CD (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
CD- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
May 4, 2024

The great day of racing continues on the undercard for the KYD, and one of the races is named after this very racetrack. Simply called the CD, this is a Grade 1 race for older horses at seven furlongs, and like many other races on this day, it runs for its highest purse of all time. At first, this was a $200.000 race in 2004, and that would gradually increase to the former high point of $750.000 in 2022. Now, we get $1,000.000 on the line for these long sprinters! Not surprisingly, many greats have won this race, but only Shoot Skyhigh holds the distinction for being able to do so twice (2010 and 2011), and that’s an honor that will hold true for at least one more year. Last year’s race was won by the late Puppet Master, for Spankys Barn, and it was the final win in the career for that one. He raced into this year but was deactivated sometime after mid-February. We have a full field of fourteen ready to go! Here’s a look at them!

1- Crush Rush (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- This five-year-old gelding has been at his best over the last two years, and while he started getting results late in his tenure with LionKing Stables, he has hit his best stride here with Maxmillion Farm. With Max, he has been part of the exacta in seven of nine starts, with two big stake wins. One was here, in the $300.000 Bet On Sunshine, and the other in the Grade 3 Toboggan at AQU. Winning a Grade 1 such as this would truly cap off his career to this point. He almost did that in the Forego, and now gets another shot.

2- Public Information (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- He’s been a consistent participant at the stakes level, and a steady performer in them. As of now, his lone stake wins are a couple of small ungraded races, but he has been given opportunities to run for much bigger purses. He may be at his best right now, with back-to-back triple digit SRF’s in his last two races, and a near miss in the Grade 3 San Carlos Stakes at SA. There was nothing wrong with his fourth-place effort at KEE in the Grade 3 Commonwealth, as an identical SRF had him within a length of the winner. Public Information may just need to catch a break to turn close calls into a big win.

3- Tiz Trippi (Rock Creek, ridden by D Davis)- Ran in the BC Sprint last year despite not winning a race. With a little luck at the wire, it could have been a much better year, as he just missed the head bob in the Grade 1 Crosby for the win and was very close to winning the Palos Verdes Stakes. He’s run in many stakes, but the only one that he was victorious in was a $70.000 ungraded race in early 2022. It’s hard to rule out a horse like this, because they never seem to run badly, and he did earn 101 SRF’s in each of his last two races, but you have to wonder just a little if he is snake bit at this level.

4- Dorian Gray (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J J Castellano)- Night Rider has done a great job with this horse after claiming him for $15.000 early last year. He’s been lightly raced since, with just six starts and he definitely been a hit and miss horse since then. When Dorian Gray is on, he’s look great, and that was the case when we saw him in his last outing. Out at AQU for the Grade 2 Carter Handicap while on 4 ½ month layoff, Dorian Gray scored the biggest win of his career and will hope to build on that here. No reason to think that he can’t, especially when considering that his last two races are his only triple digit SRF’s.

5- More Twizt (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- When we last saw More Twizt, he found himself trying to chase down R Lopez in an open allowance at SA. Surely, if he had the seventh furlong, he would have caught him, because well, there’s a reason you don’t see R Lopez here! More Twizt is by I Want More, and whenever I have seen this horse, he has always left me feeling that he could be doing more than what he has shown. His career highlight, the Grade 1 Stephens, was at seven furlongs. I’ve always liked him, even when he’s let me down after picking him. Do I set myself up for another letdown here?

6- Categorical Maybe (Asgar, ridden by A Beschizza)- In his last five races, he has two wins, but we could very well be talking about a horse on a five-race winning streak based on how close those races were. His most recent win came in February, when he captured the Grade 3 General George Stakes at LRL, and it should be mentioned that both of his wins were also by equally small amounts. He was involved last month in a three-way photo finish at the Grade 3 Commonwealth, where Crush Rush was one of the others involved. It would likely be foolish to not put this horse in any top 3 or top 4 picks, as he never has a bad race on a dry track. (Of course, dry is questionable at the moment with a 43% chance of rain four days out).

7- Investment Center (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by T Gaffalione)- After running well in a couple of ungraded stakes at GP, Investment Center will run in a graded race for just the second time. That was a failed attempt at the FL Derby, but even after that, Investment Center had been an inconsistent horse for a little while. However, in looking at his last three races, he may finally be putting it all together to where he can be counted on to run a good race, so I like the trainer taking the shot here. It may very well backfire, but this is the time to make the investment in moving him forward. Tends to be one to do his best running late.

8- Retaliate (Fractious, ridden by M Franco)- He was seen as the horse to beat in the BC Sprint after brilliant summer saw him win both the Crosby and the Jerkens Memorial, each a Grade 1, among other big wins. However, in the BC, he would be a disappointment and we really have not heard his name much since then. In looking at his last two races, Retaliate may be starting to get it back together again, placing second in the Palos Verdes Stakes and then winning the San Carlos Stakes. Those are smaller graded races but may be just the ticket in setting him up for another great summer. Winning the CD would get people talking about him.

9- Gorogue Laga (Arindel, ridden by P Lopez)- About six months ago, it would have been very unlikely to see both Retaliate and Gorogue Laga in the starting gate for the same race, so it’s fascinating to see them starting next to one another here. Gorogue Laga is the more unexpected entry in the CD, as after all, he’s been great at longer distances. However, after he ran fifth in the BC Classic, we have seen Arindel cut back on that distance, and he did win the always competitive Grade 1 Malibu at SA to close out the year. He’s only raced twice as a four-year-old, and comes here off a runner up in the OP Mile at the end of March. Expect him to contend.

10- Plan To Wheel (Fractious, ridden by D E Centeno)- While Retaliate did not get the job done for Fractious in the BC Sprint, Plan To Wheel nearly did, finishing second to West Coast Party. His success that year was more a case of consistent in the money finishes than victories, although he did win a pair. Moving on to this year, Plan To Wheel has only one fourth place check to his name in his two races, coming in the San Carlos Stakes, and he sees all three of those rivals once again here. We know he can step it up in the biggest moments, and that will need to happen here, as it’s no been over a year since his last win.

11- Dayton (Pan Farms, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Had a strong 2023 that was highlighted by a couple of second place finishes more so than the races that he did win. Those second-place outings came in the Grade 1 Woodward, and also the Grade 1 Malibu, with the latter also being at this distance. Dayton has shown quite a bit of flexibility in his distance to this point which can be both a blessing and a curse. Finished fourth in the OP Mile last time out.

12- Incinerator (Night Rider Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- After five starts with Jormav, all in overnights where he finished first or second, Incinerator would be claimed by Night Rider Stables for $50.000. His new trainer had bigger aspirations, and Incinerator has rewarded him by winning each of this two starts since the claim. They would come in the $100.000 Thomas Memorial Stakes at SUN and then the Grade 3 Fleet Sprint Handicap at OP. I’m impressed with how this horse has continued to step up no matter what type of race he has been entered into, and don’t see why this would be any different. Still, this is the toughest field he has ever seen.

13- Angel Dust (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- Like Incinerator, Angel Dust was also a $50.000 claim, this one by Fractious back in August from Arindel. He has won half of his six starts since the claim, and that includes his last two races: the $100.000 Tiznow Stake for CA-Breds, and then the Grade 3 Commonwealth at KEE, where he saw a handful of these. Angel Dust was a newbie to top races, however, and even ran in the Travers back in 2022. Interestingly, the Commonwealth was the first time that he had run under a mile.

14- Tehran (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Claimed for $30.000 around this time last year, and was immediately placed into the graded ranks. The result would be another example of a horse that had no problem adjusting to tougher competitions, hitting the board in three straight, including the Vanderbilt and Metropolitan Handicaps. Later on in the year, he would run in the BC Dirt Mile, and finish third. Despite all of that success, it may come as a surprise to see that he hasn’t actually won any of these races yet. His lone win for Mb Stables was a starter allowance. Might be his day, but I’m looking elsewhere.

Prediction: 6-12-9-1

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES