The PIM Special (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
PIM- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
May 14, 2021

There will be plenty of good racing at PIM on Friday to get us warmed up for PRK day! Among the scheduled races is the 13th running of the Grade 3 PIM Special. This is a race was initially a Grade 1, and ran for a $500.000 purse. Its inaugural appearance would be won by the great Icicle, but in the early days, the race was not often carded. It did not run in 2007, and would not be seen from 2009-2011, as well. When it resurfaced, it was now a Grade 3, and running for $300.000. This year, the race takes a hit in the purse to the current $250.000 level. Don’t worry, because this has not kept us from having a great field! Let’s take a look at the field!

#1- Gran Z (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Cedillo)- One of two horses in the field that has eclipsed $1,000.000 in career earnings, and for Gran Z, a good portion of that came when he finished third in last year’s BC Classic. He’s run three times since then, and earned his first win of the year in his last start, winning on the mud in the Grade 3 Ali at KEE last month. This is a horse that rarely has a bad race, and I would not expect that to change here.

#2- Night Creature (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Two races ago, Night Creature was impressive in winning the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap with a 100 SRF, a race that has a $600.000 purse associated with it. Thanks to that, a win here could put him on the verge of joining that $1,000.000 win club. That came in February, and his only race since then was the Grade 2 Californian, where he was third. I look forward to seeing him run here, and he should have something to say at the end.

#3- Machine Gun Tommy (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- This gelding by I Am Machine was picked up in private sales for $125.000 last June, and has won once in his five starts in the Nakamura silks. The Grade 3 Berkley Handicap is the win, but the race I like more was his second place showing in his last start, the Grade 2 Californian. He beat Night Creature there, and that is one of the favorites in this race. If he can do that once, he certainly can again.

#4- Lockdown (Patterson Stables, ridden by L Contreras)- Only making the third start of his career. He won on debut, and off of that, he was entered into the six furlong Eddie Stakes, for CA-breds, where he was fifth, but still got his photo taken with the winner at the wire. He’s being moved up off of that, which shows confidence, and also sees his distance extend over a mile for the first time. Would certainly make an impression here if he won.

#5- Clubhouse (Crocker Ggs, ridden by D Fukumoto)- Prep race season started good for him, as he won the Davis Stakes at TAM, but he was unable to build off of that. Still did well in the TAM Derby, placing third, but did not fare well at all in the SA Derby. He likes to come from behind, and in that race, it simply did not happen. Not sure about him here, but I think this is a great race for him, as if he still has it, it would be a very worthwhile score.

#6- Graveyard (Mb Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Any portion of the purse here would send Graveyard into the $1,000.000 career earning club. The four year old has two wins in his last three starts, including the Grade 2 Marathon, the unofficial BC race, at KEE. He was dropped into an open allowance off of that, which he did win, and was second in the Grade 3 Excelsior last month. Firing a bunch of bullets in workouts recently, too. Ran in the PRK last year, you may recall, and was fifth, but within a length of the win.

#7- Sneaky One (Arindel, ridden by J R Velazquez)- A three year old gelding by Z One Chance who has had more than one chance to get a stake victory. He’s been good in overnights, but every time he has been in a stake, and this will be the sixth time, he has not been anywhere near the winner at the end. To win here, he would live up to his name but for me, I need to see that he can at least be a contender at this level.

#8- Tango Mango (Nakamura Stables, ridden by T J Pereira)- Picked up in the end of January for $50.250 in private sales, and has made one start for Nakamura so far. That was an allowance last month, and he defeated his three opponents at HOU, earning him the right to race here. It’s a tough ask as he makes his graded debut but his works show that he belongs with this crowd.

#9- Hurricane Run (Simmer Down Stable, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- This gelding has had an interesting career in the way that he has been bouncing between graded stakes and claimers. Simmer Down picked him in his recent claimer, two races after he was second in the Grade 3 Valedictory, and put him back into a Grade 3, The Tokyo City Cup, where he was third. Always seems to run well, no matter where he is placed, making the bouncing around a little more confusing to an outsider like me.

#10- Splash Mountain (John Henry, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- One of the greats of the game, with career numbers now showing nine wins in 37 career starts and just a couple quarters shy of $7,200.000 in earnings. The six year old is still running well, too, with two wins in his last four starts, taking the Grade 1 Cigar Handicap in December, and then the OP Handicap, a Grade 2, in wire to wire fashion, last month. He continues to turn out triple digit SRF’s, so why should we expect anything less here. There are a few in here who will make sure that he runs his best, but it’s tough not to pick him. Recent works are nothing but bullets.

#11- Ulterior Motive (Waldo, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Rounding out the field is one of our less experienced runners, as Ulterior Motive has only made six starts thus far. Two have been wins. In his last start, coming right after he was gelded, he pulled a no show in the Grade 3 Gotham. He was actually a lot better before he was gelded, so perhaps there was more of a reason for that performance. Still, I can’t take him here.

Prediction: 10-2-1-6

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES