Nearctic Stakes (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
WO- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Turf
October 16, 2016
Eight years ago, the great Alpha Ultimo graced this race track for the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes, and provided yet another reminder of why he is one of the best our game has ever seen. Purse and prestige wise, that was when the race was in its heyday, being run for $500.000 purses, and for a while, being a Grade 1. While many stakes have seen increases to purse monies, the Nearctic seems to have lost a little of that aura. Despite that, we still have a full field going to post for this 11th running of the race. TwinTowersRacing and Australia Wide are the only trainers to win this race more then once, and there are some pretty good trainers who have not yet added this trophy to their collections, although the likely prize of heading to the BC Turf Sprint is what everyone is really after. Let’s meet this field.
#1- B K D Express (Drabfantasy, ridden by R Bejarano)- The trainer did not mess around and saw to it that his colt would break his maiden in a Grade 3, winning the Red Bank Stakes on soft MTH Turf in June. Since then, he has not been a factor, but he is still very lightly raced. It is just his fifth race of his career, and he has some works to be excited about. For me to pick him, though, I need to see a little more on the race track then what he is done so far.
#2- Omniscient Affairs (Kopites, ridden by J M Campbell)- Purchased from Australia Wide for $60.000 as the trainer looks to get back into the game, and so far we have seen purchases like this really work out for him. Their lone race together was the $100.000 Allied Forces at BEL, which was also his stake debut. It was a race that he nearly won, but had to settle for second. That result was impressive, in looking at the winning time. Also lightly raced, with two wins in five career starts.
#3- Smooth Linguist (Canadian Racing, ridden by J L Ortiz)- During the spring and summer, Smooth Linguist was amazing, with a pair of impressive seconds in the Grade 3 Jaipur and Grade 2 Highlander, each within a half length of victory. It’s not the finishing result as much as the SRF numbers earned from those races that really stand out. He is still yet to win at the graded level, but that just seems to be a matter of time. Would have liked to have seen a win in the Troy though, which was his last start, and may have put him on top if so. He is due, we must say that.
#4- Night Time Breeze (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by D Moran)- After running off three wins in a row against allowance company, Night Time Breeze made his graded debut in his last start, the Grade 3 Eddie D and was third in a tight three way photo for the win that saw the top two dead heat. That was just 16 days prior to this race, and that must be taken into consideration. He’s lightly raced up to this point, so we’ll see if he is ready to turn it up again so quickly.
#5- Torres Bounce (Night Rider Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- The gritty seven year old gelding will make his 37th career start, and has been able to find the winners circle like his namesake finds the back of the net. 15 of his 36 career starts have ended up in victory, including six of his last eight. That said, he hasn’t raced at this level until very recently and is still looking for a graded win. It’s about the only thing he has not done in his career.
#6- American Life (Angelos Stable, ridden by R J Albarado)- He has changed ownership via claimers twice this year, with the current trainer picking him up for $40.000. Angelos liked what he saw, as he made his graded debut in their first start together, and got a third in the Grade 3 Turf Monster. Regardless of how he does here, let’s hope he has found a trainer that wants him. The three year old has had 10 starts and seven different owners so far.
#7- Fire Up The Night (John Henry, ridden by F Pennington)- He was one of the two dead heating winners in the Grade 3 Eddie D that we alluded to with Night Time Breeze. Both of them will have a quick turn around, but I like Night Time Breeze better as far as handling that. Often we see horses here do fine with two races close together, but when three are close together, that’s when we see it take its toll. This will be his third race in six weeks.
#8- Viking Tiz (Delta Farms, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Probably the most interesting entry in here given that he is making his turf debut in this race as well as it appears as though he will lose the lasix. He has shown flashes of greatness, such as when he won the Grade 3 Carry Back at GP over the likes of Ferro in July, but he has also shown some inconsistency. Because of that, the trainer seems to be searching for his colt’s perfect niche on the track. If this works out, he can make this debut a great success.
#9- Discernment (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Acquired by Mb in the March auction for $75.000, he has scored one win in five starts. Mostly though, it’s a series of close calls for the new trainer in attempts to run at the graded level. He seems to be at his best when he is running on the lead, but I wonder if this race is about a furlong too short for him considering the caliber of competition he is up against here.
#10- Bonsai Gullis (Threshold, ridden by C H Velazquez)- It will be the 18th start for this four year old gelding, and he has shown that he also knows how to find the winners circle, doing so seven times. He’s taken some cracks at graded company before, but really its in overnights where he has been most successful. Most recently, he won an open allowance at FL in August. He has not raced on the turf much anymore, with all his turf starts being for prior trainers.
#11- I Am Machine (Night Mare Racing, ridden by J Lezcano)- This well bred colt by Red Rioja but also out of the great late mare Vania Alessandra is looking to take his successes to the graded level here. He hasn’t got there yet, but ran a true beauty in his last start, coming at BEL at this very distance where he HRP-routed the field on the grass. In order to have a shot at this, he needs to follow up on that result, but given the pedigree, I would not doubt that as a possibility.
#12- Hes Juiced Up (Australia Wide, ridden by J S McAleney)- He’s juiced up and making his Australia Wide debut in this race. He was acquired on the 3rd of this month from Joshua Stables for $125.000 via private sales. There was one strong start with Joshua, the Grade 2 King Edward BC Stakes, but he could just not follow up on that. Australia Wide is cutting back on his distance here, and sprinting, though on the dirt, saw some success early in his career when he ran for Mb Stables. Interesting line of (10-5-0-0), so it’s been feast or famine.
Prediction: 5-3-2-11
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
