Thunder Road – Grade III
SA Race #2 1m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $100.000 For Four Year Olds And Upward.

1 Creme Fraiche Maxmillion Farm Beschizza A

Its a turf race and this one is owned by the turf king, so add that to a good draw, fair works and some black type form and many would not need to look any further. However as pickings are thin at this time of year this is a much stronger race than your average $100.000 grade three so the son of Chai Latte may just need to find a bit to win today. When he won the English Channel over this trip he got to the front and denied them all the way for a sub 1.33 win, on that run he would be hard to beat if he gets a soft run.

2 Mojave Rattler Mo Mentum Farm Gutierrez Mario

The Shadwell Turf Mile winner and the BC Turf Mile winner he got his 2020 season off to an early start with a pipe opener in a sprint and looks primed to get back to winning ways today. The perfect draw will certainly add to his chances and its hard to look past those two grade one wins. However in true HRP style he has only won 5 from 16 and was beaten at grade three level prior to the two grade one wins so as usual form is not what it seems. The probable deserving favorite and the winner if he has trained on into his difficult four year old season.

3 Sundays Sauce Calia Stable Prat F

This four year old certainly showed plenty of improvement in his works and form as last season progressed and i was impressed with his excellent run from the 14 gate in the Shadwell Turf Mile when only a length behind Mojave Rattler. I have a feeling he may shake things up a little today and may just be the value bet.

4 Green Rush Pennsville Farm Franco G

Only two lengths back in the BC Mile behind Mojave Rattler he isnt far off these but strikes a strong field for a cheap grade three. If he can repeat his win in the DMR mile then he has a good chance but his form is a little up and down and he will need to be at 101% today in his first start for 3 months.

5 Captain Cook Nakamura Stables Fuentes Ru

A lightly raced sort from a stable that has started the year strongly he doesnt look good enough on the face of it but will not be far off them. His gutsy win in the Tropical Park Derby suggests to me that the mile may be too sharp but its impossible to write off a runner in these type of races.

6 Dreaming Of Pirates Estero Farms Gaffalione T

Third in the BC Mile from gate 9 and right in the ruck with Mojave Rattler he adds to this race and muddies the waters just a little more for punters. A grade one winner when taking the Secretariat Stakes over this trip he didnt win again last season but that run in the BC Mile was very good as he got back into the pack and had to make up plenty of ground. With the draw today he again looks like he may go back so as long as the traffic doesnt stop him he should be powering home down the stretch and should go close.

7 Pxg Mb Stables Maldonado E

A couple behind Dreaming Of Pirates in the Secretariat he looked like he was one of the few that improve from three to four when sauntering home four lengths clear on his seasonal debut. He has the trainer and the jockey to upset the better horses today and despite a difficult draw i wouldnt be writing him off just because he doesnt look good enough on form.

8 City Of Bones John Henry Bejarano R

Well it just goes to show how competitive HRP is at the moment when the first three home in the BC Mile are running in a $100.000 grade three in February. Out of all the BC form this one probably ran the best flying home from a horrible draw to be beaten just a half length by Mojave Rattler. Prior to that he was beaten just a neck in the Secretariat behind Dreaming of Pirates but as i have said before all that amazing grade one form only equates to 3 wins from 14 starts so he is hardly the prolific winner you would expect. The draw will make this very tough but he is a natural closer and if he doesnt get too far back and gets a clear run at them then he may just be good enough.

SUMMARY

Well here we have the first three home in the BC Mile and as usual a web of form that makes it almost impossible to predict the outcome. So much will depend on the trips they get that you may as well stick a pin in to pick the winner and my pin came out on Sunday Sauce to blow all the grade one form out of the window as usually happens.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES