Tale of the Cat Stakes
MTH Race #7 1 1/16m Turf Stake
Purse $100.000 (plus up to $15.000 for NJ-breds) For Three Year Olds.
1 Western Command High Voltage Bravo J 123 —
The gelding took a while to break his maiden but backed that up last time with a decent win in a competitive WO allowance and may be on the improve. His works are saying he is, and the form is to, so it is just a matter of whether he is improving quick enough to win black type.
2 Russian Eggz Sccj Stables Batista J A 123 —
Another that took a while to land his maiden and his works are also going in the right direction, but I didn’t like his effort in the Murphy last time and that has me holding back. He may just lack pace at the end of his races so may need a strong pace to take the sting out of some of the other finishes.
3 Tortured Soul High Voltage Jara F 123 —
Just three starts for two wins, he is full of potential and gets his chance to realize it today from a nice draw. A good winner at PIM last time, he will be looking to stalk the pace and get them early in the stretch.
4 McWicked Mb Stables Juarez N 123 —
You can never overlook a horse from this yard and this one carries some good performances into this race and will probably start favorite to win. This is his first turf start but a very good work on the surface says he is another of those Mb Turf types that may launch his career today. A close fifth in the Sexton Mile against the elders last time, he looks the easy choice here.
5 Chimaev Rheingold Stables Castillo I 123 —
The stable doesn’t enter too many stakes races these days, so it is worth noting when they do. He won two in a row before taking on older horses last time running a strong finishing third. His works are among the best and he is definitely worth a chance at likely longer odds.
6 Michael Jordan Nakamura Stables Sutherland C 123 —
A good run last time when just missing in the Cinema, he has been looking good since switching to turf and this draw may suit his running style. The works are among the strongest so watch out for him late especially if the early pace is strong.
7 Whiskey Law Invicta Group Llc Camacho Sa 123 —
He has struggled a bit after a good two-year-old campaign where he wasn’t too far back in the BC Juvenile Turf. Recently sold, it will be interesting to see if the new stable can turn his form around.
8 Galactic Speed Family Racing Marin S 123 —
May be a little out classed on his exposed form, but he is working as well as most here and has been pretty good in his last two. He will need to step up from a difficult draw, but he is likely to be taken back anyway so it may just suit him if there is a strong pace.
9 Thats It N Thats All TwinTowersRacing Gonzalez J L 123 —
Pretty good since taking his maiden, but he hasn’t made his mark at this level yet and will find it tough from this draw. He may well get some wide gate speed push and get a soft lead and if that happens then he could be in it for a long way.
SUMMARY
McWicked looks the top choice here, but he will have to be strong at the end to hold Chimaev and the progressive looking Tortured Soul.
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded