Has anyone taken a good look
at the post parade so far for this Saturday’s races? It is going to be the best day of
racing this year I think! Plus, the first [I think] million dollar race of the year!
Best Turn Stakes
No entries yet…
[b]Palm
Beach Stakes[/b]
Prince Of Wonder looks pretty hot this year with six starts for
two wins, two thirds and two fourths all in stakes. Apollo looks like he could improve here.
Should see some more entries.
Donn Handicap
Looks like an
awesome race coming together here. We have Strider who won last year and Sudden Death who ran
third last year. Strider hasn’t really found any form this year, though he has won an
allowance. Sudden Death is running normal, more seconds than wins. He’s 6-1-4-1-0 this year
which is an awesome formline. National Post should start favourite for this. He’s 4-2-0-1-1
this year. He’s beaten Sudden Death twice, though Sudden did finish ahead of him last start.
Nightfight is another who could win. He’s won two stakes this year and looks pretty hot for
this. The other horse in the race is a 3YO who has only really performed once this year, and
that was a third last start in the GI Fountain Of Youth. Remember though, a 3YO won last
year! So yeah, that’s a good race…
[b]Davona Dale
Stakes[/b]
Perchance To Dream looks like the best mare in this field. She hasn’t
had a great amount of luck this year though. It really isn’t a hot field at the moment with
the only other mare with a noteable stakes performance this year being Celtic Mist who pulled
a fourth three starts back. Perchance beat her home. So yeah, this race could go anyway
really, none of the horses look to be showing their best form at the moment, but Perchance is
probably the one to beat so far.
Charon Stakes
Three entries
so far. Highland Freedom looks like the best horse here so far this year. She’s got a stakes
second against the boys. However, her last two starts have been in GI’s and she has run
fifth both times. Catch Phrase is a nice filly with a stakes win from her 2YO year. She’s
got an allowance third so far this year as her best performance. Ghost has a stakes fourth
this year, however it wasn’t the strongest field.
[b]Baldwin
Stakes[/b]
Four entries so far. Chivalry looks the goods so far. He has two turf
sprint wins so far this year, one GIII. I’d probably go with Domestic Dispute as being next
in line. He has had one start this year, third in an ungraded. Wasn’t the greatest race, but
might be a good pointer for this as it was 5F turf. I Swear has two dirt allowance wins and a
9F ungraded third under his belt so far. Will be interesting to see how he does here as it is
only his second turf start in his career. Black Warrior is just there for fun, I wanted to
see if Lindsay and I were right about him being a dirt sprinter…
[b]La Habra
Stakes[/b]
Six entries so far. Should be a good race. I think Oscuro Arco Iris
might be the one to beat so far. This horse has raced everything there is to race, so I
can’t tell what she likes. But she’s won a stakes this year and did win a turf stakes as a
2YO. Striking Beauty has been very competitive this year with some very strong performances
against Dixie Double, who looks to be one of the better turf 3YO fillies. She should give a
big run. Fanfare could do anything. Her only turf start was her first start ever as a 2YO.
She’s had two strong runs this year, her Ming Dynasty Cup third was really good. She looks
like she could improve. Camelot is in the same boat as Striking Beauty. She’s been racing
with Dixie Double. She looks good for this one too. I’m not sure if I’ll enter Dixie Double
yet, but if I do it’ll throw this race wide open and make it real interesting. I think Dixie
needs some rest though…
The Metropolitan
For me, this is
looking like the race of the day. McJager probably won’t do too well here. His record isn’t
good enough this year compared to some of the others. Foolhardy can win. He’s proven at the
distance, and he has a great record this year, top three in all six starts. Best run this
year is probably his Manikato win or the Hill Stakes win over Witness. Big horse with big
claims. American Starz is one of two 3YOs in the field. He’s won two stakes this year, both
GII. He’s beaten Foolhardy. He’s been second behind Witness at 11.5F. He could shake this
up. Not sure how Hearts Are Wild will fare in this, but it is hard to see him in the top
three. Best run this year is a second behind King David over 8F. Needs to improve big time
from that run to figure in this, given it’s a big step in distance for him. Highland
Surprise is the only horse in the field who hasn’t won a stakes and it is hard to see him
improving that record in this race. Has run the distance this year, however just doesn’t
look up to the level of some others. Temptation could make it interesting. He won an 8F GII
beating Foolhardy his first start. Has failed at two attempts since then. Should be rested
for this though. King David is one of the best horses in the game. He’s had two wins and a
third this year. He was third behind American Starz and Foolhardy in a GII. He beat Alley Cat
home in a 10F GII and beat Hearts Are Wild home in an 8F GII. It will be interesting to see
how he does in this. Again, a big horse with big claims to this. Witness has shown a lot of
potential to be one of the better turf 3YOs in the game. He has a great record of three
stakes wins, two stakes seconds and a stakes fourth this year from six starts. He won the
11.5F GIII Newcastle Gold Cup by over five lengths. He’s beat home American Starz and
Foolhardy. He appears to like distance and should really give this a good go. BIG RACE THIS
ONE!
The Shorts
Sunset Highway appears to have this one won.
That’s if no one else enters…
Caulfield Guineas
The third
GI on the card, the biggest 3YO race yet this year and the first million dollar race. Five
stakes winners in this. Rogue Magic looks good. Had a six race winning streak as a 2YO
including five stakes, two being GIs. This year he has a third on dirt and a win on turf over
9F. Not sure what to make of that form, but he has loads of talent and should do well. Gotta
Go has been running well this year with his best run being in the GI Fountain Of Youth which
he nearly won. Needs to improve, but looks capable. Doin’ Some Zoomin’ has good form this
year. He has a GIII 8F win and was third in the GI Spring Champion over 10F. He could win
this one, but does need a little improvement. Lord Of Luck was the surprise winner of the GI
Fountain Of Youth last week. He’ll need to have pulled up really well from that run to win
this. He’s shown he has the ability to win a GI, but will need some luck here I think.
Mocashment has been there but not quite there all year. Think Sudden Death. Has had some good
runs against good horses and never below fourth in six starts. Needs BIG improvement to add
another stakes win to his achievements. Duplicate Copy looks good. Two wins and two seconds
this year. He was second to Strike It Rich in a GII and he was second to Do You Dare in the
GI Spring Champion. He could win his first stakes here, but needs to beat some nice
horses.
So, Saturday looks really fun. Hopefuly we all have a good day! I’ll try post
actualy picks later in the week and hopefully then there are some more entries. 
Have fun
at the races guys! Good luck!