CA Cup Derby ($200.000 Purse)
SA- For Three Years Olds Foaled in CA
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
January 13, 2024
Saturday is an exciting day for CA-Breds at SA, as several races are on the schedule for those that are from this breeding hotbed. Here, we will look at the running on the CA Cup Derby, and the starting gate will be full to capacity for it. It is the 11th time that the race has been run, and the first three winners of the race: Greek God, Son Of Laggy, and The Perfect Day, all ended up making over $1,000.000 for their careers. The 2023 winner of the race, Frenchman, will have a lot of work to do if he wants to get there. He won the race with the Wood Duck Stables, but was recently claimed by Royalty Stables, and still runs well enough but hitting $1,000.00 would take a new level for him. Let’s take a look at our twelve runners this time around!
#1- Star Traveler (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Ru Gonzalez)- Over the summer and early fall, Star Traveler found himself in top races, running in the SAR Special before moving to the turf and attempting the $500.000 KD Juvenile. They went okay, not great but decent enough to remain excited about the horse. Unfortunately, the results only continued to slide from that point, leading to a complete dud in the Grey Stakes. After two months to think about it, this one is back and hoping to get where he seemed to be trending in the warmer months.
#2- Officer Chaimura (Asgar, ridden by D Van Dyke)- For the first time in his career, this horse will be running two races for the same trainer. Up to this point, he has had three races and three owners, so hopefully he has found a home here. Asgar picked him up with a $9.000 claim in September, then would proceed to run him at GP where he then broke his maiden. This seems to be a good pairing and he’s working well in preparation.
#3- Gold Vault (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- Back in September, Gold Vault ran in the Grade 1 DMR Futurity and placed second. That was not good enough for Fractious, as he would end up being gelded a couple weeks later. This has not seemed to have resulted in improvement, but it’s also too soon to tell. Got to run in the BC Juvenile but could only manage a tenth-place result and bounced back from that with a runner up in an optional claimer last month.
#4- Ribeye (Waldo, ridden by L Dettori)- Broke his maiden in his third career start, fresh off a geld, and was promptly placed into graded races. The results have not been there, as the horse has failed to even hit the board in any of those races, and some of the performances were quite underwhelming. Nonetheless, he’s here against CA-Breds which might not be quite as tough but will still be a tough task.
#5- Got Next (Fractious, ridden by U Rispoli)- In seven starts, Got Next finished second three times, but only has one victory. He’s able to consistently finish in the money and has been doing this in races like the Grade 3 Iroquois and the Grade 3 Hope Stakes. That remained true in his last start, where he just barely missed out on the victory in the Grade 2 LA Futurity to the intriguing Poison Arrow. Plenty to like with this one, and he should be one of the top choices, if not the best bet.
#6- Count The Corn (Chili King Stables, ridden by L Contreras)- Beaten by ten lengths in his last start, which was the RP Springboard Mile last month. That was his first race after breaking his maiden and it was a tough one. For him to be here after that, the trainer has to be confident that the mud was the reason for the poor result, and perhaps it was. He’s come to the right place if he wants and needs a dry track.
#7- Ginger Fire (The Sidley Stud, ridden by E Maldonado)- Broke his maiden in his last race, his second career start, coming at TUP for $9.000. Clearly, that result has made the trainer take another look at this horse and decide to give him a much greater challenge. That victory only got an 87 SRF, but his works are decent coming in. They won’t wow you, but they suggest he can be competitive.
#8- Party For You (Mb Stables, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Back in October, Party For You ran here and broke his maiden with a four-length victory. That would propel him into the $175.000 Golden State Juvenile where he had one of those finishes where he wasn’t beaten by much but still didn’t make a penny. Did better on the follow up to that, running second after setting the pace in the $75.000 Gold Rush at GG.
#9- Machine Bay (Smokey Stover, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Struggled on debut, and would be gelded after the race, something that seems to have paid off for him. Machine Bay is two-for-two since then, with both victories coming at GG at a mile while earning a 90 SRF. That’s machine-like consistency, but he will probably need to be a little quicker here. Certainly, capable of doing so, however. In that last race, he came from way off the pace, so if he’s back there early again, don’t get concerned.
#10- Casual Dreams (Alydar Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- Didn’t do much better in the RP Springboard Mile than Ribeye did, as he only finished ninth in the race and was beaten by six lengths. We can blame that on the mud too, and there’s only one way to find out if that was the reason, and that is to run him here in sunny California against strong company. He had another dud on a dry track at MTH, but he works too good to not give him the chance.
#11- Gunga Jung (Noblepark, ridden by J Valdivia Jr)- This one has only made one start, and it came last month at GRP where he won by two lengths. It seems as though he got a decent little work out bump from that, so the trainer is going to see what he can do right away against top company. I may have looked for something a little smaller than this first, but if he backs up that work from the 6th, it will be wise decision.
#12- King Boo (Sim Speed Stable, ridden by M E Smith)- Claimed for $16.000 in September after winning his first two starts, and Sim Speed Stable put him into stakes right away. There have been two races since then, and in them, King Boo narrowly missed a win in the $200.000 Bowman Mill at KEE, then was third in King Glorious Stakes after coming from way back. Might be looking to do the same here, especially given this post draw.
Prediction: 5-2-12-7
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
