Perryville
7 Furlongs Dirt Stake Purse $250.000 Open 3 Year Olds.

1st Anna Da Artist Smokey Stover Cedillo A

Some people may scoff when i say these races are competed by horses with crazy close credentials but another race, another dead heat in the first four and another where a length covers the first 6 home tells a different story. They may also scoff when i say form doesn’t matter as much as the timing of the improvement curve and this horse also backs up my theory as he was winning $8 claimers at TAM just eight months ago and today after a sizzling 1.36 flat mile work he is a stakes winner against a tough field of stakes veterans.
The trainer will be mightily relieved that no-one took advantage of the three cheap claimers this one ran in at the start of the year and it is refreshing to see even one of the best players in the game cannot tell they have a good one until the moment when they show that movement up the improvement curve.
Enough about all that though lets talk about this game win. Now a winner of seven from eleven the gelding by Con Artist has moved through the grades without missing a beat or his consistency and that is often a good sign. On this win on the speed i feel there is a lot more to come from him and he may well be one for those later three year old stakes races.

2nd High Time Maxmillion Farm Velazquez J R

Ran a super race as he tried to deal with his third terrible draw in a row. Going fast from the gate as he had done in his last two efforts he didn’t clear the field so was settled into a stalk and stuck a little wide. Closing in on the lead with a furlong to run the extra ground he had covered caught up with him and he was just out-battled in the run to the line. This is the third seven furlong race in a row where he has just faded in the final furlong so one has to think a good six furlong race may be well in his scope.

3rd= Blamethespeedparty Martyparty Saez L

Back to last from teh gate he rallied late and managed to find a share of third but being behind in such a close finish is always tough and you have to say he did very well to find a path. A look at his form shows no discernible running style as he has done well as a closer and a front runner so once again we have to wonder whether with the click and play instructions running style has become an unimportant factor when assessing a race. A mile plus may bring out the best in him going forward.

3rd= Buy Low Sell High Asgar Franco M

Was shooting for four in a row but as expected after three wins from favorable draws the car park draw brought an end to his winning ways. When you look at the Harrods Creek form it is never clearer just how important the draw is at HRP as he was very good in beating a few of these in that race from a decent draw. So though beaten into a share of third i don’t feel he lost anything in defeat and is clearly a gelding who is climbing that improvement curve (he was a six race maiden before July) and will be a force in any race he is lined up in next.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded