Greenwood Cup – Grade III
PRX Race #12 1 1/2m Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $200.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward.
1 Up In Smoke Fractious Pennington F
The only three year old, an inside gate and a Jockey that knows this track like the back of his hand, its a foregone conclusion….right?
Well it may be if it was any horse but this one, why? Well if there is any horse that can beat itself it is him. From his very first race i had this one tagged as a superstar and if you looked at the best half of his 14 races i would’ve been right but it is the other seven that leave you shaking your head. Poor draws were an issue at one point, his late running style another explanation but at the end of the day it is very difficult to predict how he is going to run. His best wins this race hands down and I for one hope we see that today.
2 Real One Nakamura Stables Lopez P
A decent five year old we saw how much he dislikes a wet track in his last start so he definitely needs a dry one to run his best. At his best as we saw in the San Pasqual Stakes he can be very good and his works suggest he is unaffected by his terrible run last time out so if you ignore that then he is a big chance. The draw is another plus and only having one three year old to race against another so i would be keen on him if the suns stays out.
3 Kick Rocks Nakamura Stables Rodriguez A R
The second stable runner and another solid five year old with good form and solid works. He won the Cougar last time and whilst that was an excellent effort it did earn him a penalty for this and we all know a bag of sugar is like a millstone round the necks of these HRP race horses. A winning chance if he can overcome the weight.
4 High Crimes Alydar Stables Wolfsont A
This four year old was a very nice three year old winning The Swale before running pretty well at the top level in his age group. As a four year old he struggled a bit early on but has bounced back recently and won a little stakes race last time earning him this shot to rekindle his former glory. Not for me today but a win wouldn’t surprise.
5 Detained Rock Creek Conner T
An honest six year old he has a few decent efforts to his name over the years in this sort of grade but nothing that suggests to me that he is about to upset the apple cart. His two most recent runs under a new owner have been better though and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him place.
6 Twin Mondays Night Rider Stables Espinoza V
This trainer has shocked a few times with horses just like this but he would need all of the race engine luck and fairy dust to get this one home in front. Claimed form an $8 claimer and the winner of a $10 claimer last time just shouldn’t be good enough but hey this is HRP and anything can happen so write him off at your peril.
7 Spankersville The Sidley Stud Saez L
Second in the Cougar and a decent fourth in the Brooklyn this looks the type that thrives on a marathon trip and may be the dark horse in the race. His best form is on the turf but he has worked a 1.36 and 1 on the dirt and that would be good enough to see him winning.
8 Buck Big Jd Racing Elliott S
Last but not least we have a grade one winner in June getting in here with no penalty. His last two runs have been huge and it is hard to find better form in this race so for me he has to be the logical choice despite the wide draw.
SUMMARY
Well if the last two runs of Buck are anything to go by all he needs is the race engine to be fair to him from the wide gate and he wins. He has to be the choice on those runs but as to who will finish second that is a different story. I think Up In Smoke if allowed to run his race will be a huge chance and whilst i would love to see him sprinting clear down the stretch i do wonder whether he is a safe betting proposition. Of the others Spankersville should run well and Real One may be there at the finish.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
