The Iowa Derby- Grade 3 ($250.000 Purse)
PRM- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
July 1, 2016

Fantastic racing heads to Iowa this weekend as some of the biggest races that PRM will hold are contested over these next few days.  The highlight of these races is the Iowa Derby, a race known for bringing many of the top three year olds in the game that recently raced in the triple crown.  The elite horses will choose other races going on, but the $250.000 purse here attracts some that were competitive in those races as well.  Last year, the race was won by a horse named Lincoln, in what was probably his last hurrah.  Not only did he fail to follow up the win, some of his performances right after were quite awful, and he was seen last month in a $4.000 N1Y claimer at BTP, finishing ninth and losing by ten lengths.  It should not take much for today’s winner to go on to more success, and they will hope to follow the lead of other winners such as Pip Boy or Sector Seven.  No trainer or jockey has won the race more then once.  This year, we have eight going to the gate, so here is our field.

#1- Prime Time Opus (Aer Stables, ridden J R Leparoux)- Despite many great races, this colt still has only visited the winner’s circle one time in his 10 career starts.  Although he is winless this year, his effort to get into the TC was fairly decent.   Ran a decent 4th in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes in January, then a month later he finished third and was within a length of winner Moment Of Madness and runner-up Water Mummy, and you will recall the latter did something pretty nice in the KYD.  A poor run in the AR Derby, which was on a quick turnaround, is the last time he has raced.  Now that he is rested, he has no excuses.  He doesn’t have to win, but it goes without saying this is a very important race for him.

#2- Franchise Player (Mb Stables, ridden J R Velazquez)- A horse named this just sounds like a multiple graded stake winner, but in actuality he will make his stake debut in today’s race.  An impressive work at BEL on the 18th may have been the clincher in the decision to send him here instead of elsewhere.   So far, his resume is light, breaking his maiden at TAM late last year, and then winning a PIM optional claimer in the mud in his last race.  On that, he looks as though he would be left behind here, but that aforementioned work was a career best, and if he is able to bottle that up again and bring it here, that amount of improvement will put him right in the mix here.

#3- Lord Byron (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Surely both Jerry Garcia and Aer Stables and vividly remember when their horses finished in a dead heat for 10th at the AR Derby, as thankfully the game points out such finishes that far back in the field very clearly.  All kidding aside, the two horses have had a similar past, with Lord Byron only willing twice in his ten starts, though with some competitive runs during the prep season.  And both saw the dream come crashing down at OP.   While Prime Time Opus has rested since then, Jerry took a shot at the turf with his Pink Panther colt in a $200.000 CA-bred stake in May, but would be a non factor in the race.  His career needs a jolt here.

#4- Bright Castle (John Henry, ridden by K Carmouche)- A lot of money has surrounded Bright Castle, but eventually the colt by Mummy is going to have to live up to it.  La Canada Racehorses sold him for $500.000 to Downwind Stables following his second place finish in the Grade 3 Lecomte.  Then, about a month ago, he changed hands again from Downwind to John Henry for $200.000.  Since the first sale, this horse has won $82.000 in five starts, with $221.430 put down in entry fees for those five races.  If he is going to start redeeming himself, he will have to do so on short rest, as he last ran on the 11th, running second in the ungraded Easy Goer.

 #5- Rising Light (Nakamura Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)– Perhaps this may be a horse that is getting lost in the shuffle a little bit, and I am looking for him to bounce back and a run a big one here today.  A successful two year old season saw him win four out of seven races, including the $75.000 McNeil Stakes, but he followed that up nicely this year, early on.  Back in February, he won the Grade 3 El Camino in impressive fashion and would follow that up with a good looking second place finish in the Grade 2 Rebel a month later.   A fourth place finish in the SA Derby cemented his KYD spot, though he would be a non factor in that and in the PRK two weeks later. He is rested now, and with the elite horses of the division not in this race, Rising Light is the horse to beat. He’s won 5 of 13, so he knows how to get it done, and I look for that to continue here.

#6- The Perfect Day (Pan Farms, ridden by R J Albarado)- A lot of people will look at his presence in this race and say he is the one to beat.  More then likely, he will be the post time favorite and not Rising Light.  Personally, I am just not in love with this horse as a lot of others within this game seem to be when they were labeling him a favorite to win a TC race.   Don’t get me wrong, I feel he is a very good horse, but the $1,350.000 price with immediate forum hype that sent him from Australia Wide to Pan Farms may have been a little much.  After the sale, he ran a beauty of a race in the SA Derby, placing second, and increasing his stature.  I was also impressed, but that closing kick didn’t come in the KYD and PRK and he had more ground to do it in.  He’s rested and ready to make this a fascinating race with Rising Light, but I’m calling for him to be the runner up.

#7- Leaving Arizona (Kopites, ridden by R Alvarado Jr)- Kopites is back!  Hopefully, for the long haul.  Leaving Arizona is a LA-bred, who has frequently been seen running in LA-bred stakes, but the trainer has opted to pass up a busy weekend of LA-bred stakes at EVD this weekend in favor of this race, so you have to feel that he has big things planned for the gelding he claimed for $32.000 earlier in June.  He hasn’t always raced at over a mile, but when he has, he has won three of four, including the LA Legacy last November.  Beating the two that will start immediately to his inside will be tough, but don’t rule him our getting a piece of this, especially if he runs like he did at TAM a couple races back.

#8- Intangable Hawaiian (Mwn Racing, ridden by J J Castellano)- The trainer will look to pick up his second win of 2016, as of press time, with a lightly raced Intangible colt that figures to be a longshot.   He’s won two of five, and while they were solid wins, they were a while ago.  In early June, he returned from a 7 ½ month layoff to run 6th in the $75.000 Parrot Key.  I could forgive all that, but his work on the 26th here doesn’t encourage optimism as most are working at least a second and a half faster.

Prediction: 5-6-1-3

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES