The JC Gold Cup – Grade I
1 1/4 Miles Dirt Stake Purse $1,000.000 Three-Year-Olds And Up. At SAR

The JC Gold Cup goes all the way back to 2004 and is steeped in the history of HRP. The first winner of the race was Miller Stables who left the game in 2006, years before his horse future Hall of Famer Little Slick retired, finishing his career under the training of first Jerry Garcia Racing and later Australia Wide. The following year the race went to the super horse of super horses, Jerry Garcia Racing’s Icicle. And it goes on like that the elite of the trainers and the class of the racehorses. Sound familiar? It’s exactly the same prologue from my Pacific Classic coverage yesterday because both races came into the world identically. Things changed a bit, the Who’s Who became different Who’s Who, but it still had the usual suspects This year’s field has different big money horses in Quiet Return and KYD winner Bad Debt in the mix. I get a kick out of watch Quiet Return run and playing him in the Pick’em. Twice he has sent me to the Handicap Competition and then I never have time to play. Well, I’m picking him again, and I reckon he’ll be a bit of a price again. Fried Chicken looks the favourite off his come from behind win in the grade one Whitney.

Horse                                  Owner                                Odds  SRF

Quiet Return                        John Henry                         6-1     103

Fried Chicken                     Angelos Stable                  *3-1      103

Eight West Party                TwinTowersRacing               4-1      101

Heart Of Genghis                Night Rider Stables             9-2     101

Charlie Jace                        Mb Stables                         5-1     101

Senor Vinagre Y Agua        YME Stable                         6-1       97

Face The Lunatic                Martyparty                          8-1     100

Bad Debt                            D J C Racing Stables         10-1       95        

The Golden Age                  Mb Stables                        15-1       97

Jerry                                    Threshold                          20-1       98

1  Heart Of Genghis               Night Rider Stables      101

Arrives here fresh off a sharp victory in the 1 1/8 mile grade three PRM Cornhusker Handicap. Since being claimed from Spinetingling for $20.000 in February, the horse has won two and placed two and stepped up to graded stakes for the first time in his six years and he looks in the top four here.

2  Quiet Return                                                                                                      John Henry         103

Pay $300.000 for a five-year-old gelding? Well, when that gelding is one of the greats of all time at HRP and he’s only five, then hell yeah! I love this horse! If I had known he could have been purchased for $300.000, I would have loved to have been the one to make that offer. With only 28 races, I see him adding another $6,000.000 to his bankroll. Sure, there will be disappointments along the way as there frequently are with deep closers, but I don’t think today is one of those days. This looks like another $1,000.000 win for this monster.

3   Charlie Jace                 Mb Stables         101

Charlie Jace held on gamely for a longshot second in the grade two Suburban at SAR at this distance on the Fourth of July and looks to be close to a check in this one. That was his first in the money performance of the year, though, so here’s hoping he can keep it going.

4   Fried Chicken               Angelos Stable            103

Big win in the natural predecessor for this in the grade one Whitney locally. That’s got to make him the favourite for this race. He made all in the Ali at KEE in April and fell short at third in the grade two Gold Cup at SA in May, so the form is hot if you throw out that muddy grade one Foster disaster at CD.

5   Face The Lunatic              Martyparty               100

Couldn]t make the route 6   Jerry                 Threshold                    98

Got into the stakes business with a nose defeat in the $200.000 SUN Handicap in April, but then finished midtrack in a couple of grade three routes and is going to have to come up with more to get much attention.

7   The Golden Age             Mb Stables                    97

Lightly raced three-year-old has made his name known in his age group, taking the $500.000 VA Derby, the grade one SA Derby and the grade three IND Derby, but will really have to stretch that five pound age weight allowance to convert it into a win in this crowd.

8   Bad Debt               D J C Racing Stables                95

Was really impressive running second in the one-mile grade one Metropolitan Handicap locally in June, but he came up short in the grade one Foster and the grade one Whitney really took the wind out of him and I think he may want to shorten up for a while.

9   Senor Vinagre Y Agua                     YME Stable              97

I just never know what my old friend is up to, but if he is here, he’s got some angle he’s working on. That run in the Suburban does not scream I got you now. He couldn’t make the 1 1/4 miles last. Maybe he’s looking for another dead heat.

10   Eight West Party               TwinTowersRacing            101

Looks the main competition for the top two off that third-place finish in the grade one Whitney and the good form it took to get there. Looks like the only bothersome race for him lately is that beatdown in the grade two OP Handicap and he seems to have forgotten all about it.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES