The PIM Special – Grade III
PIM Race #12 1 3/16m Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $300.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward.
1 Final Verse Mb Stables Beschizza A
There are two three year olds in this race with a 5Lb pull in the weights and as we have seen in past years that weight difference usually means the younger horses win the race. The trip will be the big leveler here but this gelding has always looked like a long router so i am not too worries about it. Things were looking Ok for this one as he tried to get into the TC chase finishing a close second in the Smarty Jones and then running on strongly to fill the same spot in the Risen Star. He found a tough spot in the SUN Derby and though he passed a good few horses in the end he could only finish fifth. That effort was good enough to earn him one last crack but an off track put paid to his chances in the AR Derby and he finished well beaten. I would expect a better effort if the ground is better today and he may be the best of the two three’s.
2 Snakie Authorization Barcelona Farms Contreras L
A very lightly raced four year old he won a claimer at the free track of all things on debut but quickly dispelled rumors that he was just a free track runner when taking a competitive turf allowance at FG next time out. In just his third start he won an ungraded stakes race and then last time out very nearly won the Grade three Ali. But for a nose he could be unbeaten coming into this and when you check out his dirt work of 57 and 4 for the five furlongs and his turf mile work of 1.34 and 2 he looks like a real rising star. If he can beat the three’s today he will have me convinced that he could very easily be the best of the olders going towards the summer.
3 Z Stoned One Gdp Inc Wilson E J
The second of the three year olds he hasnt achieved much more than a maiden win in his six starts but that tends to mean very little when the three year old weight allowances come into play and he looks good enough to get into the mix today. His maiden win last time out was super impressive going clear early and easily holding on for a two length win. I am not sure about this trip and his works arent as good as these so we may have to wait and see what he does today to have a better idea of what sort of horse he will be.
4 A Storm Has Arrived Maxmillion Farm Bejarano R
This five year old really has been in good form this year winning the grade two Californian Stakes last time to add to his win in the grade one Clark Handicap at the end of last year. He looks a late maturing type and may still be improving so he is worth serious consideration. The trainer is in great form and Bejarano takes the reins so both positives, the only negative may be that he looked a bit tired in the Skip Away over this trip and it may stretch his stamina a bit. He has made the running in his last two starts but if he can get a nice stalk today that may help him get home better and he could easily grace the winners circle.
5 Zombie City Eastern Equine Gaffalione
With nearly $2,000.000 in prize money this is the highest achiever in the field and his trainer will certainly be hoping that helps his cause against a decent looking field. Third in last years KYD and fourth in the BC Classic he caught the news not for his success on the track but the huge price tag Eastern Equine paid for him in September a price tag that hasnt seen a single win in the 6 months since. This IS a class horse and a look at his form confirms that he is the best on exposed form but he has been pretty disappointing so far this year and a sticky draw suggests it may be worth looking for some value in other runners.
6 Space Cowboy Nakamura Stables Talamo J
The great thing about HRP is that you can have a grade one winner working 1.36 and 2 and a claimer working 1.36 and 1 so it is really hard to assess a horses ability on anything other than the variables we all know about. So how good is this five year old that has only won a couple hundred of dollars and in his only win last year won a claimer. Well it is almost impossible to tell at this stage, yes he won over this trip in an ungraded stakes last time, yes he has clearly been sprinkled with some magic fairy dust BUT is all that enough to overcome this rise in class from a widish draw? Only time will tell.
7 Rookaholic TwinTowersRacing Velazquez J
Gets it tough from an outside gate but does have one little thing going for him and it has brought shock winners before. Today this average performing turf router switches to dirt to try and live up to his above average work times on turf. Is that enough? well it has been in the past but i didnt think it was possible then either.
SUMMARY
If this was a real life race you would never pick a failed KYD qualifier over some very very good dirt routers from the older generation. But this is HRP and as we have seen plenty of times before three year olds in receipt of a few pounds from great horses suddenly become superstars.
So can the three year olds win today? well Final Verse certainly tciks a lot of boxes but i am once more hoping for real life to win through and either Snakie Authorization or Zombie City to win the day.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
