The OP Handicap (Grade 2)- $1,250.000 Purse
OP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
April 20, 2024

A lot of the recent attention has gone to three-year-olds, but this weekend, older horses will get their chance to be in the spotlight as a large $1,250.000 purse is there for the taking in the OP Handicap. It’s the first time that this amount has been offered here. The race first appeared on the schedule in 2006 for a $500.000 purse and would go down a bit before we began to see it approach the level it is at today. In 2020, the late Air Show picked up the victory in what was the first time the race ran for a $1,000.000 purse. There have been some well-known winners, including a couple greats: Maruzensky and Splash Mountain. Last year’s race was won by Home Spirit, for Night Rider Stables, a gelding that has had a fantastic career. He is still active but will not be a part of this field. Let’s take a look at those who will be now:

1- All Take (Alydar Stables, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Enters the race on a two-race win streak, highlighted by the Grade 3 KY Cup Classic last month at TP. That victory earned him a 101 SRF and put him over $2,000.000 in career earnings. He’s best known for winning the PRK in 2022, and surprisingly did not win a race at all last year while still running competitively. That is not going to be the case this year as he is a perfect 2-for-2 early on and figures to be a big threat here as well.

2- Gas Lighting (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- The five-year-old horse by Candlestick has struggled to win race, doing so twice in 22 starts, but can simply look to All Take to see an example of how things can turn around quickly. In October, he got that second win in the $200.000 Downs at ALB and followed that up with a nice run in the Grade 2 Clark. If that was his last race, I’d like him here, but neither of his last two races were particularly exciting, though he did face strong opposition last month in the New Orleans Classic.

3- Barista (Wood Duck Stables, ridden by F Prat)- In just his third start, Barista is making a massive leap in class, but can he do more than just serve these top horses some proverbial coffee? We essentially have one race to look at: a five-length win in the slop at SA to break his maiden last month which was off a nine-month layoff. Six-furlong breezes are good, though maybe a little inconsistent. If you like to gamble, go for it.

4- Eight West Party (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by T Gaffalione)- More accomplished than his stablemate, with five wins over 30 starts, but you have to go back to last July to find the last time he won a race. It was a good one, coming in the Grade 2 Suburban, but he would become a bit inconsistent after that while regularly appearing in Grade 1’s. More recently, he’s been at OP over his last two races: the Razorback Handicap and Essex Handicap, each of which have a $600.000 purse, and he was only a length behind the winner. Should be just as competitive here.

5- Lion Lake (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- After a long and successful career with Night Rider Stables, Lion Lake was picked up by Mb Stables in late December with a $32.000 claim. Mb has only run the horse twice since then, beginning with a starter allowance at SA that he won. A month later, it was off to the Grade 3 Essex Handicap, where he would finish second right here at OP. Though the gelding has won over $500.000 in his career, he doesn’t have that one glamourous signature win. Perhaps, with Mb Stables, that can come here.

6- East Of Creep (Fractious, ridden by M Franco)- This five-year-old gelding has picked up five wins in 26 career starts, and is another one that you can say has been successful but is lacking that true signature win. For East Of Creep, that almost came in his last start, at the beginning of March at SA, where was the runner up in the muddy SA Handicap. Ran in this race last year as well, and earned the fourth-place check, though his only win since then was in an open allowance.

7- Chais Thrill (Mwn Racing, ridden by J Alvarado)- Early in his career, he would run in a couple of stakes races before even breaking his maiden. After he was beaten seven lengths in the SUN Derby, he went back to maiden races, but needed four of them to finally get a win. Showing how much, he believes in the horse still, Mwn Racing ran him in the Essex Handicap off of that, and he looked good in finishing third. I don’t know if I’d pick him to win, but he may be in the mix here. The 114 pounds he carries is the lowest here, but not by much.

8- Seydoux II (Arindel, ridden by P Lopez)- Haven’t spent any time talking about weight in this year, because everyone prior to Chais Thrill carries either 115 or 116. Now, that’s not the same situation for Seydoux II, as the reigning BC Dirt Mile champion will need to carry 120 pounds. He can thank that big win for that and now would certainly earn the winner’s share of this purse if he can handle being the high weight here. Comes here off of running second in the $100.000 Grade 3 Challenger Stakes, and that was a field that was far better than that purse would imply. At even weights, he’s the one to beat. Carrying 4-5 more pounds than some key rivals does indeed balance some of that advantage out. The joy of picking in a handicap!

9- Wahpekute Sioux (Mb Stables, ridden by D Van Dyke)- Will be remembered by the OP faithful for winning the AR Derby here last year, a win that was his second KYD prep victory in a row, but he would not appear in that race. Instead, he won run in the PRK, where he would finish fourth as the post time favorite. He continued to run well, winning the Dandy and being second at the Travers up at SAR. Last month, he was third in the KY Cup Classic, and seems like a strong pick in this one. Especially when carrying four fewer pounds than Seydoux II.

10- On Schedule (Mb Stables, ridden by Mar Garcia)- This gelding by Worst Case Scenario has gone back and forth between going long and sprinting, running in races like the Pacific Classic and Pegasus World Cup before cutting back in distance. A win in the Grade 2 SA Sprint Championship when a long way in making the BC Sprint, but overall, he was inconsistent at those distances. His most recent start marked his return to going long, and he ended up running second in the Razorback Handicap. Still working well and is one of the top choices here.

Prediction: 9-1-10-8

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES