The Razorback Handicap (Grade 3)- $500.000 Purse
OP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 20, 2017
Great racing doesn’t stop this weekend on Sunday, as there will be plenty of good racing to make up your virtual President’s Day weekend on Monday as well. OP will be a focal point on this day as two big races take place, one for the KYD trail, and then one for those who likely already went through that trail. In this preview, we will look at the 12th running of the Razorback Handicap, which may be just Grade 3, but offers a large $500.000 to go with it. George Washington has gotten into the President’s Day spirit for this race, the equine edition, as that one was a past winner in 2015. Columbia River, Pip Boy, and Jesse James are some of the other well known winners of the past. No trainer has won this race more then once, and the winningest jockeys are T J Thompson and G W Corbett, each of whom have won twice. 2015 was the first year that the purse became high enough to attract jockeys from all over, so while Thompson and Corbett sit this one out, having raced a combined one time in 2017, we’ll see many of the regular riders we’re used to talking about here. There are ten heading to the gate, so let’s take a look at them!
#1- Swiss Bank Account (Threshold, ridden by R A Vazquez)- Two months ago at TP, Swiss Bank Account was last seen destroying her three rivals by seven lengths in the $50.000 Prairie Bayou Stakes. Looking at the field, and it looks like a free track stake, but nonetheless, Swiss Bank Account won the race by seven in the mud. This gelding hit his peak during 2015 when he was second in the Grade 2 Marathon at KEE on BC weekend there. While he could probably still be competitive in ungraded stakes, this is a tough assignment. It’s the fourth time in five starts that he will start the race on the rail.
#2- King de Bois (Nomar Farms, J Bisono)- The trainer prepares to learn what graded stakes are like here. That was a pretty good work in company, but he is still a maiden, and lost by six in a PM MSW in late January. Hopefully in the future, we’ll see this trainer in more graded events with stronger runners.
#3- Rising Light (Nakamura Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- Comes into this race after a strong run and second place finish in the SSM Classic last month at GP. In recalling that race, I liked how he ran, and his overall trip. He appeared to be destined for a victory until the deep closing Rajivs Roadblock stole the show and beat him in a tight photo. If we say that race, at 1 1/8, was just a little too long for him, then this distance is perfect. Overall, he is on a good run of form with a win and two seconds in his last three and seems to be one of the top choices here.
#4- Democrat Politician (Kopites, ridden by Mar Garcia)- Fittingly, on Presidents Day, this horse makes an appearance, although it wasn’t a good year for the horse’s preferred candidate. This gelding had a lot more success in November, however, in defeating three rivals at the Grade 3 Native Diver Handicap at DMR late that month. In his last start, he ran competitively in the $400.000 Poseidon against much better opposition, including Rapid Refund and Lunar Blaze. He looks like he could have an outside shot at hitting the board.
#5- Carneyman (John Henry, ridden by J Lezcano)- The defending BEL champion once again stepped up in one of the biggest races on the schedule when he ran third in the Pegasus last month. He’s still looking for his first win for trainer John Henry, and as long as he’s ready to go here, he should be one of the favorites. The three weeks is the same as he took on in November last year after running in the BC Classic, when he was second in the Clark Handicap to Royal Prodigy. He really seems due to pick up that first win running in his trainer’s silks.
#6- Grandeur (Mb Stables, ridden by R J Albarado)- The Chai Latte colt did not like running in the mud on New Year’s Day, his most recent race, and it snapped a streak of eight straight races where he ran in the top three. Three were wins, highlighted by the Grade 3 Oceanport at MTH, run on yielding turf. It seemed as though his turf career was going pretty well, but he’s been back on the main track for his last three. There is one win in that stretch, coming in an open allowance at DMR. Arguably, you can say that this is the toughest field he has faced since his better days as a two year old. Picking up a win here would be huge for him going forward.
#7- Muscle Shoals (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Like Rising Light, Muscle Shoals comes into the Razorback off a strong performance in the SSM Classic last month. It looked as though that race was going to be decided between them until Rajivs Roadblock came out of nowhere. In the end, Muscle Shoals scored a good looking third place finish and the trainer should be excited about this race. Two wins in eleven career starts might not be that impressive, but he is on his best form right now and you have to think that there are good results for him in the near future.
#8- Red Leaf (Yahudi Stables, ridden by J J Castellano)- The Black Road gelding took part in some TC prep races last year, but would never make an impact in the TC itself. In April, he was moved from D J C Racing Stables to Our Athletes in a private sale, and while running for the new trainer, his results really seemed to be more of the same. As such, Our Athletes sold him off for about the same private sales price in August to Yahudi Stables. He’s continued to show that he can be competitive in graded races, though comes up short. More of the same is expected here.
#9- Spanish Pedals (Scarletandgraystable, ridden by C S Nakatani)- This will be the longest race of the career for Spanish Pedals as he has only has one race at a mile to go by when it comes to running longer. The trainer put him to the test for that as well, and he would run fifth in the Grade 1 Cigar Handicap. A couple decent names that he finished ahead of in that race, so that will spur the optimism. I could be optimistic as well about him, but his last race, though a sprint, was a rather disappointing effort. He must rebound from that here.
#10- Port On The Horizon- Scratched
#11- Rapid Refund (Grimley, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- The seven year old gelding will make his 38th career start while searching for his seventh win. Last year was the best season of his career, stepping up quite well after being claimed for $50.000 in June. Later on in the year, he surprised a lot of people with a second place performance in the Grade 1 Woodward at SAR and would close out the year by winning the Grade 3 Harlan at GP, coming out of nowhere to win late. That part is interesting, because two of his main rivals here, Rising Light and Muscle Shoals were battling it out in the stretch in the SSM Classic before being caught at the wire by a deep running closer. Carneyman is also probably at the front end. Maybe it sets up well for him.
Prediction: 3-11-5-6
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
