The Jerkens Memorial – Grade I
SAR Race #8 7f Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $500.000 For Three-Year-Olds.

1 Call Me Jack D J C Racing Stables Elliott S 122 —

With the older sprinters going in the Forego this is the chance for a three-year-old to put himself in the BC Sprint picture. Like the older horses, work times seem to be pretty much useless as a guide, so it is down to what they do on the racetrack. This one will certainly see out the seven furlongs which can be key with this trip, and he has shown enough speed in sprints to be a factor, if he doesn’t get trapped in this gate. Bought for just $15.000 he has improved nicely under his new trainer and ran a cracker to be a close third in the Marine last time. A definite contender in an open race.

2 General Zod Royalty Stables Buick W T 122 —

Although the jockeys are apparently less important these days, we saw with Ryan Moore what can happen when a curve ball is thrown into HRP’s algorithms and here we see another one as William Buick gets his run at HRP racing. Despite apparently not liking sprints or the dirt, it will be interesting to see how the British champion jockey performs in this race and whether he will become like Moore did, a regular pick for the top races. This horse has come a fair way from a last-place maiden finish in March breaking his duck and then running a very close sixth in Amsterdam last time. His five-furlong works are the same as the older horses running in the Forego which furthers the workout absurdities but what they do tell us is that running from a nice draw he is a lot better than he looks on paper.

3 Serengeti Creeper TwinTowersRacing Bridgmohan S X 122 —

Has won three of his four victories on turf so his form is a hard read for this race, but he no doubt has the ability and has worked 1.10 and 2 on this surface so is no slouch. His running styles have bounced about a little, so I can’t really tell you where he will end up in the run, but the trainer may try and gun him out of the gate as he was pretty dominant in a front running role in the NY Breeders race. He has chances but they are not as obvious as some.

4 Inviting Mb Stables Lezcano J 122 —

Came back to sprinting after a failed attempt at the TC but he has had issues with his running style, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up in running today. He stormed home late in the Amsterdam last time to be fourth beaten just a length and had the fastest closing splits that day so with this extra half-furlong today the trainer may just leave him to his own devices again. We all know they need a bit of luck to close for the win, but I feel the stable mate may be more on pace, so we could see this one sticking to his pattern and coming late.

5 Chisel Fractious Prat F 122 —

Failed in the Wood Memorial in his only attempt at a longer trip but looks a much better sprinter and has a great chance in this race, fourth in the Stephens he got a little too far back that day but ran closer to the pace when third in the Amsterdam last time to end up third with Inviting nearly catching him on the line. I expect the same sort of result today, but the trip could suit Inviting more so maybe these two will flip-flop places.

6 Sincere Connection Asgar Geroux F 122 —

Ran down the field in Amsterdam which is a key form race for this but is better than that and better can be expected today. He has to find maybe a length to be a winning chance in this race, but he is working strongly and has been thereabouts in some good races so there is no reason things won’t go better for him today.

7 Quick Knight Mb Stables Centeno D E 122 —

Like so many later-season sprinting three-year-olds he too had a go at the TC and was more successful than the others in this race so the question here will be how well he can sprint against fast horses. Well, he has done it before although in the one race where he got a good draw, he failed which is frustrating as one felt he had a good chance in the Stephens. He flew home from a wide gate in Amsterdam to be right up with the others in this race, so one feels that with a slight tinkering with his running style or a bit more luck, he could well be a big winning chance. Working as quick as the older horses in the Forego, if he can find the win here, he will be a force with a weight concession in the BC.

8 Hurricane Ridge Fractious Franco M 122 —

The big form races for this are the Stephens and the Amsterdam and he comes out clearly on top in the rating for those races, so must start favorite to win this despite a sticky draw. He has a good natural running style, fast work and the best form, maybe we need look no further for our winner.

9 Smack Fractious Velazquez J R 122 —

Well, this horse led up the Amsterdam at a brisk pace and only his stablemate got past him, so maybe we are looking at a one-two again here. I am sure he will use the wide gate speed push again the question is how fast he will go because any faster than he went in Amsterdam and the many closers will take advantage. It will be a balancing act for the owner but one they are more than capable of pulling off and just maybe if he gets a softer lead, he could go one better.

10 Blue Finn Luz International Hernandez R M 122 —

Out in the car park, we find The Jersey Shore winner who has looked really good in his last two but gets a tough gate to continue that winning streak today. Looking at his running style he may go back and then it is down to a whole raft of choices out of his control as to whether he gets a chance at the win. His works are good enough, he is clearly on the up and just maybe he could be the dark horse here.

SUMMARY

Like the older sprint, this is a tough race to call but we must go with the form of the Amsterdam and go with Hurricane Ridge. The seven furlongs will give those closers a chance and there are a whole lot of them so if one of those gets over the top it will be luck in running rather than anything we can foresee that gets them home, so it is impossible to pick the right one to do that

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES