The 18th Running of the G3 Ack Ack
Saturday, October 1, 2022
CD Race #1 $300.000
3+ 121/124 Lbs 1-Mile
AUTO-QUALIFIER FOR G1 BC DIRT MILE
Course/Stakes Record-1:33.90 (Hollywood Eclipse-2021)
The first of two races beneath the Twin Spires on Saturday, the G3 Ack Ack will serve as a “Win and You’re In” prep for next month’s G1 BC Dirt Mile. We had a full field of 12 draw in; however, Crypto was withdrawn after being assigned post 12. The eleven entrants scheduled to run look to be a wll-matched group, so let’s meet them:
#1 Walk Naked (Jokerjoes/E.A. Gonzalez 121): Rail horse will look to save ground and settle into stride before producing his run. Last two efforts have seen him finish 2nd best against stakes company.
#2 Jump The Line (Mb Stables/F. Pennington 121): Sophomore has looked pretty good since running 4th in the Wood. Couldn’t duplicate the NY-bred success last time, but he’s in good form and may relish the one-turn mile.
#3 Dime Defense (Asgar/J.A. Guerrero 124): Colt has tried graded foes twice (10th/4th, respectively) and was only beaten a total of three lengths. Versatile sort could fall into a rail trip without being pushed very hard early. Dangerous.
#4 Farleysgotsaltynuts (Asgar/V. Santiago 124): G3 victory came going this trip albeit at BEL. Ran well to be the runner up in a G2 before coming up dull the last time we saw him. Think he shows that he’s better than the last effort.
#5 Hot Dog (South Shore Stables/M. Murrill 121): G1 winner here in May hasn’t been close in four tries since. Obviously he likes this track/trip, but he’s going to have to break his current form cycle to compete here.
#6 Hang Around (Nakamura Stables/E.J. Zayas 124): 0-6 with only two ITM finishes this season. Stretches back out to the mile here and could be a bit closer early on than most recent efforts. Current form makes him hard to endorse.
#7 Unicorn (Black N Gold Stable/G. Corrales 124): Four of eight this year with all eight finishes being ITM. Nice G3 score before turf experiment. He’s had the best season of the group and could be very tough on the switch back to the main track.
#8 Papa Nature (Night Rider Stables/F. Geroux 124): Colt got a late start to ’22, but he took a nice ALW here when unveiled. Last two efforts haven’t been bad, but he hasn’t shown the gas that we saw from him in June. Horse for the course?
#9 Hint Of Sugar (Arindel/C.J. Hernandez 124): 0-8 on the season with a single ITM finish, but you can’t fault the company he’s kept. Versatile enough to work out a trip from here, but need to see him find some desire in the lane.
#10 White Sunshine (Smokey Stover/J. Talamo 121): Sophomore gelding has kept a busy schedule, but only has two wins from nine starts this year. Did just miss in a CA-bred stake two back, but appears in need of a career best to factor here.
#11 Sunderland Til I Die (TwinTowersRacing/Re. Diaz 124): Last five starts have been at the G1/G2 level, so he should appreciate the slight class drop here. Only beaten a length in both tries at this level and could be hard to handle if he can work out a trip.
#12 Crypto (Maxmillion Farm/SCRATCHED)
Final Analysis: Who gets the golden ticket? We’ll go with the “in form” horse on top and say they hit the wire 7-3-11 in the G3 Ack Ack. Good luck to all of the competitors!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
