best trainers and the best talent and whilst this one may not be the best sprinter on paper, he is working well enough to be a chance. The standout in his recent form was when just going down in the Carter Handicap when second after looking the winner with 100yards to run and whilst the rest of his recent form doesn’t jump off the page, that effort says he can sprint with the best.

8 So Twizted Asgar Beschizza A 120 —

Ran well to be third in the Cartier last time after a disappointing effort in the Kona Stakes, he is generally a solid sprinter but may find one or two too good in this race. Working well, he may be a little out classed but anything can happen in these races.

9 Safe Di Gdp Inc Lezcano J 120 —

Another working well enough but without the type of form that some of the others possess. Having said that he has won three from four this year and did take an ungraded stake last time following a very fast win at CD so there is something there to give you pause when looking at his form. Obviously improving fast, he will have to take a big step up today but if now then he may well be at this level before long.

10 Ultra M A G A TwinTowersRacing Bejarano R 119 —

A rather apt name in these times he is a total conundrum as most of the runners form this stable tend to be. The winner of just one a maiden at TAM over a mile you would have to say that a winner of one from seventeen should have no place in a grade one especially when you consider the silly handicapping system that gives him the same weight as a horse that has won over $1,000.000. BUT and here is the crazy thing about HRP, he is working pretty close to the best in this race, so whilst his form says absolutely no chance the trainer knows that a wide gate and no form means very little if the time is right.

11 Got Milk D J C Racing Stables Silvera Ru 119 —

Lumped with the car park, we find this five-year-old that is actually a good sort who is working very well but it will be tough from this draw to get any wort of trip. Third in the True North last time proved he can live with these, but he faces a very difficult choice from the wide gate. Does he go forward as he did in a TP race earlier in the year or back where he may find a wall of horses to try and go round. Neither choice may be the right one, but I hope he gets a race and goes forward somewhere, even if it is to stalk as I don’t think the closers will have much of a chance.

SUMMARY

This race is loaded with very fast horses, so it makes it a very difficult race to work out. I think Peace Pipe will run big and Everest may be a whole lot better than his form and if Demon is back to his best, he will surely be a contender too. So, I would be boxing up those three in an Exacta but in reality, everything in entitled to run well for some reason or another.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES