Caribbean Classic- $300.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
December 8, 2018

On the surface, it would seem like the conditions of the Caribbean Classic would be very appealing to trainers with horses capable of running at this level. However, only three trainers felt the race would be a good place for one of their horses to run in. Fortunately for the sake of the race, Mb Stables was able to enter three, and therefore, we get a field of five for the race. This is the second edition of the race, and the 2017 version of the event had nine entered. Mb Stables has brought some good ones here too, so D J C Racing Stables and Gdp Inc will have a tough challenge in trying to bring him down. Let’s meet the field!

#1- The Judge (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- All rise! The Judge was acquired in July by the trainer, from Smokey Stover, in private sales for $175.000. He had solid performances with Smokey, winning three of five, though the two he didn’t win were the graded stake attempts, and that may have what sent him to the sales ring. With Mb Stables, he’s been pretty much the same horse, so no magic touch was had here, and he ended up running second in Grade 3 OK Derby at the end of September. He’s consistent and scores well when the field is not overly tough (as was the case in the KYD preps he tried). This race fits that mold for him.

#2- Dream Controlled (Mb Stables, ridden by J Talamo)- The winner of the BEL in June, and the Grade 2 Marathon, the unofficial BC race, at CD, comes to GP with the most name recognition out of anyone in this field. His excellent season has seen him win over $1,300.000, and more should be on the way for his four year old season. He will be the favorite here, but this is a shorter race then his well known wins, and nine furlongs has not always been his best distance. From time to time, he’ll even had a dud of a race. Dream Controlled is the easy pick to make in this field, and he will be my pick, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a given here. Of course, it may his stablemate that poses the biggest threat.

#3- The Drifter (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by C J Lanerie)- It will be a return to the main track for this colt, as he drifted onto the turf for his last seven races. They went decently, and include a win in the $100.000 Manila in July, his lone win of 2018. While he has been respectable on the grass, you can also see why there is hope and belief that this colt should be doing a little more. He’s put together a couple a pretty good main track works, making me confident that this is going to go well for him. If he showed a little more knack for being able to win in his career, I may be tempted to put him in my top two, but I’d rather see him step up and surprise me.

#4- Westmoreland (Gdp Inc, ridden by E A Roman)- In late August, Gdp Inc quietly claimed this one for $35.000, and at the time the gelding was winning his second straight race. That streak has continued, and is now at four. Overall, he knows how to get it done as well, with six wins in 14 starts. His most recent start, and victory, was his second ever stake attempt, where he defeated a field of NY-breds in the $150.000 Hudson at BEL. Now, he’ll look to continue his winning ways at higher stakes, and he has certainly earned this opportunity. The problem? He has never gone long. If those numbers were while going long, I’d feel better. But, like I said about The Drifter, instead of picking him, I’d rather see him step up and show me he can do it. I do like his early November work.

#5- Pass Me By (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Yet another great chance for Mb Stables to pick up the win in this race. Pass Me By has been excelling at this, or approximately this, distance throughout his career. He has five wins in nine starts this season, and that included a triumph two starts back at the OK Derby, edging out his stablemate, The Judge. Something then happened to him at the Grade 2 Autumn last month at WO. He was flat, and every now and then, you see a race line like that in his past performances. But you never see two in a row like that. Can it be an Mb trifecta?

Prediction: 1-2-5-4

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded