Harry’s picks and musings for 041514 Oklahoma’s Will Rogers race course offers the day’s black type horse race- the spring rains have attached themselves to much of the nation, up above a “blood eclipse” is transpiring- I took a peek at it- I’m an old-time superstitious man- no cracks in the sidewalk for me- and a Eclipse usually is a portent of some sort of cosmic malfeasance-- hopefully it will pass without the house falling into the gap between the great plates when the San Andreas gives way- after all the derby is just a few weeks away!- The stakes at Will Rogers is a six furlong tango and it appears all Oklahoma bred racers again, colts and geldings replace the fillies and mares of yesterday, where the speedy lass inbred to Secretariat took the 55K pot- she was by Stephen Foster Stakes champion Stephan Got Even- anyhow; lets take a gander at the entries for the 55K Classic Sprint for Oklahoma males going off as the 9th race at WRD Tuesday the 15th of April- a)inbred to Mr. Prospector, 3x5 is Chifforobe, this winner of 7 of 11 lifetime races seems as good as I’ll see in these pp’s so I’ll check mark him at once, and scramble to find a few bucks mislaid under the bed or in a tin can in the closet to show the 4yo gelded son of No Biz Like Show Biz my support- Chifforobe’s sire had an exemplary dosage profile of >4-3-12-2-1 which may have helped him secure a G1 triumph in 2007 Wood Memorial- he went on to the Kentucky Derby and at the time had many supporters, I was not included amongst them, and strenuously argued that he had no chance in the Kentucky Derby- it must have been his sire Albert The Great, who I thought little of, hence my disparagement of his son No Biz Like Show Biz, but horse racing makes for strange bedfellows, so here I am in 2014 supporting the son of No Biz, the ff 23-A operative Chifforobe- b) Johnny Whip, is a son of Stephen Got Even, a G1 winning son of AP Indy, a chef de races and winner of the Breeders Cup Classic in 1992?- the ff are 3-D and Canadian fans may recall Redwood, winning a Grade 1 up there- the 4th dm in Johnny Whip’s papers is Otra, by hall of fame Equipoise, one of the best and most well-known runners in American Turf history- it is a very rare moment to see the magnificent Whitney family superstar so close up in a modern pedigree (5th generation)- like Chifforobe, Johnny Whip, was a winner of his last race- c)Chuck, is by Evansville Slew, who is a sire of countless winners, mostly in the claiming ranks over the years- stemming from family 8-F Chuck’s 4th dam was sired by amazing Amerigo, a horse of infinite capability, whose “greatness” was undercut by an evil disposition, if I were buying potential mares to breed and saw Amerigo, along the broodmare sire array; I certainly would place a bid or two, or try to negotiate a deal for sure- and not surprisingly the 4th dam I speak of Easter Junction, is ancestress to Hail a Cab, G1 winner of the Spinster Stakes!- Chuck, himself won stakes at 2yo and 3yo - he tries to get his black type mojo going for the 3rd year in a row in this Oklahoma Classic Sprint- d) Yukonrun, is a 15/1 shot sired by Lucky Lionel, who won the Prix Robert Papin in France, and has been a fine sire of winners during his stud career- the ff for Yukonrun, are 3-O -a group responsible for such cracks as Summer Bird, and Life At Ten- he to won his last outing in a 10K claiming regatta which transpired back in November of 2013- his 9th dam Spotted Beauty, was sired by Man O War! e) Big Sugarush, is sired by successful if minor stud Kipling, the latter a son of Mr. Prospector agent, Gulch- the broodmare sire array for Big Sugarush, atop a line of ff 1-W matrons is impressive> Royal Academy>Wild Again>Stop The Music>Drone, the unbeaten sire of Flip Sal- the 5th dam Hard And Fast, was sired by Etonian, who may have been the dam sire to Belmont Stakes winner Summing, the latter shocked the world when George Martens, rode him to beat unbeatable Pleasant Colony, in a tremendous classic upset-anyhow, Hard And Fast, is ancestress to Lucky Bluff, winner of the Ruidoso Thoroughbred Futurity in 2001- on a higher level one finds Hayil, a G1 winner in England, calling her great-grandma- f) at 20/1 odds in the Classic sprint is Du Da Dandy, by excellent Storm Cat son Tactical Cat- the ff for “Dandy” are 9-F and in my estimation they are the most powerful group of the last couple of years, featuring powerhouses like Lookin At Lucky, & Caleb’s Posse, and Get Stormy etc. as far as I can tell the 9-F clan has enjoyed success in the United Kingdom and France and Japan, and has performed with gusto here in the states- Du Da Dandy, won a stakes race in 2013 and comes into the Classic Sprint off a 10 month layoff- g) Right Squall, has a open the stud books pedigree >Country Be Gold x The Right Fit x Serves Em Right- divination of such ancestors is beyond my pay grade, but a fighter he is, having been on the pay board in 28 of his 47 starts! I think that is a pretty fair record in the cut throat world of sprinters- any horse can win a sprint, I doubt there is any genetic reason why a horse inclined to run at all, can’t make a six furlong trip- it is at the longer distances where breeding or lack of it shows its talons- anyway; the grandame of Right Squall, is as far out a thoroughbred as I’ve looked at in quite a while, as she was sired by unraced Pollinize, out of a daughter of Pollinize!! This results in Size To Fit, being 1x2 to Pollinize!! Like her sire, she was unable to start a race, and her grandson Right Squall, is stakes placed- in fact I can’t recall a 1x2 sighting in recent memory- such incestuous activity occurred more frequently back in the earliest days of the breed, when bloodstock may have been in shorter supply- Sure To Fit, was bred by the Oklahoma Horseshoeing School!!- by the way Pollinize, who tupped his own daughter Deanne S, to bring forth Size To Fit, was a son of Buckpasser- h) Crusin’ Main, is by popular stallion Jump Start- here the 7yo bay gelding steps into the gates riding a 3 race win streak- his ff are 12-b ladies and his 6th dam Ship Ablaze, was sired by Man O War- - the great American stallion and race horse Lexington, was of the 12-B family- his son Hunters Lexington, appears in this pedigree, as sire of 15th dam Maggie Morgan. I) at 2/1 ML is Z Rockstar, the favorite herein - a 5yo gelding sired by excellent stallion Rockport Harbor, the latter served from the A1 family and died just as he was getting into the swing of siring- having to be humanely destroyed from complications of dreaded laminitis, this affliction sent mightiest Secretariat, to his cloud- Rockport Harbor, raced in 3 seasons placing in stakes all years he raced; including a victory over Galloping Grocer, in the 2004 Remsen Stakes in NYC- it was on Remsen Avenue in Brooklyn, where “Big Ron” had a muffler shop, where he toiled for many a year- Big Ron was a great friend of H. and bro Rube “The Pearl”- the world is a lesser place without the presence of Big Ron and his steadfast kindness and friendship - rip Big Ron- Will Rogers Downs 1-4 2-1 3-5 4-4 5-10 6-4 7-5 8-3 9-1 10-5 h/
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:10:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015