The Troy (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
SAR- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
August 3, 2024

Plenty is on the line Saturday for turf sprinters as 19th running of the Troy takes place at SAR. This race first appeared on the schedule in 2006 as a simple $65.000 ungraded race and has grown in stature since. It is now a Grade 3, getting that designation in 2018, and the $300.000 purse level was first reached in 2022. For the most part, three-year-olds have been excluded from the race, but there was a period from 2012-2019 where they were allowed to participate. Last year, the race was won by the late Creepy Rocky Party, for Mb Stables, but it would be his last hurrah. He did run in the BC Turf Sprint and finished in the middle of the field there, and was retired after one start this year. We’ll have five in this year’s race, let’s take a look at them now:

1- Apache Tomcat (Ajm Stables, ridden by K Kimura)- The veteran seven-year-old will make his 45th career start and hopes it results in his fifteenth win. He ended up with Ajm Stables in early 2023 and has six wins, moving up from the claiming ranks to graded competition. He hasn’t won one yet, but he was second in the Grade 2 TS Turf Sprint at CD in May before running fifth in the Jaipur last time out.

2- Bluesman (Spankys Barn, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Ran second in the BC Turf Sprint last year, narrowly missing out in a photo finish. He ended 2023 hot, and he began this year the same way, with wins in the GP Turf Sprint and the San Simeon Stakes. Ran against Apache Tomcat in the Jaipur last month and ran a little better, finishing third. Both of them had to deal with outside posts there and are each appealing in this one. However, then we have the next one.

3- Drinkin Creepin (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This is the best turf sprinter in the game right now. He won the BC Turf Sprint last fall and has now won seven consecutive turf sprints. In addition to the BC, this streak also includes the Grade 1 Jaipur and the TS Turf Sprint, among others. If it was not for an attempt to run longer in the race that followed the BC, it would be a longer overall win streak, but even that still stands at six. He’s not a shoo-in to win here, as Apache Tomcat and Bluesman have given him good battles in the past, but he is definitely the favorite.

4- Six Pillars (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- Not a horse that is known for sprinting on the turf and will have to face the king of the division as well as other top contenders in it as he runs here in the Troy. After a very poor effort in the Wise Dan last month, you can understand why the trainer is choosing the change things up, but this field is too tough for a horse not used to this type of a race.

5- Old Fashioned (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- Much of what was said about Six Pillars applies here as well, since Old Fashioned has never been in a turf sprint before. Since being claimed, he’s run six times, winning once, but never being better than fifth otherwise. So, like Six Pillars, you can understand the change, but he is likely running for fourth.

Prediction: 3-2-1…. then flip a coin

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES