The General George Stakes (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
LRL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 18, 2017

It’s not too often we get a chance to talk about racing at LRL here in the SRF, since most of the races that take place there in our virtual world are for the free side.  The track is a lot better then that, and on Saturday there are a couple good graded events.  This preview will focus on the General George Stakes, which is a long sprint for older horses.   It will be the 11th running of the race, and we have had one that won this race two times!  That would be the legendary Alpha Ultimo, who won in 2007 and 2008.  The winner last year, Impending Decision, is still around and racing at high levels, though he did race last week (and went seven furlongs, well, eight technically, but he called it a race after seven) and bypassed his chance to repeat here.   We’ll have a field of seven this year, and here are our entrants!

#1- Team Panther (Tiratzo, ridden by C J McMahon)- This is a horse that knows how to show up in the morning!  Those blazing fast works had prior owner Running Farms enter him in the FL Derby last year while he was still a maiden! Since then, the aggressive placement has died down and Team Panther was acquired by Tiratzo in August for $110.000.   He’s been raced three times since then, with the highlight being an open allowance triumph at BEL.  Following that, it was off to the Grade 3 Harlan and he ran a competitive third to the likes of Rapid Refund and Rising Light.  This is a great spot for him to bounce back into, and he should have a great shot.

#2- Dreaming Again (Gdp Inc, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- The five year old gelding has won six of 20 career races, with the majority of those wins coming on the grass.  However, it was a return to the main track in his last start that likely prompted the trainer to enter him here.   Down at GP in January, Dreaming Again took on a field of seven while running seven, and came out on top.  He’s been hit and miss in stakes placement throughout his career and is a graded winner from 2015, taking the River City Handicap against three others in November of that year.  Every now and then, he fires off some great races, and last month was no exception.  He’s certainly one to watch in this field.

#3- Hold My Steel (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- This is a graded stake that does not have Mb’s name on the past winners list yet, and the leading trainer will bring two to this race hoping to change that.   It was nearly a year ago to the day when this gelding was acquired from Bigking for $200.000 still as a lightly raced horse.  He connected right away with his new trainer, winning three races in a row, the third of which being the Grade 3 Aristides BC in June at CD. Back in November, he won another graded race, and it came right here at LRL when he was victorious in the DeFrancis Memorial Dash (Grade 3) against the likes of Fly Millennium and Domination Nation.  Since then, he’s been rested and will be ready to go here on Saturday.

#4- Give Your All (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- 2016 was a truly outstanding season for this La Briganderie gelding, falling a buck short of $1,000.000 in earnings for the year.  He won six of nine, including two of the bigger races of the year for sprinters, the Grade 1 Vosburgh at BEL and the Kings Bishop, also a Grade 1, at beautiful Saratoga Race Course.  In total, four of those six wins were against graded competition.  This did get him to the BC Sprint, but he would fall short.  He would race in the Grade 1 Malibu, and turned the tables on his BC Sprint winning stablemate No Doubt About It, by winning that race.  On paper, he is the one to beat, but don’t just give him the trophy already.

#5- Magic Time (Sarah Stables, ridden by L H Colon)- Nice to see Sarah Stables back here in graded company, and the trainer will be pinning his hopes on this five year old Timepiece horse.  There’s really only one consideration to be making with Magic Time, and that’s whether or not you still believe he has it.  After finishing second in a Grade 2 in November 2015, he then took the next 13 months off, and reappeared in December for an allowance, and was second, then won a similar allowance race last month.  He’s got the perfect name to pull it off, and he may do it, but he’s a little to bet on at this point.

#6- Social Inspector (Scarletandgraystable, ridden by R J Albarado)- The Inspector Jacques gelding steps up to graded company for the first time.   To get here, he won three of seven races, so if nothing else you have to like that this horse knows how to find the winner’s circle.  They weren’t the biggest races, however.  His most recent start did end in victory, topping a field of four in a FL-bred allowance.  That was his first running for Scarletandgray, who acquired him in the December auction for $20.030.  He will be a longshot in this field, but there’s nothing wrong with seeing how he stacks up, and this field will provide a good test.

#7- Kremlin (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- Is it fitting, after the election, that a race named after George Washington on President’s Day weekend, would be won by a horse named Kremlin?   Just throwing that out there.  Anyway, back in late September, I found Kremlin to be particularly impressive with the way he won the Grade 3 Gallant Bob at PRX, but then became quite surprised to see him just two weeks later in the SA Sprint Championship.  He did not run well at all in that race.  Just recently, he was able to get his career back going with a win in an allowance, in an ungraded turf stake at HOU.  So now, just two weeks later, here he is.  Just like before.  Sorry, komrade.

Prediction: 4-1-3-2

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES