Wise Dan – Grade II
CD Race #7 1 1/16m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $200.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward.
1 Siberian Prince Sir Daniel Martin Hernandez B J Jr
Last years BC Juvenile Turf winner looked back to his best after a stint on the dirt saw him win the San Francisco Mile at the end of March. He followed that up with a good effort against olders in the San Simeon but then came up against his nemesis, soft ground, in his last start. He ran a terrible race in the PEN Mile but he is too good to put it down to anything but the ground so that run is best ignored unless it rains for this race.
At his best he will be a tough one to beat with the three year old allowance and a good draw.
2 Thoughtful Idea D J C Racing Stables Colon L H
Another three year old working faster than some of the best older turf stars, amazingly for a horse working 1.34 and 2 for the mile he has only the two wins at lower level, sadly that is HRP at the moment. He was terrible in the soft ground last time out and like Siberian Prince that can only be put down to the off track so as long at it stays dry he has to be given a serious chance here.
3 Limato Chili King Stables Geroux F
A good type but he has to give the three’s a fair bit of weight in this and i can’t see he will be good enough despite a very good draw.
4 Private Sector Allinthegate Albarado R J
Another nice older horse he will also be hampered by the weights but he did work a 1.34 flat mile last time so will have a small chance of getting into the money. The winner of 6 from 14 he ran well in the SF Mile last time suggesting he will be competitive here.
5 Swamp Fox Blushing Meadows Pennington F
This old star will do his best as always and ran a cracker last time to take an open allowance in soft ground. I think his best chance will come with rain which may slow the others down enough that he can use all his old guile and toughness to best effect.
6 Illustrious Mb Stables Ortiz I Jr
Failed quite badly to get into the TC picture and finds himself on the grass today to try and rekindle his nice two year old form. He is working well enough and horses at HRP can throw some stupendous races when switched to turf but i cant see him being good enough to worry the other three year olds unless there is some rain.
7 Chevalier Alabarda Stable Castellano J J
Took a while to break maidens but has looked much improved this year. Its hard to put him in this race for any other reason than he is a three year old and he is hitting form but he has yet to really show enough on the track to effectively weigh up his chances. Worth a look and may be at attractive each way odds.
8 Eastern Townships Sanny Village Bejarano R
A real tough old turfer he may find the weight break tough to overcome here especially with a difficult draw. He is a grade one winner though and very capable so if the olders can overcome the handicap he may be the one to do it.
9 Invisible Spirit Angelos Stable Hill C
He is running into good form and has a crack today though he may be found wanting in a tough race.
10 Great Broomstick Smokey Stover Leparoux J R
Has only got 4 lifetime starts but with 2 wins and a close fourth in the SF Mile he looks well above average. The draw will be tough for him today but he is still improving and may be the dark horse in the race.
11 Magi Nakamura Stables Court J K
This seven year old is lumped with the car park and will have to rely on some track bias and luck to get into the picture. A 1.34 and 1 work puts him right up there but i feel this trip may stretch his stamina too far.
SUMMARY
I really hope i am wrong but i suspect the three year olds will dominate the race here. The older horses are well represented but 6Lbs at HRP is enough to make it almost impossible to beat the younger generation. If the ground stays dry then Siberian Prince may take the win the best chance for the older horses will be an off track.
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