The Kittens Joy – Grade III
GP Race #8 1 1/16m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $175.000 For Three Year Olds.

1 Sea Of Sorrow Rampage Stable Ortiz J L 121 —

Made all to win his first race as a three-year-old breaking his duck and holding on by a quarter length. He will need another good start from this draw today but has some ability and should give a good account of himself.

2 Buttered Luka Arkansas Elite Elliott S 121 —

Dug deep to win his maiden over five furlongs last year but has failed to impress since, and I just have a feeling he may be one of those that does well just below the top level on either surface. I liked his dirt work recently and that showed some improvement so with a recent gelding and an in-form jockey aboard you would have to put him in the mix.

3 Secret Sweat Mb Stables Alvarado F T 121 —

Has raced a majority of the time on dirt but did well in his only turf run when a close second in a big-ticket allowance at CD. Another that may well be OK on both surfaces he has been sent to the turf as probably the fiftieth best dirt three-year-old and therefore has been effectively removed from the TC chase. The works on turf are strong enough to make him a main contender.

4 Indian Summer Diablo Diablo Castellano J J 121 —

For a horse that won three stakes races in a row and then ran a fine second in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint you would have to say his third in the Dania Beach was a shade disappointing. That was however his first start since the BC so he was entitled to need it and i am sure he will be sharper for this race. An obvious winning chance on form and works as long as he manages to see this trip out.

5 Applauding The Sin Arindel Velazquez J R 121 —

Built his dirt form nicely last year but due to the easier route to the BC being on the turf he was sent to the grade one Summer which he duly won and made the BC Juvenile Turf field. Given a tough draw that day he still ran an appalling race ending up a distant 12th. I can’t believe we have seen his only stakes win, but I do feel that he may be still finding his niche and today may be a turf acid test for him.

6 Jerry West La Canada Racehorses Bridgmohan S X 121 —

Looked like a breakout sort on seasonal debut running out a very easy winner of an SA Allowance over nine furlongs. The fitness edge and his love for the trip and surface will stand him in good stead here but this is another step up and he needs to prove he can take it.

7 Tom Kha Gai High Voltage Franco M 121 —

Thereabouts in some decent races he didn’t set the world alight at two but still managed some good enough efforts with natural improvement between two and three. His best effort may have been in the Zumba Beach when drawn badly but still finishing close up and his recent works say that he can get back to winning ways pretty soon.

8 Count The Hooks Chili King Stables Husbands P 121 —

Impressed with a sweeping late run to win a that, last time he has been outpaced in both the Pilgrim and With Anticipation prior to that so will need to find some early pace. The new race engine should help with that, but you do get a feeling that he is best coming from the trail and that’s never easy regardless of the race engine.

9 Command Class Sccj Stables Ferrer J C 121 —

Showed some nice improvement after being bought in August last year capping off a good year with a very nice effort in the DeMille Stakes, He ran from a terrible draw that day but managed to stay pretty close early eventually going down by a head in a driving finish. The works are on point though the draw is tough, and it will be interesting to see if he can go one better today.

10 August Storm Fractious Ruiz Jo 121 —

Things seemed to click for him late in the year as he broke his maiden and then took a competitive race at SA in his first start as a three-year-old. If you take his two off tracks efforts out of his record it would look really strong, and you would have to give him a chance in this line up.

11 Bronze Cake Party Martyparty Silvera Ru 121 —

This seems to be the rider of the moment and he has opted for this winner of two that ended the year with two impressive route wins albeit at a lower grade. The trip will suit, and he is clearly on the upgrade so he will have plenty of watchers.

12 Solar Coast Smokey Stover Corbett G W 121 —

One of the best workers in the race with only two starts, both over five furlongs this one really is the unknown quantity in the race and could be anything. A 58 and 4 pre-race worker he has improved his works with each race so if there is one to have a gamble on this may well be it.

SUMMARY

I rather like Solar Coast here although the draw and lack of experience bring some big question marks with it. Indian Summer is probably my first choice on known ability though, she is drawn well and could well get back to winning ways.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES