With a lull in classic racing now, let’s try to identify ready to win horses around the country. On May 20 at Santa Anita the track carded the Grade 2 $200,000 Kona Gold Stakes and there could be a couple of ready to win horses coming out of that race.
The Kona Gold Stakes is named for the speedster Kona Gold. That runner was a flat-out blur. He was sold as a yearling for a mere $35,000 and ended up winning over $2.2 million on the track.
After a second-place finish in his debut, Kona Gold won his next three races by a combined 28½ lengths.
Kona Gold’s best year in racing was at age six in 2000. He capped off the year with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and won the Eclipse Award as the best sprinter in America. Kona Gold raced until he was 9 years old.
In the Saturday race, Calculator broke a step slowly and lost his best chance. In the past this runner had flashed :46 and change speed and he showed his class when second in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes last year. When the second longest shot on the tote board Kentuckian made the lead, Calculator pretty much threw in the towel.
Kobe’s Back is a runner that exits the Kona Gold after also breaking poorly but he will be able to use the race as a building block. The horse is inspired by one of the best basketball players ever in Kobe Bryant and three of his five career wins came at Santa Anita. He had not raced since March but he has been proven fresh in his career. On paper in the Saturday race, there seemed to be enough zip to help promote his potent kick but he was dead last early and was just left with too much work to do. He did pick up two lengths in the stretch despite the poor start and he will be a legit late factor in his next race.
Pacific Heat was very unlucky losing the Fran’s Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita on May 21. Those that bet on the filly kind of got a raw deal. The Pete Eurton trainee was off for about a year before she returned on April 16 and tired as the beaten chalk. Eurton put two solid works into her before the Fran’s Valentine and she looked like one of the ready to win horses off her back class alone. The daughter of Unusual Heat had won three stakes in her career including a win in the $200,000 Evening Jewel last year at Santa Anita. In the Fran’s Valentine, jockey Flavien Prat got her to settle and relax. He rallied four wide with her and won drawing away but was lugging in a bit and she felt the wrath of the stewards. They disqualified her and placed her sixth. With a slight freshening, this miss must be circled as one of the ready to win horses that could also offer value.
Let’s go north of the border for ready to win horses and visit Woodbine in Canada. Two ready to win horses that come out of the $125,000 Queenston Stakes are sitting on huge efforts in the next couple of weeks. Lokinforpursemonee found that elusive commodity in his 2017 opener when he won the $115,000 Woodstock Stakes at six furlongs. He was sent a furlong farther in the Queenston but he lost his action on the back stretch and was forced to race wide. He was second to last early but rallied despite being wide and just missed running second. Woodbridge also has a right to improve in his next race. The youngster was forced outward at the start and just never got untracked.
Grass marathoners were in action at Belmont on May 13 in the Man o’ War Stakes and a couple must be watched out of that race. The race is named for a true legend of the turf.
The Man o’ War Stakes was first run in 1959 and the race is named for a true legend.
Man o’ War, of course, was one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He only lost once in 21 starts and was selected by the Bloodhorse magazine as the Number 1 horse on the List of the 100 Top U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century.
Mike Maker’s trainee Taghleeb had not raced in about 6 weeks. He may have needed his prior race. In that prior race the Maker student was a close fourth as the beaten chalk in his first effort since January. In the Man o’ War Stakes Taghleeb could not be properly ridden after he bobbled at the break and his rider Jose Ortiz had to take a hold. The runner was the longest shot on the tote board and he could have just sulked and thrown in the towel but he raced wide, started to gain momentum, but had to settle for second.
The winner of the Man o’ War Stakes is another horse that must be followed.
Zhukova was the wild card in the Man o’ War Stakes. She is an Irish-bred daughter of Fastnet Rock and was racing against males. She had beaten males in the past and is a multiple Group 3 winner. She appeared to like a little give to the ground and won her last race in Europe on a yielding course in Cork. She got her preferred surface in the Man o’ War Stakes as she sat second early, showed a good burst of speed to open up in the stretch and then went on to win by six lengths. This mare is trained by Dermot Weld, who is a legend in his native land. Weld is a former jockey who has won the Belmont Stakes, several Group 1s in Europe and the Melbourne Cup. He won the Melbourne, which is Australia’s biggest event, twice. Zhukova’s future is so bright, she has to wear shades.
Take an extra glance at these ready to win horses the next time they are entered and hope they get good trips.
