The Pennine Ridge (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
AQU- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Inner Turf
May 25, 2024

On Saturday at AQU, we will have the tenth running of the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge, which is for three-year-olds on the inner turf and it moves here from BEL. It took a year for the race to receive graded status, and it would become a Grade 2 in 2020. The purse has been constant at $200.000 since inception. The race has been kind to Mb Stables, who has three wins over the last five years, but in 2023, it was Smokey Stover getting the trophy in the winner’s circle thanks to the efforts of Solar Coast. It would be the last win for that one, and after a good run in the BEL Derby immediately after, he has not been the same but was seen in a claimer two weeks ago. We’ll have ten taking part in this year’s race. Let’s take a look at them now:

1- Lasting Impressions (Alydar Stables, ridden by L J Luzzi)- Going to make his turf debut here in the Pennine Ridge after taking part in several KYD preps. He showed some promise there when he ran third in the FL Derby, and now the People Pleaser colt hopes to translate that to the grass. He’s been preparing for this and has two very good works earlier this month at CD before arriving here. Will he need a turf race against some seasoned grass horses, though?

2- Japan (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by K Carmouche)- He’s been a regular on the grass, and has won three of seven starts, including the $100.000 Bull Page Stakes, for ON-Breds last full. Since then, he has been gelded, and dropped all the way down to BTP and perhaps he just needed a refresher. He did bully the BTP competition, and was second to Convincing, a rival he sees here again, in an optional claimer at SA last time out.

3- Neutrino (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Mb Stables watched this one beat up one of these horses at a GG maiden race and decided he needed to have him. Five days after the race, he was sold for $250.000 by Barcelona Farms. You can see why Mb liked him, as he earned a 102 SRF in that maiden win. In the start prior, he was second at HOU in similar conditions, but he had Bute then, and not at GG. Works are good, and now we will see what Mb Stables can do with him.

4- Just Another Day (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- As long as there is not a drop of rain on the track, Just Another Day has been a consistent runner for his career, hitting the board in five of seven fast/firm races. Last time out, he was at PRX for an allowance in which he placed second and will make his graded debut. He has run in a couple of ungraded races but did not finish in the money in either of them.

5- Zensation (Threshold, ridden by J Lezcano)- Opened some eyes last year as a two-year-old after he won the $500.000 KD Juvenile at that racetrack in September, and then followed that up with a respectable fifth place outing, even if it didn’t result in winnings, in the BC Juvenile Turf. So far in 2024, Zensation has only raced twice, and we are waiting for him to have that big-time effort as a three-year-old. Nothing wrong with his fourth place showing the Grade 3 Transylvania, but more is desired here.

6- Back Class (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Rosario)- Ran at PRX last month in a N1X allowance and earned his second win of his career. That came off of a couple of subpar efforts, one of which was in the $100.000 Pasadena Stakes right before it. Back Class did have a couple of third place outings in ungraded stakes over the winter, but right now is a horse that is showing potential to be a very good one, but still looks for the one big win.

7- Convincing (Diablo Diablo, ridden by J P Sepncer)- Defeated Japan in an optional claimer in April, but has actually made one start since then. However, it is one that the trainer would like to forget as Convincing simply did not show up on the soft turf at the Grade 2 American Turf from CD at the start of the month. I’m not sure if I want to entirely disregard that due to track condition, since he was better on yielding turf in a March allowance, but the trainer is clearly confident by running him here off of that start. I’m giving him my nod.

8- Chaparral Cowboy (Nakamura Stables, ridden by M Franco)- He’s done a little bit of everything in his young career, and that includes running in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint. He has not been in a turf sprint since, as the trainer attempted to run him in three KYD preps, and other than a fourth-place effort in the Wood Memorial, the results were awful. Chaparral Cowboy returns to the turf here for the first time since a win in December, going a mile in the DeMille Stakes (Grade 3) at DMR.

9- Stage Door Johnny (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by R A Vazquez)- After his debut race, this Liberty Valance gelding has been a living racing on the grass, but is a horse looking for a breakthrough when the stakes are the highest. He’s managed two wins, but none of them have come in any of the stakes that he was entered in. In his last race, Stage Door Johnny was as close to such a win as he has been, running second right here in the $125.000 Woodhaven. This is a stronger field, but if he can build on that, he can absolutely be a threat for the win.

10- Grand Zion (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by R R Maragh)- Showed plenty of promise as a two-year-old, and won the $150.000 Golden Miles Stakes at SA in November. Since then, however, it has been a struggle for Grand Zion. He failed to be a contender in his next three races, and that led to him being gelded. Just as the trainer was looking to see if the geld would work, he then had to deal with a yielding turf course, and the horse again struggled. If nothing else, we’ll get that answer here.

Prediction: 7-3-5-1

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES