Friday, January 4, 2013

Sham Stakes Racing Roundup



A field of six 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will go to the starting gate Saturday in the $100,000 Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park.

The Sham Stakes is the first qualifying race on the 2013 Kentucky Derby Trail. The winner will receive 10 points while second-place will yield 4 points, the third-place finisher will receive 2 points and the fourth-place finisher will receive 1 point.

Trainer Doug O’Neill has never won the Sham but he has two opportunities to score with the 4-5 morning-line favorite Goldencents and Greeley Awesome (20-1).

Goldencents looms as the horse to beat and he currently is ranked 2nd with 14 points on the list of Kentucky Derby qualifiers. A win in the Sham would put him at the top of the list ahead of Shanghai Bobby who has 20 points.

Here’s a look at the top twenty Kentucky Derby qualifiers:



Individual Leaders ranking, total points, Trainer

1 = Shanghai Bobby, 20, Todd Pletcher

2 = Goldencents, 14, Doug O’Neill

3 = Violence, 10, Todd Pletcher

4 = Joha, 10, Mike Maker

5 = Overanalyze, 10, Todd Pletcher

6 = Uncaptured, 10, Mark Casse

7 = Power Broker, 10, Bob Baffert

8 = Steeler, 10, Mark Johnson

9 = River Seven, 10, Nick Gonzalez

10 = Tesseron, 5, Josie Carroll

11= Bern Identity, 4, Kelly Breen

12 = He’s Had Enough, 4, Doug O’Neill

13 = Capo Bastone, 4, Todd Pletcher

14 = Know More, 4, Doug O’Neill

15 = Fury Kapcori, 4, Jerry Hollendorfer

16 = Dynamic Sky, 4, Mark Casse

17 = Artigiano, 4, Mahmood Al Zarooni

18 = Normandy Invasion, 4, Chad Brown

19 = Frac Daddy, 4, Kenny McPeak

20 = Fortify, 3, Kiaran McLaughlin



Goldencents has been training well at Santa Anita and he’s never finished worse than second in three starts. Goldencents is one of the horses I profiled in my 2013 Kentucky Derby Outlook and I’m looking forward to see how he performs in his 3-year-old debut.

The Sham is contested at a mile and I’ll be looking for a time of 1:35 or better.

Trainer Bob Baffert is tied with trainer Eoin Harty for the most wins in the Sham Stakes with two wins each and he has an opportunity to take the lead Saturday with Den’s Legacy and Manando – both as the 3-1 morning-line second-choice.

Den’s Legacy is currently ranked 21st on the Kentucky Derby qualifying list with 2 points and a finish in the top three would move him into the top twenty list. Manando has yet to earn any Derby points.

I look for Den’s Legacy and Manando to be competitive in the Sham but they will need to improve their game if they are going to beat Goldencents. Den’s Legacy has shown good speed on the turf finishing a half-length runner up to Gervinho in the one mile Zuma Beach Stakes in a time of 1:34.59. Den’s Legacy came home a half-length winner in the one mile Generous Stakes (G3) in a time of 1:36.32.

A recent bullet work out at Santa Anita could have Den’s Legacy ready to run a good race. If he can transfer his turf speed to the dirt, Den’s Legacy will be tough in the Sham Stakes.



JEROME STAKES



The $200,000 Jerome Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct is not a Derby qualifying race and the only reason I’m mentioning it is because a horse I’ve been following for some time – Amerigo Vespucci (12-1) – is entered in the race.

Amerigo Vespucci has yet to run in a route race and he’s never finished worse than second in four starts. He’s been consistently firing bullets at Laurel Park and I’m anxious to see how he performs in the stretch out in distance.

In addition to Amerigo Vespucci, Vyjack, who’s undefeated in two starts, and the recent maiden winners Long River (5-2) and Mudflats (3-1) have been receiving some buzz. A good performance Saturday by any of those competitors could earn them a shot in a Derby qualifying race.


 *****

Kentucky Derby 2013 Leaderboard
(Updated January 5, 2013)


Individual Leaders ranking, total points, Trainer
1 = Goldencents, 24, Doug O’Neill
2 = Shanghai Bobby, 20, Todd Pletcher
3 = Violence, 10, Todd Pletcher
4 = Joha, 10, Mike Maker
5 = Overanalyze, 10, Todd Pletcher
6 = Uncaptured, 10, Mark Casse
7 = Power Broker, 10, Bob Baffert
8 = Steeler, 10, Mark Johnson
9 = River Seven, 10, Nick Gonzalez
10 = Den’s Legacy, 6, Bob Baffert
11 = Tesseron, 5, Josie Carroll
12= Bern Identity, 4, Kelly Breen
13 = He’s Had Enough, 4, Doug O’Neill
14 = Capo Bastone, 4, Todd Pletcher
15 = Know More, 4, Doug O’Neill
16 = Fury Kapcori, 4, Jerry Hollendorfer
17 = Dynamic Sky, 4, Mark Casse
18 = Artigiano, 4, Mahmood Al Zarooni
19 = Normandy Invasion, 4, Chad Brown
20 = Frac Daddy, 4, Kenny McPeak

Goldencents moves up from 2nd to 1st place. Den’s Legacy, ranked 21st, moves up to 10th place.

Sham Stakes (G3), Santa Anita Park, January 5, 2013

1. Goldencents, 10
2. Den’s Legacy, 4
3. Manando, 2
4. Dry Summer 1

4 comments:

  1. Goldencents easy winner. Will dominant , the only analyst I'm looking for is how he handles the track. The Sham will be his fourth different track in as many starts. Thus far TRIPLE A PLUS.

    Jerome could brings out a new star in Vyjack. This colt has not disappointed the public. Vyjack must now up in class and get his first time around two turns. Faces a stiff challenge from Long River who is set to make another leap forward off his initial two turn win after a two month departure.

    Long River and McLaughlin are set to win the Jerome this weekend.

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  2. Barry,

    It's always good to get your perspective on the prep races and potential classic contenders.

    Thanks for your valuable contribution and for following my blog.

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  3. Hi Calvin,

    I don't know how often you check the comments but I read this on A.P. Indy's twitter site (of all places) yesterday:

    "Really discouraged to learn that Dale Romans' Gulfport is injured and is no longer on the road to the Kentucky Derby."

    It seems on Formblog Keith is still talking about him.

    Have you heard anything? I recently joined an online site (where I got 225-1 on Golden Soul) and Gulfport wasn't even listed.

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  4. Jeff,

    I haven't heard anything about Gulfport being off the trail but will keep my eyes and ears open for any news about that.

    Good luck with your future wager on Golden Soul.

    ReplyDelete