Fair Grounds – LeComte Stakes
Santa Anita – Palos Verdes
Gulfstream Park – Kitten’s Joy Stakes
Fair Grounds – Colonel Bradley Handicap
Thoroughbred Racing Action
Fair Grounds – LeComte Stakes
On the Derby Trail in Louisiana
The first big test for the three-year-olds in Louisiana with dreams of running on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs comes this Saturday with the 68th running of the LeComte. The Grade 3 race is part of the three-year-olds stakes series at Fair Grounds, which culminates in the Louisiana Derby on April 1.
This year’s LeComte drew a full field of thirteen with one entry and will go as race eleven on the thirteen-race card. Post time 5:55 ET.
The morning line favorite for the two-turn race is Shared Property at 4-1. Shared Property has not run since early October when he was sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. In the Grade 1 the gelding was void of any early speed before putting in a late run. Prior to that race Shared Property won the Grade 3 Arlington Washing Futurity over the synthetic track at Arlington Park and a maiden race over the conventional dirt at Ellis Park.
Off of his two stakes races Shared Property is the class of the field, but contention runs deep. After the top choice there are five betting interests between 9-2 and 6-1 on the morning line.
Seven Lively Sins is 9-2 on the morning line coming in off of back-to-back Grade 3 races. Two starts back the Stormy Atlantic-colt ran in the one-turn Iroquois and finished a respectable second. Then, in his first start around two-turns he was fourth in the Jackpot at Delta Downs.
Exfactor is next at 5-1 on the line and he exits the local prep for this race, the Sugar Bowl. In the Sugar Bowl Exfactor stalked the early pace then was game down the lane and just prevailed by a nose of Laurie’s Rocket. Laurie’s Rocket just finished fifth in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park on Monday, which did not exactly flatter the form.
The entry of Dan and Sheila and Z Dager as well as Hammers Terror and Capetown Devil are all 6-1 on the morning line and all have a shot.
Dan and Sheila comes out of a maiden score at one-mile at Gulfstream Park and is an attractive enough mount for John Velazquez to come over for trainer Todd Pletcher. Z Dager goes for the same owner, Zayat Stables, but is trained by Steve Asmussen. Z Dager broke his maiden in his last race, which was at Fair Grounds over the distance of the LeComte.
Hammers Terror and Capetown Devil also have wins over the course and distance and both look like good three-year-old prospects. Hammers Terror has been on every one’s radar since his debut in late September at Arlington Park and even though he is bred for the turf he proved in his last he can run well on the dirt.
Capetown Devil ran a better speed figure than Hammers Terror in his last race, but they were run on different days about a month apart.
The other interesting horse in the lineup is the 8-1 Mr. Bowling for trainer Larry Jones. Mr. Bowling has not run since finishing third in the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill. Prior to that he won the Dover Stakes at Delaware Park, which was at the same distance of the LeComte.
The pace scenario is going to be the most important aspect in handicapping the race. Many of these horses have run their best races on or near the pace, which could set it up for a closer. Ted’s Folly doesn’t have the graded class of the others in the field, but he will be doing his best running late. The third place horse in his last race came back to win his next start, an allowance race at Oaklawn Park, and the second place horse was a very good second to the perfect trip winner in the Smarty Jones.
Ted’s Folly may be a lot higher than his 10-1 morning line and could be a bomb in the gimmicks.
Santa Anita – Palos Verdes
Amazombie Back to the Track
The feature race on Saturday at Santa Anita is the 60th running of the Grade 2 Palos Verdes. The six-furlong sprint drew a field of eight led by the Eclipse Award-winning Amazombie.
Amazombie had an outstanding 2011 campaign with five wins in nine starts including the Grade 2 Potrero Grande, Grade 1 Ancient Title and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. For his efforts the gelding was recently named Male Sprinter of the year.
A winner of ten races and over $1.5-million in his career, Amazombie is likely to be a short price on Saturday. In five career starts at Santa Anita he has three wins and a second. Both the Ancient Title and Potrero Grande were over the track as well as the Sunshine Millions Sprint, which he won in January 2011.
Those looking to beat the favorite should look to a couple of speed horses as the track has been playing very well to speed since the meet opened in December.
The speed of the speed is Euroears, who drew post eight for the six furlong sprint. Euroears is an eight-year-old who has made have of his 22 starts since turning six in 2009. The Langfuhr colt won the Palos Verdes last year in wire-to-wire fashion, but must improve off of his last three races, two of which were last place finishes by double digit lengths.
Courtside is another speed horse and when left on the lead he can be dangerous. In the Cal Cup Sprint Courtside was send off at 9-2, but won easily and had something left in the tank. In three starts at Santa Anita the four-year-old gelding has two wins including a win on a sloppy, sealed track, which may be the case on Saturday.
Add to the fact that Courtside comes in with two bullet workouts on the 9th and 15th and he looks like one to take seriously on the rise in class.
Frumious ran in the Cal Cup Sprint against Courtside and chased him around in the early stages before finishing sixth, but has come back to win two straight races and his last race was a smasher. In that race, at Santa Anita, Frumious made the lead through swift fractions, :43.80 for the half mile, and won by just over a length. The speed figure he earned in that race is only topped by Amazombie, Euroears and M One Rifle.
M One Rifle comes in to the Palos Verdes on a four race losing streak and his only win in his last nine races came in a five-furlong sprint at Hollywood Park. The six-year-old gelding may be a better horse over the synthetics as evident by his zero-for-two record on the dirt.
Completing the Grade 2 field are Galientos, Mensa Heat and Canonize. Scheduled as race eight on the nine-race card, post time for the Palos Verdes is 7:07 ET.
Gulfstream Park – Kitten’s Joy Stakes
Three-Year-Olds on the Turf
Saturday’s feature race at Gulfstream Park is the Kitten’s Joy for three-year-olds on the turf. A field of eight entered the two-turn affair with two horses dropping from Grade 1races.
Lucky Chappy has been off since early November after finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. The Juvenile Turf was his second race in the U.S. after finishing third in the Grade 3 Bourbon at Keeneland.
Prior to coming to the U.S. for Team Valor the High Chaparral colt was running in Italy. The Irish-bred won two of his three races there including an $89,500 stakes races. In Italy Lucky Chappy was running near the front, but has found the U.S. pace to be swifter.
At the mile and one-sixteenth distance of the Kitten’s Joy, Lucky Chappy will just be getting started. He may be better suited once the distances increase.
Cozzetti drops from the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park, which was run over their Polytrack surface. Prior to the CashCall the Cozzene colt won a maiden race over a sloppy main track at Churchill. To start his career Cozzetti ran twice over the turf with a fourth place, beaten one length, his best finish.
A return to the turf may be what Cozzetti needs for a return to the winner’s circle. By Cozzene he is out of a Lemon Drop Kid-mare, which gives him turf breeding on both sides of his pedigree.
Italo, Argentine Tango, El Roman, Howe Great, Empire Builder and Scorcher all have runs over the Gulfstream Park turf course with Italo and Empire Builder exiting the Dania Beach Stakes.
Italo won the Florida-bred Appleton Juvenile Turf Stakes at Calder in mid-November then finished seventh, beaten just under three lengths, in the Dania Beach. In the Dania, Italo was “steadied early” and that caused him to be rank, but probably did not cost him a better placing.
Empire Building finished in front of Italo in the Dania Beach and simply ran around the track a bit one-paced. He is likely to improve off that race, which was his first off a two-month layoff. His best hope is to get good early position off Howe Great, who is expected to set the pace.
Howe Great broke his maiden at Parx then shipped down to Gulfstream Park for a successful stretch out over the turf. That race was a non-winners of two-lifetime race, but the Kitten’s Joy came up light on speed and jockey Edgar Prado could enjoy an easy front-running score.
Post time for the race on Saturday is 4:45 ET and is the third leg of the late pick-4, which starts in race eight at 3:49 ET.
Fair Grounds – Colonel Bradley Handicap
Grade 3 Older Turf Runners
The LeComte is not the only graded stakes race on the Saturday card at Fair Grounds as the 26th running of the Grade 3 Colonel Bradley Handicap will also take place.
The Colonel Bradley is a two-turn turf race and drew a very competitive field of eight. Just like the LeComte there are several horses grouped close together in the morning line with six between 3-1 and 6-1.
Suntracer, at 3-1, is the morning-line favorite and is looking to win his second straight race, and third overall, on the Fair Grounds turf. The last race for Suntracer was perhaps his best yet. Sent off at nearly 3-1 the Kitten’s Joy-colt was last year, but put in a torrid late run to win going away. Off two months since then he comes into the Colonel Bradley a fresh horse and the one to beat.
Strike Impact is the second choice on the line and he will be positioned in front of the top choice early. An eight-year-old gelding Strike Impact has won sixteen of 60 career races, but has yet to crack the top spot over the Fair Grounds turf. He may be better on the Churchill grass, but can hit the board in the Bradley.
Baltimore Bob and Mr. Vegas come out of a common allowance race on the turf at Fair Grounds and should once again be dueling out on the front end.
Of the two Mr. Vegas gets top billing as he won that race by a length and is a perfect two-for-two over the course. If they can set an easy pace on the lead then the closers will have their work cut out to run them down late.
Lonesome Street was once a horse that would be part of the pace, but since his win at Indiana Downs in June he has been a horse that comes off-the-pace. After the Indiana Downs stakes score Lonesome Street was fourth in an allowance race at Saratoga then was second in the Unbridled stakes on the grass at Louisiana Downs. The Unbridled was in mid-September and the Colonel Brady will be his first start since then.
Glenwood Canyon is an interesting horse that will be making his first start on the turf after running his last 26 races on either dirt or synthetic. The son of Silver Deputy is not exactly bred for the turf, but any time you have a trainer hitting at 30% then you must look closer. Do keep in mind that Glenwood Canyon is also entered in the ninth race on the day, the Louisiana Handicap, which is on the main track.
Rounding out the field are Heavenville and Dubious Miss with post time scheduled for 3:58 ET.
Thoroughbred Racing Action
Weekend Stakes Action
Great racing action from across the country this weekend. Watch these races all on BetAmerica.com.
Saturday – January 21
- Santa Anita: Palos Verdes Stakes – G2, $150,000, 4yo & up, 6f
- Santa Anita: Megahertz Stakes, $75,000, 4yo & up f&m, 8f turf
- Gulfstream Park: Kitten’s Joy, $100,000, 3yo, 8.5f turf
- Fair Grounds: LeComte Stakes – G3, $175,000, 3yo, 8f 70f
- Fair Grounds: Colonel Bradley Handicap – G3, $100,000, 4yo & up, 8.5f turf
- Fair Grounds: Silverbulletday Stakes, $125,000, 3yo f, 8f 70f
- Fair Grounds: Louisiana Handicap, $100,000, 4yo & up, 8.5f
- Fair Grounds: F.W. Gaudin Memorial Stakes, $75,000, 4yo & up, 6f
- Fair Gournds: Pan Zareta Stakes, $75,000, 4yo & up, 5.5f turf
- Tampa Bay Downs: Manatee Stakes, $50,000, 4yo & up, 7f
- Golden Gate: California Oaks, $100,000, 3yo f, 8.5f
- Sam Houston: Star of Texas Stakes, $100,000, 4yo & up, 8.5f
- Sam Houston: Groovy Stakes, $50,000, 3yo, 7f
- Sam Houston: Spirit of Texas Stakes, $50,000, 4yo & up, 6f
- Sam Houston: Richard King Stakes, $50,000, 4yo & up, 9f turf
Sunday – January 22
- Santa Anita: La Canada Stakes – G2, $150,000, 4yo f, 8.5f
- Santa Anita: San Pedro Stakes, $75,000, 3yo, 6.5f
- Gulfstream Park: Sweetest Chant Stakes, $100,000, 3yo f, 8f turf
- Oaklawn Park: American Beauty Stakes, $50,000, 4yo & up, 6f
- Sunland Park: El Paso Times Handicap, $50,000, 3yo, 6.5f
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