The Cole Stakes, Purse $125.000, Ungraded, One Mile and 1/8th, Turf for 3+
Today at Belmont there are back to back overnight stakes going a mile and 1/8th on the turf. One of those is for the fillies and mares, but this one is for the males. There is a nice field of 6 horses that have signed on for this years edition. Let’s take a look at the field and see if we can separate some of these runners :
1-Bridal General (Night Rider Stables)- He has raced 24 times in his career with 3 wins. All of those wins have come running on the turf however he is winless in 6 starts this year. He tried claiming company last time out at Del Mar where he was plucked out of that race by current owner Night Rider Stables for $40.000. He ran a disappointing 4th in that race but the new owner must have seen something he liked in the mornings to give him a shot here. My guess would be that 109 and 4 work at Belmont on the 16th where he was first of 7. Can he get back to the winning ways with this new owner?
2-Commercial Grade (Team 7 Illiusions)- This is a homebred that spent the first 9 starts of his career in the hands of a different owner. He was purchased back by his breeder for $200.000 and has since started 2 times back in the barn of his breeder. Those 2 starts have been very nice ones which included a win and a 2nd in very similar races as to this one. He is stretching out to go the longest distance he has run to date so we will find out of the added distance hurts or helps him. He appears to have come out of his last race well and posted a very nice 109 and 2 work on the 14th which makes me think he may be sitting on a big race.
3-General White (Bigking)- He has raced 10 times in his career winning 3 of those races. He comes into the race of a win in an OC race at Del Mar where he finished off the race in a nice time. He has won 3 out of 6 lifetime starts going long all of them on turf, but the only time he missed the board was at today’s distance. His 136 flat mile breeze helps show me he is ready to run, but will the race be a bit too long for him today?
4-Eldarado TF (Twin Towers Racing)- He comes into the race winning 2 out of 10 lifetime starts but both of those wins have come since he was claimed for $7.000 by current owner Twin Towers Racing. Both of those wins came going a route of ground on the turf, with his most recent win coming in his last race against allowance company. The race was run in an nice time and he appears to have come out ok with a couple of solid turf works in the morning. Is this step up going to be too much for this former claimer?
5-Beav Barley (Oval Express Farms) He is an all or nothing type horse, he has raced 12 times and has won 2 of those races, but has never hit the board in any of the non-wins. Both of his wins have however come at todays distance which is a big positive for this horse. His most recent win did come 2 starts back in an allowance race at ELP and he was stepped up to a similar type race to today out of that win and managed to finish last of 8 runners. His public work out of that race is nice and I am sure Oval Express Farms is hoping for a step up out of it.
6-Got It Going On (MB Stables)- You can’t get much better than a perfect race record and that is what he has. No granted he is only 2 for 2 but still take nothing away from this one as he won an allowance race going today’s distance at Saratoga last out. He has come out of that race well posting very nice public turf works in the morning, which tells me that this one may be on the improve. This horse looks like a real danger horse of his movement up the class ladder, and his ability to show that he can lead wire to wire going long on the turf.
This a interesting race today going long on the turf with a lot of horses who are trying to take the next step up the class ladder. Here is my prediction. 2-6-3-1
Warbucks
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
