Best Pal Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
DMR- For Two Year Olds
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
August 13, 2016
It’s a good weekend for two year old racing as younger talented horses and trainers with very high aspirations for them get a chance to compete against one another. At DMR, we will have the 13th running of the Best Pal Stakes, which is a Grade 2 event. While I may be a little partial to Danzing Champion, the 2013 winner and a horse I bred, the last of past winners features several who have accomplished far more in their careers. Fusion, Lukas Duke, and Son of Laggy have all tasted glory in the Best Pal. When you look at those four winners, you can see how unpredictable these races can be early in the two year old racing season. The latter three, especially Fusion, have gone have to have tremendous careers, while a horse like Danzing Champion ultimately fizzled out, and would never win again. Last year, the race was won by Pentagon, with Edwin Drood finishing third and Water Mummy finishing fourth. While still very competitive, Pentagon has never won again while both Edwin Drood and of course, Water Mummy, have gone on to score some very big wins. So on Saturday, the winning trainer will celebrate, but it is still early in the racing careers for all of these. Enjoy the race, the starting gate is full! Here is the field.
#1- Sweep Charley Farley (Kopites, ridden by San Gonzalez)- Purchased by Kopites earlier in the month from Boulevard for $85.000, Sweep Charley Farley has one win, a maiden at PRX in April as his second career start, to his credit. Most recently, he only managed a third place run in a FL allowance. That said, that result may be more of a compliment to the top two in that race, rather then a negative on him.. His sire, Gsin, is a Charley Farley son but is yet to produce a stake winner.
#2- Red Native (Mcl Stables, ridden by D Van Dyke)- Lit up the board in his last start, taking a WO maiden at odds of 23/1. He will make his third start today, and while his work times look like they might need to be a little better, he raced brilliantly last month, proving that he is a horse that shows up on race day. Expect to see him at long odds again, but he could turn in the same kind of performance. His sire, Lucky Landing, who is by Red Rioja, is also looking for his first stake winning foal.
#3- Peppermint Tune (Allinthegate, ridden by T J Pereira)- A winner of one of his three career races thus far, a maiden at GG, Peppermint Moon looks to be working well coming into this race. In his last start, he did take on a good field at the SA Juvenile, and placed fourth of seven. My concern with this horse is that in the two races he did not win, including the SA Juvenile, he’s been a distant three lengths back, which in our virtual world is more then you like to see then it may be in the real world.
#4- Wipeout (Bigking, ridden by E Maldanado)- Claimed by Bigking for $25.000 from Barcelona Farms in June, Wipeout will hit the track for the first time with his new trainer here. Looks as though this will be a horse that will keep wanting more distance and that bodes well in the future, but he should be a player Saturday as well. Pedigree features Laffin Policeman though is otherwise a bit unheralded.
#5- Limato (Blushing Meadows, ridden by B Blanc)- Impressive pedigree features Knowledge Geek as his sire as well as Charley Farley on the dam side. Limato is showing that he got the good genes from those names, with one win in his three career starts, though one of the races he did not win was also a strong performance. That would be the Grade 3 Bashford Manor, where he finished third while closing hard. If he had another half furlong, he likely would have won. Saturday, he gets that additional half furlong. Only two in this field ran in that race.
#6- Scaredofhisownshadow (Eastern Equine, ridden by S Elliott)- The gelding by Laffin Ghost will return to the racetrack for the first time in three months, a ON-bred maiden that he won. Since then, he has been gelded and patiently prepared for this race. He may be one of the ones to get out there on the lead early, though a lot can change since we last saw him.
#7- What A Wildman (Mb Stables, ridden by G L Stevens)- In three starts, What A Wildman has made making a visit to the winner’s circle part of his routine. He is undefeated thus far, breaking his maiden at PRX in early April and most recently picking up a win in the $100.000 Nevin Stakes for CA-breds at PLN. That makes him the only horse in this field with such a stake win on his record. The 92 SRF for the race is also a figure that is not matched by anyone here. What A Wildman should be one of the favorites here, though there’s another one who’s caught my attention a little more.
#8- Charley Cowgirl (Nj Vets, ridden by J Delgadillo)- First, we must start by saying that despite the name, this is not a filly running against the boys. The Charley Farley foal broke his maiden last month at WO in his second start. It is the pedigree that will stand out the most at you in this one, as its not just the sire, but having Vouvray on the dam side also demonstrates how high his upside could be. I would’ve liked to have seen a better seven furlong work, though. Shen Valley, for instance, has one nearly two seconds better.
#9- Shen Valley (Keikowin Racing, ridden by Mar Gutierrez)- This looks like a special racehorse to me. To this point, he only has one win, which was in his second start in early May at CD, on KYD day. While you don’t want to make plans yet, that could be a good story for next year if he makes that field. Shen Valley looks like a horse that wants more and more distance to run, so if he doesn’t big up a big win here, remember Water Mummy was fourth in this race last year, as well. He’s coming off a nice second place run in the Tremont, which is run at BEL a day before the BEL. So, he already knows how to get near big TC races! He is my pick here.
#10- Sweep The Ledge (John Henry, ridden by Mar Garcia)- He will make his debut running for John Henry in this race after being picked up in private sales from Spongebob for $110.000. Most recently, we saw him at the $125.000 Victoria Stakes, where he ran third. Prior to that, he has wins in his only two other races. I’m not certain that he is going to like stretching out as his career goes on, but there’s no reason to think he can’t pull this off.
#11- The Force Awakens (Diablo Diablo, ridden by N Arroyo Jr)- Regardless of what happens Saturday, we will be hearing a lot more out of this one as time goes on. His recent work at WO for a mile shows great promise. For now, though, we’ll concentrate on his strong second place finish at the Victoria Stakes, where he placed ahead of Sweep The Ledge. He is by Condottieri, and has Charley Farley on the dam side.
#12- Rebel Force (Sccj Stables, ridden by M A Pedroza)- On the outside, Rebel Force is the other one of the two that come out of the Grade 3 Bashford Manor. He ran a steady fifth in that race, though never posed a threat for the win. Rebel Force makes his debut in the Sccj silks here as well, having recently been purchased in private sales for $60.000. His lone win so far came in his second start, in later May at WO.
Prediction: 9-5-7-11
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
