The Jaipur (Grade 1) (BC)- $400.000 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Turf
June 11, 2022
The starting gate will be full for the 19th running of the Grade 1 Jaipur as we get closer to the running of the BEL. This is a six furlong turf sprint, and valuable BC points are available in addition to the $400.000 purse. While the first ever edition of the race was won by the great Alpha Ultimo, the purse was not as exciting, starting out as $100.000 for what was then a Grade 3. 2014 was the year we began to see bigger increases and it ultimate peaked in 2020 at $500.000. Classification-wise, it was a Grade 3 until 2018, was a Grade 2 for that year, before being moved up to a Grade 1. Three year olds have been welcome in all editions except for a stretch between 2014 and 2018, but only in 2020 has one of them won the race. Last year, Kid Commander took home the trophy and he will be back to try and do it again. We can get right to him, so here’s the field!
#1- Kid Commander (Allinthegate, ridden by J R Velazquez)- He came into the Jaipur red hot last year, with wins in two Grade 3’s leading up to it, and overall was on a stretch of six wins and seven starts. After the Jaipur, Allinthegate moved him to the main track, and that proved to be the wrong move. He was back on the grass right after and his strong form returned. Kid Commander ended up running third in the BC Turf Sprint and began this year off by winning the $100.000 Kenner, his lone win of the year so far.
#2- Roman Rage (Gdp Inc., ridden by M Franco)- This eight year old gelding makes the 58th start of his career, and it is the first time that he has appeared in the Jaipur. Around this time last year, he was running a mile, and second place finishes in both the Shoemaker Mile and the Shadwell Turf Mile led to another runner up in the BC Mile. Most of his career has been spent sprinting and he will probably be looking to break from the gate a lot better than he did last month in the TS Turf Sprint where he was doomed at the start. Known for stepping up in bigger races.
#3- Hopewell Artist (Smokey Stover, ridden by E Jaramillo)- A lightly raced three year old gelding out of the well accomplished Hopewell Tradition, he’s been running great once he got the debut out of the way. After that point, it’s three wins and two places in five starts, including running second in the Grade 2 Shakertown at KEE. One of two three year olds in the race, and that nets a six point weight allowance. History shows this race is not kind to his age, so must defy those odds.
#4- Insist Always (Mb Stables, ridden by J S Rocco Jr)- Last fall, this gelding found his way to the BC Mile, but it would not be one to remember for him. Instead, the trainer would prefer to remember the Jaipur, where we were a neck away from talking about him being the one trying to repeat today, as opposed to Kid Commander. Ran well in a couple open allowances to start the year before placing third on the main track in the Fleet Sprint Handicap.
#5- Rising King (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Ru Gonzlaez)- Half of this field ran against each other last month in the TS Turf Sprint, including everyone who ended up cashing a check in it. Rising King was fourth, with a stalking trip most of the way. After finishing second in the BC Turf Sprint last fall, he has not begun his rise this year, but that TS Sprint result, which came off a two and a month layoff, is something that he can build off of here to try and get back to the BC.
#6- Sniper (Avenue Z, ridden by E T Baird)- Here is the one that set the early fractions in the TS Turf Sprint, and he held his own well enough in the stretch to end up third. He’s an experienced one, with 34 career starts and seven of them as a wins. Up to this point, his signature win is the Grade 2 Hernandez Stakes, coming at SA on New Year’s Day this year. Of late, he’s been on a win, non-win pattern, and the trainer hopes that can break here.
#7- Owl Cat (Rock Creek, ridden by J P Vargas)- Career start #48 will be for much bigger stakes than #47 was as the seven year old gelding comes here off an open allowance win at TUP. That was a drop down from other overnights that he had been running in, and hopefully it erased all of the trainer’s doubts about him. Did run in the Jaipur last year, and was third. It’s one of only two career graded starts and the only he cashed a check in.
#8- Caught Up In You (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- He was not caught up in the TS Turf Sprint with half of this field last month, but he was at the same track over the same weekend. Caught Up In You ran on the dirt in the Grade 1 CD, but was a non-factor. That was a disappointment, because in the race prior, he won the $100.000 Shackleton by two lengths. He’s run on the grass a lot, with one win in twelve starts on the green.
#9- Distant Volcano (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Here is the other three year old in the field, and he also took part in the TS Turf Sprint. He used the weight allowance to his benefit and ran second in the race, so with a six pound allowance against similar, we should expect him to be a factor again. In eight starts so far, he’s hit the board all but one of them, and has three wins.
#10- Shakespearean (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Surely with all of the horses in the TS Turf Sprint, we would get the winner somewhere. Here he is! Overall, Shakespearean has won three out of four, and in a way, he looks a lot like Kid Commander did coming into the Jaipur last year, as he also had a TS Turf Sprint win beforehand, and overall good form. The gelding has never failed to hit the board in eleven career starts but also knows how to get to the winners circle, with five wins. Plenty to like, both here, and going forward.
#11- Settle The Score Vr (John Henry, ridden by A Cedillo)- In sixteen career starts, Settle The Score Vr has won three of them. He’s been consistently placed in graded stakes over that period, but doesn’t always get great results. So, the trainer is looking to do something a little different with him and runs the gelding on the turf for just the second time, and not since August 2020.
#12- Cherokee Devil (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mar Garcia)- Running on the outside, the Cherokee Sunset colt looks for this third straight victory. Each of them have come in allowances, and it earns him his second career graded start. Last October, he didn’t beat anyone in the Grade 2 Twilight, so off of a little momentum, the trainer is making a pretty big jump. We know what his track record is on the turf, so he is not one to doubt, but the post draw did not do him any favors.
Prediction: 10-1-5-2
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
