Say Florida Sandy- $100.000 Purse
AQU- For Four Year Olds and Upward Foaled In NY
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
January 11, 2020
It’s great to be back for the new year and the new decade, hope everyone had a great holiday season! This first weekend back is not one of the biggest weekends out there, but there is some stake racing to report. The highlight of Saturday at AQU is the third running of the Say Florida Sandy, which is for NY-breds. I’ll be honest with you, this is not a field that is going to get anyone all that excited, and the race really looks more like an allowance. Let’s take a look at it anyway!
#1- One Quarter (Gdp Inc, ridden by M Franco)- The five year old gelding is making a jump forward from small claimers, which is where he was around this time last year. He progressed nicely over the course of 2019, running well in starter allowances, and then optional claimers. That was after he moved from dirt to the turf, so it’s interesting to see him start off 2020 going back to the main track. Deserves the stake chance, but the question will be is it on the right surface?
#2- Di Terra (The Sidley Stud, ridden by J Alvarado)- Only once in his twenty career starts as DI Terra made it to the winners circle. Finishing second? Well, that’s much different, as he has been a reliable part of the exacta on ten occasions! Since last summer, he’s been running in stakes, including several NY-bred stakes, and the runner up finishes have come there as well. Should have a good chance to finish second here. Unless, maybe one better?
#3- Creep City (Alydar Stables, ridden by J A Vargas Jr)- Has won eight of 17, so must be better then Di Terra, right? Well, six of those eight wins were at the free track. Initially Fractious saved him from there, and when he returned to the pay side, he got two finishes that would make Di Terra happy (seconds). Alydar sees something, as he acquired him for $250.000 in private sales in September. I do think that conditions are favorable for him, and this is a now-or- maybe never race for Creep City to justify that price tag, given that this is a soft field for a stake.
#4- Pulpit (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- This Mr Creepy colt has a solid three year old season with three wins in ten starts. During that time, the trainer tried to get him going at the stake level, and even attempted the Grade 1 SA Sprint Championship last fall. Despite those aspirations, he is still winless in stakes. Interestingly, he often finds himself able to be within a length of the winner at the wire, so is that just a product of the race engine, or is he on the verge of something bigger in his career? On paper, he’s the one to beat. A horse that ran fourth a Grade 1 about three months ago should take this field. If not, maybe a snip is in order?
#5- Bo York (Supremebeast, ridden by K Carmouche)- Following in Di Terra’s footsteps in regards to not winning much, as he only has one win in 14 starts. However, he is not finishing second often like his rival is, either. The horse is making a jump forward in class which is fine, but the results aren’t really there. If this were a stronger field, I’d write him off entirely, but back in August he had a good looking race in the Byrd Memorial, a free track stake. If he can duplicate that, he can surprise in this field.
#6- Mykonos (Fractious, ridden by E Cancel)- This one has been spending his time in claimers lately, and was picked up by Fractious from Tiratzo via a $16.000 claim at the end of November. The trainer has surely taken his time to study what he has and is making a big leap of faith here in putting him in a stake. But has been stated elsewhere, since this is not the greatest of fields for a stake, it may work out. After all, he is hot, winning his last two.
Prediction: 4-2-6-3
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
