HOL Turf Cup (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Turf
November 25, 2016

A field of ten turf routers will be looking to get in the green this Black Friday in the 12th running of the HOL Turf Cup, a Grade 2 event.  This is a race that was once held at HOL, but moved to DMR in 2014, where it has since stayed.  One interesting thing I noticed in the past winners section is that both Alpha Ultimo and Bronze Sabre are past winners, and I took a quick glance to see if there was any other stake that each of those two legends both have won, and I did not notice any!  Neat little tidbit then about two of the greatest (if not the greatest) horses in our game.   Our field this year does not have an Alpha Ultimo in it, so those in the race can breathe a sigh of relief.  No trainer has won this race more then once, but a jockey you would have wanted on your horse for it is R Bejarano, who has rode the winner on three occasions, but he will be at CD on Friday.  This looks to be an exciting race with some varying stories coming in to it.  Here is our field!

#1- Dogs Dragon (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by J Talamo)- Along the rail, Dogs Dragon heads back to the track after running in the BC Mile earlier this month.  This makes him the only one in the field who ran in that race, though we do have a BC Turf runner further down the starting gate.  In the Mile, Dogs Dragon ran decently, running sixth.   This is the longest that he has ever run, by 7/16’s of a mile, and do it so close to the BC seems like a tough assignment.   We’ll see if he is up to the task.

#2- Let Them Talk (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Last raced twelve days ago in a claiming event that’s surrounded by nothing but lines of horse selling park.  In a period from October 1st to November 11th, he was sold three times, each for $10.000, and only has that one claiming event.  Hard to get past that, so I’m just going to move to the next horse.

#3- Kenny Wisconsin- Scratched

#4- Personal Secret (Mb Stables, ridden by M E Smith)- Eight races, seven wins.  Yep, it’s more exciting to talk about that then a horse being sold three times in a month and a half.   Other then his free track debut, the only thing Personal Secret knows how to do after a race is visit the winner’s circle, but it took a little while before the purses began increasing for him.  The run started modestly at TUP, but as he kept doing everything the trainer was asking, he found himself in the $100.000 Oceanside Stakes and took that too.   His last two wins are graded victories, coming in the Grade 3 Cliff Hanger Stakes at MTH and the Grade 2 City Of Hope Mile, where he defeated Dogs Dragon.  This is his toughest assignment to date, but he has always been able to step up.

#5- Steel Kelp (Serenity Stables, ridden by Mar Garcia)- Had the pleasure of watching this seven year old gelding run in the BC Turf earlier this month.  It was a race where he looked to come from behind, in a bit of a change up to his two prior runs, and he really did everything right, falling short to three others in the biggest turf race of the year.  He won’t see that type of field again, but this is still short rest and for a horse making his 52nd career start you have to wonder if he can handle it.  Though do note he was very well rested prior to the BC Turf.

#6- Pink Devil (Night Mare Racing, ridden by N Arroyo Jr)-   The Pink Panther gelding will be looking to follow up the biggest win of his career, as he took home the trophy in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker Handicap last month while coming from off the pace.   Earlier in the season, he ran in the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap and wasn’t all that bad despite the seventh place result.  This will be the 26th start of his career, and he has been able to hit the board in half of his starts.  Even when he doesn’t win, he is usually a contender.

#7- Happy B Day (Night Rider Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- If its your birthday, then make sure you place on bet on him because if he wins, this probable longshot is going to provide you with a nice present.  His career saw him toil around at BTP, and not even win there for a while.  In August, he was picked up in private sales and ran in late September at LAD and picked up a strong win in the longest race of his career.  He has been idle since then, but working really well, but this is really a tough race and as good as his September win may have been, he’s going to have to be about a second better here.

#8- Inspector Jacque (Kopites, ridden by A O Solis)- It was quite a story when he came out of no where to almost win the Kentucky Cup Turf, missing in a tight photo at odds of 845/1.  Since then, however, he hasn’t really built on that run, with a couple of off the board performances at much lower odds.  He also raced over BC weekend, though not in the BC, and instead ran in the Grade 2 Twilight.  A better finish there would make me optimistic, but he could only run sixth.  It could be fair now to wonder, was the Kentucky Cup a fluke? Well, I doubted him a lot there, and I doubt him here, so get those bets placed on him in a hurry!

#9- Fear The Feathers (Up And Up Racing, ridden by F Prat)- While running for prior trainer Our Athletes, Fear The Feathers had a decent career that saw him be able to run in the BC Juvenile Turf.  However, his progress stagnated, and he was sold for $50.000 on the Fourth of July.  Fear The Feathers seemed to like his independence to the new stable, and won just five days later, of course, the Grade 3 Stars & Stripes.  Following that, there’s been a pair of fourth place runs, including the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at beautiful Saratoga Race Course.   The trainer doesn’t manage a big stable, so you know he’ll have his star ready to fire a big one here.

#10- Jovan River (Mb Stables, ridden by G L Stevens)- The year could not have started off any better for Jovan River, going five-for-five, a streak that began modestly but soon culminated in the Grade 2 Read Stakes.  The streak was snapped in the Sword Dancer, a race that was frustrating to several and he would be tenth.  After a fourth place run in the Shadwell, Jovan River was out of BC options and looks as though he’s been prepared for this race for quite some time.   Not sure if we will see the horse that likes to go to the front.  He’s been coming from behind lately, but he was winning when he started up front.

#11- Breiterate (Asgar, ridden by V Esinoza)- This gelding has had a fantastic career and has twice been able to run in a BC event.  In 2014, he would be fourth in the BC Mile, and in 2015 he ran in the BC Turf and while he didn’t beat anyone, he was at least there.  After the Turf, he was sold by former trainer Sanny Village for $90.000 as form seemed to be starting to decline.  Asgar got some solid runs out of him initially, but the Arlington Million may have been his breaking point.  Now, the hope is that he is coming off a win, that being in the $70.000 Lure Stakes at SA last month.  If all he needed was a confidence boost, then watch out!

Prediction: 9-4-5-1

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES