RP Springboard Mile ($300.000 Purse)
RP- For Two Year Olds
One Mile On the Dirt
December 11, 2016
*Sorry, Hispaniola, couldn’t work you in the title quite as well. Now, onto the race.
In being assigned the Springboard Mile, and looking at the race for a while in deciding whether or not I wanted to enter my horse Slither here (and ultimately passed), I began to wonder why this is not a graded stake. The purse seems high enough, and it attracts a quality field worthy of the designation both in our game and in the real world. However, the race remains ungraded, and as it turns out it has nothing to do with racing, but because of real world medication politics in Oklahoma. The 2014 ESPN article I read about the race’s history said it would be on the cusp of becoming graded, but here we are two years later, and things are not likely to change at this point. Now, back to our Springboard Mile, this race was won by Mb Stables and High Pride in its first and only running last year. High Pride stumbled a bit while on the KYD trail, but rediscovered his stride in the spring anyway, and would eventually win the Pacific Classic at DMR this August, and ran in the BC Classic . The second place runner was a filly, Track Queen, and she did make it to the KYO in May, and would run in the BC Distaff. Third and fourth place finishers Le Quartier and Red Candy Rioja (respectively) were able to get to the BEL in June. So four of the six were able to use the race to springboard their three year old careers, and this year’s field of the same size will look to duplicate that. Let us meet our field!
#1- Hispaniola (Hay Makers Inc, ridden by D Moran)- On the rail, this General Assembly colt looks to have plenty of talent, he has simply not been able to show it consistently. Since winning his debut race at FL, he has not returned to the winner’s circle, but has picked up a couple of third place efforts. The trainer has had him on the grass in recent runs, and he simply did not have a liking to it, especially when the turf was soft. He’s coming back to the main track now, and I like his works. But he needs to show that on race day. The rail horse can never be counted out, but I am looking elsewhere.
#2- Indiana Jones (John Henry, ridden by R Bejarano)- Purchased by John Henry on the 4th, it will be a pretty quick turnaround for this colt, but if you are named Indiana Jones, then you can handle mission. He has won two out of four thus far, including the $250.000 Cup And Saucer Stakes at WO, a ON-bred stake which is run on the grass. About a month after that, he ran under very similar conditions, but this time on the main track (first time on dirt), and failed to defeat anyone. Since he is not going back to the grass here off of that, it looks like the trainer has discovered an excuse for that performance. Works are good when they are on, but hint at some inconsistency.
#3- Noble Crusader (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- In three races so far, this Chai Latte colt only knows how to visit the winner’s circle after a race. The third of his three races was the most impressive victory as he went to the $70.000 Speakeasy Stakes at SA. It might not be the most attractive field to look at, but the 93 SRF he earned for the result is one of the better such figures recorded by any of these. He’s never gone longer then six furlongs, and the others in here are a little more schooled at the distance right now. You got to love a horse that knows how to win, but this is his toughest challenge to date.
#4- Money En Fuego (Axeman, ridden by J R Davila Jr)- The king of FL, the jockey that is, gets himself a rare but well deserved mentioned here in the SRF as he rides in the Springboard. Hos mount, Money En Fuego, is looking to use this race to get back on track. His season started very well with two wins and two seconds in his first four starts, and one of those runner ups came in the DMR Futurity. Since then, he has only raced against the best, including running in the BC Juvenile last month. However, the results in those races are not there, and in the Juvenile, he did not beat anybody. This is all about getting back in the right direction, as the talent is still there. He will have a great shot and maybe get a big win for J R Davila Jr in the process!
#5- Standards (Spongebob, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Here is another that will making their debut for a new trainer after a large private sales purchase. At the end of November, Spongebob bought the colt for $200.770, fresh off a victory earlier in the month in the $200.000 GS Juvenile for CA-breds out at SA. In the win, he earned a 98 SRF, which is the highest figure that any of these have attained so far in their young careers. This is certainly a horse that we can expect to see do some great things next year, and should be a good contender in this field.
#6- Finished Laffin (Buddhabase, ridden by E S Prado)- A winner of three out of six career starts, and will making his toughest start to date in this race. Early in his career, he was seen twice at MD, which is where he broke his maiden in his second attempt there. More recently, he’s been facing tough foes, and did earn a stake win when he won the $50.000 Golden Nugget at GG last month. He has great bloodlines and we know he can win at sprinting distances. Does he really want to go longer? He’s tried a couple times and those were not his best results. This is a pivotal race for him here.
Prediction: 2-3-5-4
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
