SSM Classic ($250.000 Purse)
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward Foaled in FL
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
January 21, 2017

We should have ourselves quite a good race on Saturday in the 14th running of the SSM Classic, which features some of the best older FL-breds in our virtual world.   It is a race that might not really be its original “million” anymore, but it is still attracting a quality field this year.  We may not have Icicle, Mordred, or Barbarino (all past winners), but there are several who have accomplished some impressive things over the course of their careers to this point.    There will be no horse looking to win this race for the second time, either, like Xray Eyes was able to do in 2008 and 2009 for Australia Wide.  Speaking of Australia Wide, he has had a lot of success in this race with three such wins, and one of them was not with Barbarino, a horse often associated with him!  The legendary trainer will have an entry here as he looks for his fourth win.   In all, we have a good field of nine that should give us an entertaining race! Let’s look at the field!

#1- Bolkonski (Australia Wide, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- We won’t have to go far in this preview to get to the horse that looks to pick up that fourth win for Australia Wide, as Bolkonski joined that stable earlier this month in private sales for $150.000.  He won two of nine during his three year old season which featured a healthy diet of Grade 1 stakes, the last of which was the Malibu at SA. The thing is, he only hit the board in one of them.  His two wins were not at the stake level. This race figures to be just as good as those, so why should we believe he can win here.  Well, the trainer change can help and he’s only raced more then a mile once.  Being on the rail won’t hurt, either.

#2- Royal Prodigy (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The first of three that Mb has going to post in this race, and he is the most successful of them in regards to earnings.   He’ll begin his five year old season after winning just once last year, coming in the Clark Handicap, where he beat 2016 SSM Classic winner Port On The Horizon.  Other then that win, he had a season similar to Bolkonski which saw him run frequently in some of the best races out there, such as the Woodward and the Whitney, but not necessarily get the results.   The key to his victory will be duplicating that Clark performance, which saw him earn a 101 SRF.

#3- Champagne Supernova (Eastern Equine, ridden by J L Ortiz)- A horse that always makes me start signing the song he is named after in my head when I see him.    He started 2016 looking like one of the top TC contenders, but did not finish well in either the KYD and the BEL.  After another disappointment in the IND Derby, he recovered to pick up what would be his only win of the year in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile.  Later, he closed out the year with a good second in the Malibu in a race that saw him not be given lasix or bute for the first time.  At press time, it appears he will not be given them again.

#4- Muscle Shoals (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J J Castellano)- Castellano’s slow start this year continues, with just three wins in the 37 starts, and maybe a little Muscle will help him out.  Muscle Shoals took a little while to break his maiden but looks to be a late bloomer in every regard.  He has not won a stake yet, but did run competitively in the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap in his last start.  This is his toughest test, and he does look like he will need to be a tick quicker on the track (the works are always great), but he is just beginning to find his way now and can do exactly that!

#5- Rajivs Roadblock (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- The five year old will make the 23rd start of his career, and in 2016, he was able to add a graded stake win to his resume.  That was in the Grade 3 in what may have been a smaller field, but it looks like it was also one of those races that was strong on quality if it did not have quantity.  Finished off the season with a couple of photo finish runner ups, including in August to the now deceased Chonburi.   To me he looks a lot like Muscle Shoals in that he might need to be a tenth or two quicker then he has been to have a shot at beating a couple, but it also seems like it is within his capabilities.

#6- Rising Light (Nakamura Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- Last year things started great for Rising Light, with strong runs in the early KYD preps, and it seemed as though he would have a decent shot in the KYD, but it would not come to fruition.  He remained lightly raced after the TC series was over, and did pick up a win in the Grade 3 BC Derby at HST in September.  As his four year old season begins, you have to think that this is a very pivotal race as he takes on a level of competition he has not seen since the Dandy, and he’ll have to show he can measure up.  The works lead us to optimism.

#7- Alpha Way (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- Comes into 2017 off a strong three year old season that saw him four out of seven, but it was only late in the year did he pick up the level of competition he was running against. While he did run in the JC Gold Cup, finishing off the board, the highlights of his season where a pair of ungraded $100.000 stake victory, including the Millions Classic Preview.  Well, the preview is over and now it’s time for him to show he can win the feature as well.  His works are strong, and while bettors might lean to names they recognize more, it would be a shame if he were counted out.

#8- Mach Love (Mb Stables, ridden by R J Albarado)- While he is a year older, Mach Love looks to be in the same type of situation that Alpha Way is in, so it will be interesting to see how they run against one another. The gelding has won four of seven in his very lightly raced career all things considered, and his highlight is also winning a $100.000 ungraded event.  The trainer has placed him in the Grade 1 Awesome Again and Grade 2 Fayette, and showed that he is knocking on the door for a victory with second and third place finishes, respectively, in those events.

#9- Dev Null (End Run Farm, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Dev Null is also coming out of the Millions Classic Preview, a race in which he ran third.  In all, the Merci Beaucoup colt only failed to hit the board in one of his nine races last year, which may have been an ambitiously placed shot at the Grade 1 Woodward.   While running in allowances, he was frequently at the front, so you have to like that about him.    He’s been running with bute lately, so perhaps that will make a difference.

Prediction: 2-3-6-7

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded