Ellis Park, Race 4 – Saturday, June 17, 2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
ELP4:061723 – 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt. Ten colts will bang heads in this race comprised of nine first-time starters and one lone dude that has one race under his belt. We’ve got several top trainers vying to score in this one, try out names like Asmussen, Lukas, Brisset, Calhoun, Lobo, Maker and Amoss. Sires are not to be outdone with two from Munnings and one each from Justify, Goldencents (Spendthrift) and Bernardini. Also, two debut sires – Preservationist and Spendthrift Farm’s leading first-crop sire – Omaha Beach. There is plenty to like about this field and I’m anxious to get after it…
#1 – Shakin Loose (5/1) – Owner Douglas Scharbauer has started three two-year-olds this year in Maiden Specials and all three have won. Two did it at first asking and it took three starts for the other one to score. All three were conditioned by Steve Asmussen, as is this homebred colt who is sired by Munnings. Her dam was the victress on only one occasion but tried 12 times and netted $29K. The 3YO filly that she threw looks to be a good one, also with one win from eight starts, but has earned a solid $143K. Her lone win was in her second start at two when she captured a MSW race at Churchill last June with an encouraging 82 E-Speed Fig. Steve originally had this gal working down in TX at Lone Star where she went out for three morning spins before shipping up to Churchill for four more. Her works have been solid, but nothing flashy. Brian Hernandez, Jr. will grab the reins.
#4 – Just Steel (8/1) – This fella is a son of Justify who BC Stables opened their wallet for at Keeneland last September, plunking down $500K to secure him as a yearling (11/78). His 17-year-old dam did some running back in her day earning $436K with a 3 for 14 record that included a victory against Group 1 company in Australia. She’s also foaled a filly who won at two and eventually sold for $1.28 million as a broodmare, another filly that was a G2 winner in AUS and a colt that won twice in Europe as a two-year-old. ‘The Coach’ has injected five morning breezes into this young lady, all at Churchill and she’ll be making her first competitive start today. On 5/25/23 she zipped three panels in 35.2 seconds (1/4). Gabriel Saez will be his rider.
#5 – Normandy Hero (3/1) – Installed as the morning line favorite, this colt is a FTSer by Omaha Beach, is trained by Rodolphe Brisset and is a homebred for Naoya Yoshida. His mom is by Pioneerof the Nile, but she was winless on the track and only has thrown one other foal of racing age – a 3YO gelding that is 0 for 2 on his young career. Today’s runner has been getting his work in up at Keeneland, having been out eight times. Rodolphe has turned up the dial a bit in his last two moves, sending him 5/8th of a mile on 6/1/23 in 100:6 (1/13) and then four furlongs a week later from the gate in 48 flat (2/60). Tyler Gaffalione will be the very capable pilot.
#7 – Balta (9/2) – OXO Equine / Larry Best snapped this Munnings colt up for $685K earlier this year as a 2YO from the March OBS sale (2/37) after he rocketed through his under-tack performance in 9.4 seconds. His dam wasn’t overly special on the track bringing home $74,000 with a record of 2 for 10. She’s produced a 3YO filly that’s banked $82,000 on the track going 2/6, including a win as a two-year-old. Larry’s man, Paulo Lobo, has the training duties and, as typically, he’s been prepping this dude at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington. He’s had eight works there and his last two were bullet, ½ mile works from the gate and both were done in 48 seconds flat – comparatively, they were 1/38 on 6/2/23 and 1/42 on 6/9/23. Gerardo Corrales gets the call to climb aboard.
#8 – Raccoon Rodeo (10/1) – Mike Maker conditions this Bernardini colt who’s from a Coronado’s Quest mare who is 21 years old. This guy sold for $75,000 earlier this year in the Texas 2YO sale. Mom added $132K to her owner’s bank account as prize money for her racing, winning four of 11 starts, with her first win coming in her second start of her two-year-old season at Keeneland’s Fall meet. He’s prepped five times, all on the All-Weather surface at Turfway Park with one bullet earned, but her best probably being her most recent on 6/7/23 – three furlongs from the gate in 35.2 seconds (3/9). Jareth Loveberry will be in the saddle.
#9 – Caper’s Hooley (8/1) – This guy is from the First-Crop sire – Preservationist – and trained by the successful Tom Amoss. The bidding stopped at $100K on this colt when he was a yearling last September at Keeneland (5/55). His dam could only muster one winning effort on the track, but did pay her feed bills with winnings of $62,000. She started her work at Keeneland, taking five morning spins there before vanning down I-64 to Louisville for two more breezes at CD – both covered five-panel efforts. Edgar Morales gets tapped to tickle the leather.
Pick – #7 Balta – I know that you can’t put too much stock in breeze-up times at two-year-old sales, but 9.4 seconds is eye-catching. And when it catches the attention of Mr. Best, it catches my attention. He’s gone on to put up two excellent ½ mile works on a relatively slow training track. Although Munnings isn’t a fantastic sire of 2YO MSWs, he’s still a solid stallion – 45 of 335 (13.4%) in these races at the ‘Top 11 Tracks’ from 2012 thru 2022. And best of luck to ‘charbo’, owner of this colt in the Game of Silks.
So, you say you want even more? OK, we’ll plan to change gears and switch to Belmont Park for Sunday’s first race. Look for those ‘PP&Ps’ soon. Let me just ask, ‘who else brings you this much terrific information on these wonderful baby races?’. Well, as hopefully you can tell, we thoroughly enjoy it – and the best part of it is you. Thank you for your support. Always feel free to reach out and let us know any suggestions that you may have.
