Kenner Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
January 21, 2023

This Saturday, FG will play host to both a KYD and a KYO prep race, but also has several interesting races on the undercard that will lead us up to the day’s features. The Kenner Stakes, a five-and-a-half-furlong turf event, may be just an ungraded stake, but usually attracts very good horses anyway. Purses for the race have ranged from $60.000 to a “one shot” deal of $200.000 back in 2008. Last year, the race was won by Kid Commander, who just a couple months prior had finished third in the BC Turf Sprint, for Allinthegate. Right now, Kid Commander is still active, but has not been back to the winner’s circle since the 2022 Kenner. For this race, we will have nine going to post, including three who ran in the BC last year. Let’s take a look at them now!

#1- Lunar Watch (Black N Gold Stable, ridden by M Murrill)- This veteran seven-year-old gelding looks to pick up his 16th career victory but first in ten months. When Black N Gold picked him up in a claimer, the results were perfect to start, running off five wins a row, culminating in the Costa Rising Stakes right here last March. He’s been hitting the board often since then and was a game second two months ago in a 14-horse field at the CC Canterbury. He’s been going off at double digit odds a lot lately, which is a surprise. If that happens here, take a shot with him.

#2- Shelbags (Lindeman Prairie, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Here’s one of the three horses that ran in the BC Turf Sprint at KEE, and he was the only one who cashed a check in the race. It was just the fourth-place variety, but still very much an accomplishment. To get there, he won the Grade 2 HIghlander Stakes at WO while generally being steady throughout the year. He was also a runner in the 2021 BC Turf Sprint, and now the eight-year-old gelding makes his 51st career start. Had a couple of duds last summer, but those look safe to throw out at this point, and we should expect him to run well here.

#3- Sleepy Sunday (Rampage Stable, ridden by T Gaffalione)- This one is younger than the ones starting close by to him, as he begins his four-year-old season here. He has four wins, with the highlight being the $120.000 Carle Place at AQU in late October. Has made just one start since and was third in the $100.000 Stormy. Even though those purse levels are similar to those, I’d venture to say the field quality here is closer to the Grade 2 Simpson that he was in, and struggled in, last September. It’s not impossible, but I’m going to sleep on him.

#4- Stop Being Silly (Jackrussell Farms, ridden by T J Hebert)- Here’s another eight-year-old gelding, but despite that age, he is still under $100.000 in earnings. It goes without saying that he hasn’t always raced at high levels, but when he does, he has been rather inconsistent. He’ll have his moments, and with that he makes his stake debut here. This isn’t you’re run of the mill $100.000 ungraded stake, though, and he may have a hard time. His jockey, T J Hebert, is 0-for-41 this year as of press time.

#5- Arrest Me Red (First Flight Stable, ridden by F Geroux)- Don’t know if he has been arrested yet, but what he has not done much of so far, is winning races. Overall, he is 1-for-12, breaking his maiden against NY-breds at AQU in April. That looks to have been a fine effort, even if the SRF for the victory is a bit pedestrian. Perhaps sprinting will help, as mostly all of his races, including that win, have been running long. At six furlongs, back in September, he had a near miss in an optional claimer and has made just one start since then.

#6- Grand Connection (La Rosa Stables, ridden by D Carroll)- From a horse that struggles to win to one that almost always does. Grand Connection does not have a long race history yet, with just seven career starts, but five of those races have ended up with him hitting the wire first. Of course, as there’s a buzzkill, and his first six races were all run at free tracks. There can be underrated quality at those tracks, however, and after being sold for $50.000, Grand Connection ran right here at FG on Boxing Day and got the win. He’s one too well but for the future even if this race plays out as too much too soon.

#7- Scafati (Nakamura Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- Scafati has had a great career, highlighted by winning the BC Turf Sprint back in 2021. He made it back to that race last year as well, but did not come close to duplicating his performance. So, now as Scafati enters his six-year-old campaign while approaching $2,000.000 in earnings, there is hope that he will have another great year. His race after the BC may cause some concern, but for now it’s too early to overreact to it. Another struggle here, then maybe we’ll have to start wondering if Smokey sold him off just in time.

#8- Love That Pink (Whitewater Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- It’s great to get a Whitewater horse in one of these previews, but Love That Pink will need to be a lot better than he was in his last two graded starts. The five-year-old gelding has only raced eleven times to this point and has won two of those races. His effort in the BEL Turf Sprint wasn’t impressive, but if we can write that off due to the soft turf then he looks a lot better as a part of this crowd. Still must be at his absolute best here.

#9- Creepy Rocky Party (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- After breaking his maiden around this time last year, this gelding continued to find the winner’s circle, earning six wins over the year, including the Grade 2 Simpson and Grade 2 Nearctic. That sent him into the BC Turf Sprint, where he seemed to be a very good option in the race. However, there was no partying there as he could only finish in the middle of the field. In that crowd, that’s still a strong performance, and now he will make his return to the track since that effort. Will the winning side of him be back?

Prediction: 9-2-6-3

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded