San Marcos Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Turf
February 4, 2017

The 12th running of the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes will have a field of six going to post, and three of them were participants in the BC Turf right here three months ago.  One BC Turf runner that is not in the field, however, is Spanish Showboat.  We bring him up because that one is the two-time defending champion of this race, but his trainer Mb Stables will be sitting this one out. Instead of that showboat, we can turn our attention to the BC turf runner-up, Cju, as the one that the rest of the field will be targeting, and they will indeed give him a run for his money.   Here is a look at our field for this race, hope you enjoy it!

#1- Cju (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- We waste no time getting to Cju as the five year old autogen starts on the rail.  Three months ago on this very race track, at odds of 66/1, he ran one of the best races of his career to finish second in that BC Turf.  It highlighted a year that saw him win twice and impressively only finish off the board once in nine starts.  His debut this year may be deemed a tad disappointing, though he did run third in the Grade 2 San Gabriel to a couple of gritty veterans, including Seven Years.  Look for him to bounce back nicely here.

#2- Grande Sournoise (Drabfantasy, ridden by D Moran)- He’s probably been a little confused over the last three months, having not had to race at all.  In the seven weeks between September 10 and running the BC Turf, he had a total of four races, each at a mile and a half.  Not surprisingly, he struggled in his last two of that stretch.  Finally, he’s been able to rest, and now we can really see what he is capable of doing when he is rested.  He did manage just one win in 2016, topping the likes of Exactly As Planned in the Kentucky Cup Turf.  He had time to rest before that one, too.

#3- Valar Morghulis (Gdp Inc, ridden by F Geroux)- The five year old Model American horse is a veteran of 24 career races, winning four of them.  None of them have been stake wins, but he has been agonizingly close a couple times, with a pair of recent second place finishes in the Knickerbocker Handicap and Smith Handicap, each getting his picture taken in a close photo with the winner.  Wish he would have run a little better in his most recent start, the Jerkens on New Years Eve.  Eventually, he’s going to finish the deal in one these, but don’t think its going to happen in this race.

#4- Gallivant (John Henry, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- One of the newer additions to the John Henry barn, coming in private sales via Australia Wide for $75.000 in November.  While I think John Henry paid a little too much for Bo Jangles, who runs in the San Antonio, the trainer got his value back and more with this purchase.   Looked good in winning the $500.000 PEN Mile in June and fared better a month later then the ending position will indicate in the BEL Derby Invitational.   I’m looking for him to thrive under John Henry’s guidance and think he is going to pull this out!

#5- Still In Check (Kopites, ridden by T C Baze)- After showing some promise as a two year old that saw him participate in the BC Juvenile turf, Still In Check seemed to fall out of favor with prior trainer Mb Stables, and he ended up in a $45.000 claimer in September.  Two put in a claim, and Kopites came out on top in the shake.  The new trainer liked what he saw, and wasted no time putting him back in the graded level in the Grade 2 Henry Championship.  He ran second there, but his two races after that have seen him not be a factor.  Perhaps he is just one of those inconsistent types.  If he is, then he is due here, and he might actually like the tenth furlong a lot.

#6- Prince of Wales (Blushing Meadows, ridden by G L Stevens)- I’ll start by giving a shout out to the trainer, who is off to a strong start in 2017, winning 43 of 131 (33%) as of press time.  Prince of Wales has just two wins to his credit, taking a little while to break his maiden, and showing potential, but no wins, in a couple of smaller stakes afterwards.  The trainer dropped him back to allowance company for his last start in late December, and he responded with a win.  Now, he tries those stakes he was decent in again, but with one difference: it’s going to be on the grass.  This is his first race on the turf, but work times should make anyone optimistic about his chances.

Prediction: 4-2-1-6

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES