CT Classic – Grade II

1 1/8 Mile Dirt Graded Stake Purse $1,000.00 Three  Years Old And Upward. At CT

A lot of talented old timers were lured out by this $1,000.00 route headed by seven-year-old Individuation trying to add to his over $8,700.00 bank account. I’m looking for younger Bronze Crown to continue to capitalize on his newfound appreciation for the dirt track and let me cash my $2.00 place ticket. Another seven-year-old with a large bank account of over $5,000.00, All Take will be trying to regain the form that saw him take down the $3,000.00 Pegasus World Cup. Oldest racehorse in the race is eight-year-old defending champion Berlin, second in three of his last four graded stakes races.

Here’s the handicap for the CT Classic:

Horse                                  Owner                              Odds    SRF

Individuation                      Mb Stables                       *5-2      101  

Bronze Crown                    TwinTowersRacing              5-1        97

All Take                               Alydar Stables                    3-1      100

Berlin                                 The Sidley Stud                  4-1        98

Criminal Law                      D J C Racing Stables        10-1      101

Test The Waters                 Mb Stables                          6-1      101

Jake From Statefarm         Gdp Inc                             30-1        94 

Long Ride                           Williams9                          50-1        94 

1  Long Ride       Williams9           91

After purchasing the three-year-old Long Ride from South Shore Stables for $70.00, the new trainer immediately placed him too soon in The Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes at GP where he actually showed a lot of promise for such a young, rushed horse. Then an odd decision to geld the promising colt which only seemed to dull the horse. Anyway, it’s just been a trail of over placement from there leading to three more stakes losses and another one today.

2  Criminal Law                   D J C Racing Stables            101

Criminal Law has been shooting high. After winning The $1,250.00 Grade II OP Handicap, this will be his fourth Grade I race in a row. He finished ’25 off with a win in the Grade III ONT Derby in October and returned in January to win an overnighter at AQU. The only real bother is the four misses although he did earn an SRF 191 in defeat in The Grade I Whitney at SAR.

3   All Take             Alydar Stables                100

Another old timer, seven-year-old All Take was tough enough to make the BC Classic last year and is still piling up SRF 100’s like is building a house out of them. In January, he won The $3,000.00 Grade I Pegasus World Cup at GP.

4   Test The Waters                 Mb Stables                     101

Back in ’24, Test The Waters came within a nose of winning the Prk and then worked his way along winning or placing in the occasional stakes race but nothing very spectacular until his most recent race, The Grade III PRM Cornhusker Handicap in which he went wire to wire to score a courageous win. Right distance. Right surface. He could be ready.

5   Bronze Crown                 TwinTowersRacing                      97

Bronze Crown looked to be making a career of grass racing until this year when he discovered a liking for dirt, and he’s been edging into it mostly in sprints. The third in The Grade III Hanshin at CD showed a lot of courage, as did the still-closing fourth in the sprint Grade I Crosby Stakes at DMR. Finally, I thought that 1:36H back in February was a real foreteller.

6   Individuation                 Mb Stables                       101

Y’know, in these big races at a route, you start to see a lot of older lads making their last go around, and the hardest thing to maintain at these later years is consistency. Individuation is seven years old with 43 races under his belt and just about as consistent as any racehorse you’d ever expect to see. I think a cautious selection program has helped him age gracefully. In seven races this year alone, he has earned seven checks. He won his most recent race, the Grade III Seagram Cup Stakes at WO and also placed second in the Grade I SA Handicap, and it looks like he will add another big one.

7   Jake From Statefarm                   Gdp Inc             94

The graduate $5.00 claimer, Jake From Statefarm has only tried one stakes race which was the $100.00 Niagara Stakes on turf at WO and he finished third. In his most recent race, he put on his dirt shoes and won an ELP allowance race with an impressive deep close, and here we are.

8   Berlin                          The Sidley Stud                    98

Eight-year-old Berlin is actually lightly raced in that his 43 races are less than or equal to some of the seven-year-olds. In his last ten races he has won the Grade III KY Cup Classic at TP and finished in the money in five other graded stakes races. One of those in the money was third beaten only a neck in the BC Classic. And, of course, it should be mentioned that Berlin is the defending champion in this race.

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES