Muniz Memorial Handicap (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
April 1, 2017

A field of ten will be going to post for the 12th running of the Muniz Memorial Handicap, a nine furlong Grade 2 stake for turf stars.  The main attraction in the gate will begin from the outermost post as Antelope Storm returns to his scene of victory last year.  If he were to successfully repeat as champion, he would be the second horse to do so.  Dead Silent accomplished the feat in 2007 and 2008 for Lazy J Stable.   Last year, it was Grimley who enjoyed the victory, but the trainer sold him to Scarletandgraystable in December for $149.000.  There are nine in here that are looking to spoil the party.  Let’s meet the field!

#1- Stormy Collapse (Ekli Stable, J R Leparoux)- A winner of just two of his twelve career races, Stormy Collapse made his graded debut last month right here at the similar FG Handicap, and ran third.  It is impressive to look at, however, as he seemed to be able to step up his game with a career best run even if it was not a winning effort.  If he is also continuing to improve at this point, which I feel he is, then I look for him to duplicate that performance which could be enough to get him a win.  Very capable of getting a top four finish here, but I’m skeptical about a win.

#2- Hawaiian Maestro (Ekli Stable, ridden by G L Stevens)- Having owned both of his parents, he’ll give me a rooting in interest in this field, and he is very capable of coming out on top.  Like his stablemate, he is coming out of the FG Handicap, a nearly identical race, and picked up the victory!  In that race, he ran a career high SRF of 103.  It seems as though the start is critical for this one, so it will be to his benefit to have this good post position for the race.  This race is similar, but the opposition is a lot stronger here.

#3- Pass The Pesos (John Henry, ridden by F Pennington)- Rode the Australia Wide to John Henry private sales express in August, and since arriving with his new trainer, he has done a good job finishing in the money, with three second place finishes and one third in the four starts.  It might seem like a nit pick to say that he has not won anything more then an allowance in his career, given the close calls.   He’s been running well, and this would be a great time for him to return to the winner’s circle.

#4- Pink Devil (Night Mare Racing, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- The five year old gelding will be making the 29th start of his career, and in what seems to be a recurring theme with the horses covered thus far, he does a great job getting in the money, but does not find the winners circle often enough.  He has four wins, but ten second place showings in his career.  He did get a graded win back in October in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker Handicap.  Then, he went back to finishing second a couple more times.

#5- Tower Isle (Winning Link Stable, ridden by V Espinoza)- It will be the 30th race in the career for this seven year old.  He’s made FG his home lately, picking up a win in the $75.000 Diliberto on yielding turf, topping Pass The Pesos in the process. After that win, he made his graded debut running in similar races like this one, and in the Grade 3 Bradley,  drew even with Pass The Pesos as the two of them placed in a dead heat in what was a tight three way photo for the win.  Running a little longer in the FG Handicap was not to his liking, and that will have to be rectified since this race is at the same distance. Keep an eye on him.

#6- Sri Lanka (Hawaiian Shirt Guy, ridden by F Geroux)- I feel like I have been covering his career ever since I started writing these previews, so it is good to see that he is still going strong.  The gelding is now eight, and looks for his 15th career win.  You have to go back to September, however, to find the last time that he did win, and go all the way back to January 2016 to see the last stake win.  His last two starts, and most recently the FG Handicap, show that his career may be resurgent at the moment.   He was second last month, and if he duplicates that, which he should be able to do, then the winless streak could be over after this.

#7- Pervoked (Blushing Meadows, ridden by D R Flores)- Has three wins in eleven career starts, and is still looking to show that he can competitive at this level.  His first two victories were very early in his career, and off an allowance win, he was thrust in the Grade 1 Secretariat, and finished midpack.  That would be the story of his graded stake career until November, when the trainer dropped him back into the allowance ranks.  To get this next chance at this level, he won an allowance on yielding turf at SA in early February.  Let’s see what he can do with this opportunity.

#8- Crown National (Nakamura Stables, ridden by F Prat)- Unlike some of the others in here, Crown National has had no problem winning races, doing so half the time in twelve starts. Recently, in his last seven races, he has been winning every other race.  (If that held true, this would not be a win). The problem is, those races are not at the stake level, with the exception of a $75.000 ungraded event.  He has certainly earned this though, and it makes him an intriguing wild card in the race.

#9- Kenny Wisconsin (Frozen Tundra, ridden by J Rosario)- The five year old is coming off the biggest win of his career, the Grade 2 San Gabriel at SA, where he defeated a who’s who of top turf horses in the game, including Cju, the runner up from the BC Turf.   Prior to that, he had been knocking on the door of big win, so his form has been good for a while now.  This race will be pivotal for him to see how he builds on that big win.  There’s no reason that I see to doubt him at this point, and think this was a great landing spot for him following that race.   He’s going to be the one to beat in this race.

#10- Antelope Storm (Scarletandgraystable, ridden by D G Lopez)- Last year, Antelope Storm was victorious in this very race, while running for Grimley.  It would be part of a strong season for him that saw him follow up the win with another, in the Woodford Turf Classic at CD on Derby Day.  Eventually, he ran seventh in the BC Turf later in the year, and was sold in the December auction.  With Scarletandgraystsable, he’s raced twice with the most recent run being a win in the Grade 3 TAM stakes.  He can win this race as well, but is not my top choice.

Prediction: 9-10-2-6

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES