The Gander ($100.000 Purse)
AQU- For Three Year Olds Foaled in NY
One Mile on the Dirt
February 25, 2024
The gate will be full at the Big A on Sunday for the ninth running of The Gander, showing the strength of breeding in New York within our virtual world. The conditions are certainly appealing, as it is for three-year-olds at a mile on the main track, and it could send a few that run well into top KYD preps for their next start. That is what happened with the 2023 winner, Verrazano, who did so for D J C Racing Stables, as he moved into the LA Derby off the win. However, that did not go well for him. Verrazano is still active, but no longer competing at high levels. Let’s meet the field for this year’s race/
1- Family Fun (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by D Davis)- Four of his seven races have come against NY-breds, and that includes his only win when he broke his maiden here on a rain-soaked day in early December. That was also the first race for him off of a geld, and even though he has not won either of his last two starts, he’s been competitive enough to give him the shot. SRF’s may be a tick low for where he needs to be here, but that doesn’t have to mean anything.
2- Creepy Romantic (Broken Spoke Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- Picked up very cheaply, for just $5.000 in private sales and certainly Broken Spoke Stables has reaped the rewards since then. He would beat NY Breds here in November and ran well in the $500.000 Great White Way in the game’s frustrating finish: 5th by a length. Ran third in the Leonatus Stakes last month, and this may be a good candidate to see a KYD prep race next as long as this race does decently.
3- Empire State (First Class Stable, ridden by I Castillo)- A horse that is looking to show that he belongs at the stake level. He won on debut, which was his only other time running against NY-Breds, something that you expect a horse named this to do. He was decent in the Sanford, running fourth, but has not maintained that form. He struggled in the Hopeful, but much more concerning was his run in the Leonatus, where he was a distant ninth. Creepy Romantic beat him by four lengths there.
4- Wild Dawn (Smokey Stover, ridden by L J Luzzi)- Still a lightly raced horse with just four starts thus far. Two of them are wins, and they are each when running against NY-Breds. Took care of business here two months ago with a come from behind victory and makes his first start since then. Works showed a lot of improvement starting around November, and that trend doesn’t have to stop now.
5- A Boy Named Kate (Arindel, ridden by J R Martinez)- Very experienced with running against NY-Breds as four of his five races have been with this condition. It was the race that was unrestricted that was his only win, coming at PRX. It may just be that this horse needs to catch a couple breaks that he has not had thus far, because he has finished in the top four every time, and he is never badly beaten.
6- Cyber Attack (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by A S Worrie)- Hoping to get his trainer back to the winner’s circle in the Gander. So far, he has only run against NY-Breds, with two of his three starts coming here at the Big A. Just one win thus far, and that was out at FL, but Cyber Attack did look good with a runner up finish here in an allowance last month. This will be the first time he goes at least a mile in a race.
7- Capitaliste (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by T McCarthy)- One of two horses in the field that has made eight starts, which is the highest total in the field. He’s also an experienced State Bred runner, with six such starts, including a win at SAR which for now is his only visit to the winner’s circle. Tried the grass down at FL earlier this month and ran well there and it seems like he has promise on the turf, but for now, that’s going to wait a bit.
8- Keep Your Distance (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by K Davis)- One of two entries in the field for the trainer, and you can make a fair case for as to which one seems to be his better bet. For Keep Your Distance to be successful, he is going to have to be a lot better than he was in the $100.000 Winkfield last month, but with that being a sprint and with his other experience going long, we can throw that out.
9- So Hit The Road (Fractious, ridden by J P Spencer)- Claimed by Fractious for $28.000 in November, a race that was the second win for So Hit The Road in three starts. Made his debut for Fractious here last month in the $100.000 Rego Park for NY Breds, which was a sprint, and he came home with a third-place finish. This will now be his first time running long and he does not have a recent mile work, I am optimistic about how he will handle it.
10- Texas Twister (Riggins Racing, ridden by K Carmouche)- Picked up by the trainer in private sales for $10.000 back in October after only one race, which was a two-furlong dash. Riggins did not get immediate results but has run Texas Twister consistently against NY-Breds and finally got him to break his maiden last month. That came right here at the Big A. This is not his first time running long, but his prior time doing so is something we can dismiss.
11- Gaslight (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- He’s already won a NY-bred stake, coming here in October when he captured the $100.000 Notebook. Unfortunately for the trainer, Gaslight was unable to back that up in the race that followed: the $500.000 Great White Way. After winning an allowance last month, this still lightly raced gelding is going to get another chance to run in a stake and it will be his first time running a mile or more. A recent work suggests that he will handle it well.
12- Jupiter Moon (Big Jd Racing, ridden by E Cancel)- After winning the $40.000 Tin Cup Chalice and the $100.000 Sugar Bowl Stakes, Jupiter Moon was sent to OP to run in the Grade 3 Southwest. And, well, his performance there is why he is here and not the Rebel. If that was too much, dropping down like this will certainly prove to be beneficial and he can use some positive momentum again. This isn’t going to be a picnic either, though.
Prediction: 2-4-11-5
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
