Sunland draws field of nine

[Grits]

http://www.drf.com/news/sunland-park-derby-draws-field-nine-commissioner-add-blinkers

[bgbootha]

Sunland Derby

This weekend marks the last weekend of the 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby preps and as history would suggest its bar far the weakest of the other races worth the same amount of points. The horses in this race are looking to move straight from this weekend into the Kentucky Derby and will more than likely not suit up for one of the bigger preps, although they could turn around and run in either the Arkansas or the Blue Grass a few weeks from now.

The Sunland Derby has not historically produced a great deal of Derby contenders and this year doesn’t look to be much different.

HBD Top Tier Horses
:8: Rebranded *HBD PICK* - Back on Feb 22nd this colt took a big step up finishing 2nd in the Mine That Bird Derby here at Sunland. While Rebranded didn’t show much while training with Todd Pletcher, the move to Justin Evans has proven to be very successful. Since moving to Sunland this year he has ran well and continues to show improvement. He will add blinkers this time out and has the Tiznow colt looks to have the pedigree to handle the distance without much issue. The late pace he showed last time out could come in hand as he will more than likely get a trip similar to the trip Hoppertunity received last weekend in the Rebel with the ability to rate just off two speed horses and have the clear outside lane to jump into and win down the stretch.

:3: Commissioner – His sixth place finish last time out in the Fountain of Youth can be tossed aside as that race was over long before Commissioner even had a chance to make his mark. The three horses that took off in the FOY really gave the other horses nothing to deal with, and instantly made them all also rans. Commissioner looks to come back and return to the form he showed back in January at Gulfstream and I think this field gives him a shot to do so. The pedigree on this AP Indy colt suggests he can easily handle the distance and should get a nice pace to run at in this one on a fairer track.

HBD Second Tier Horses
:7: Midnight Hawk - I know most people are in love with Midnight here, and he has been putting in good workouts heading into this in Santa Anita. But I just don’t like him as much as the rest of the world here in this field. Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t think he will grab a chunk of the Derby points and more than likely make the field of 20 in May, but here on this day, I don’t think he finds the winner’s circle. His Brisnet speed figures have been trending down, his post draw is going to put him in between horses with Tanzanite Cat two to his inside and Chitu two on his outside. If he pulls backs and tries to rate, he could easily get pinned with Rebranded and Commissioner showing better late speed. This is one of those cases of, its not the horse is the set up.

:9: Chitu – Coming off a second place finish in the Robert E Lewis Chitu was clearly second best that day losing to an impressive Candy Boy by ½ a length. Chitu will want the lead but breaking from the far outside post isn’t going to help his cause, especially considering that he hasn’t broke well in 2 of his 3 starts thus far. It’s going to take a perfect trip here for Chitu to hit the winners circle, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the money somewhere and grab some of the Derby points, but winning this race is going to take a career effort along with some help from others.

HBD “So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
:5: Tanzanite Cat – The only chance this horse has is if the rest of the field gives him a soft pace on the lead. I wouldn’t assume he is going to get the easy lead here with some other speed in the race in Midnight Hawk and Chitu. But if they let him loose on the front he could steal this one at a nice price. He has been working out well at Oaklawn and returns jockey Norberto Arroyo who has shown success on the mount.

HBD Horses that don’t belong
:1: Bourbonize –While this gelding has been working out well at Oaklawn it just doesn’t seem to belong in this field. Some could point toward some troubled trips the last two out, but even his maiden win at 7 furlongs back at Churchill in November wasn’t all that impressive.

:2: Garen – This is a horse that absolutely benefited from an amazing soft pace on a front loaded Santa Anita track last time out winning by 2 lengths against a Maiden 56k field. While that win looked great in the replay looking closer at the fractions and the competition makes this horse less likely to stand out here in this field. Look for Garen to grab the lead, but it would take a miracle for him to hold on to any of the money in this one.

:4: Global Strike – This colt broke his maiden last out at Gulfstream Park in a Maiden 47k win over a very weak field at amazingly low odds. This is a huge jump in class and this youngster hasn’t really shown any reason to think he can hang with this group.

:6: Lawly’s Goal – I honestly can’t find anything nice to say about this gelding in this field. He has won once in 11 tries and that was back in October.

[taxicab]

I like Chitu in this one.
This guy might of surprised the Baffert barn a bit.
He wasn't one of the talked about Baffert 3yo's, but he has developed quite nicely.
Unlike some of the other Baffert 3yo's, Chitu has a very professional way about him.
He runs straight as an arrow, doesn't like to let horses by him and doesn't mind mixing it up with other horses.
When he won a NWx1 he went up front in 21.2/44.0/56.1/108.4.
Then he was stretched out for the first time in the Gr.2. Robert Lewis.
Alot of horses that show blazing early speed in sprints have trouble stretching out.
Not this guy.
He looked very good on the front end in his two turn debut against the highly regarded Candy Boy while doing all the dirty work.
Out of an AP Indy mare,he might be good enough to earn a spot in the KyD.

[Rex Phinney]

Bob Baffert owns this time of year. He can't win grass races and he doesn't do much with horses past 3, but Something about a 3YO race in the spring tells me you better always watch the Baffert Horses.

I think he has a great knack for knowing which horses will run best at which track, when he sends them to Sunland or Arkansas, I think he really feels a horse will thrive on the surface.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Sometimes I look forward to a weekend with no great fanfare and just some good meat and potatoes races of my choosing but this one looks real interesting.Anybody have any insight into the way this track plays?

[taxicab]

Sometimes I look forward to a weekend with no great fanfare and just some good meat and potatoes races of my choosing but this one looks real interesting.Anybody have any insight into the way this track plays?


I only play Sunland one day a year.
Last year (on Oaks/Derby card) it played lightning quick.
It was good to be near the front also.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDt5E0hQHAo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy9DnsPF_YA

[Thomas Roulston]

The Sunland Derby pays eight monies - 50/22/12/6/4/3/1.5/1.5 - and this year, so does the Wood Memorial: 59/19/9/4/3/2.5/2/1.5.

Never saw the day when NYRA would do something like this.

[Robert Fischer]

I don't see any Derby contenders in this race, unless someone steps up surprisingly.

Commissioner had some adversity last time, but he didn't do enough against the adversity, and he looks more and more like a slow horse, who may not even be in peak form. As a fan I will be cheering for him to have a strong performance. I'd rather see him show more life from the gate and sit closer to the pace. Running closer to the pace and finishing 1st or 2nd here would raise some possibilities as a Belmont Stakes entry IMO.

Midnight Hawk is easily the most talented but he is a very flawed horse. Once he enters the stretch, he lugs in and shuts down.

Chitu is somewhat interesting and could thrive at this level and surface.

Global Strike would need to move significantly forward, but he's a solid horse.

No bets for me.

[letswastemoney]

Rebranded didn't show much for Todd Pletcher because he faced better horses. He's going to get crushed here.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I think Commissioner beats this field and the price will be right unless you wait til after it happens!

[letswastemoney]

Garen is the right play here.

Midnight Hawk and Chitu will turn out to be sprinters, and Commissioner is overhyped because Top Billing was overhyped.

[Robert Fischer]

Chitu looks strong.

[sammy the sage]

Rebranded didn't show much for Todd Pletcher because he faced better horses. He's going to get crushed here.

I'll disagree here...think he'll do THE crushing....losing a trainer w/150+ 3yr olds ALONE...much less his other stock...and big money clients...a BIG positive this time around...for the horse in question...

Going out on limb here...this horse has gotten more attention now...w/a trainer w/GOOD stats...albeit not well known...the BLINKS and local acclimation will put him over...

unless of course a "Baffert" freaks...and probably the 2nd choice one is most likely...lol's... ;)

but Rebranded is my official pick!

[Ocala Mike]

Guess I'm the only one who likes Bourbonize, the :1:, in this uninspiring field.

[stillwater]

Rebranded is my guess.

[olddaddy]

I think the :8: will be overbet, Ill go with the :1: and :5:

[Onion Monster]

Guess I'm the only one who likes Bourbonize, the :1:, in this uninspiring field.

I like Bourbonize a little too. The Bafferts are gonna be tough though.

[bgbootha]

You can see my writeup of the race earlier in the post.

But here are my bets for the day.

$8 Exacta :8: / :3: :5: :7: :9: ($32)
$2 Exacta :3: :5: :7: :9: / :8: ($8)

[Robert Fischer]

1 units win
3 units plc
10 units shw on :9: Chitu

[letswastemoney]

I'll disagree here...think he'll do THE crushing....losing a trainer w/150+ 3yr olds ALONE...much less his other stock...and big money clients...a BIG positive this time around...for the horse in question...

Going out on limb here...this horse has gotten more attention now...w/a trainer w/GOOD stats...albeit not well known...the BLINKS and local acclimation will put him over...

unless of course a "Baffert" freaks...and probably the 2nd choice one is most likely...lol's... ;)

but Rebranded is my official pick!
Even though he's gotten more attention, his TimeformUS number remained about the same in that last start at Sunland. I don't quite understand the attention on Rebranded. But, we'll see soon!

[woodtoo]

:1: :8: or:8: :1: no:1: :8:

[nomadpat]

Ex: :1: :3: / :1: :3: :7: :9:

[duncan04]

:7: Midnight Hawk

[turninforhome10]

Since no one is really a standout, I like Garen :2: Broke maiden well and dam has 50% winners in route races 12 for 23. Miller should have this ready for bear with the great works at SLR. 10WP :2:

Folded like a cheap suit.

[cutchemist42]

:3: 1u Win 2u Plc
:8: 1u Show

[salty]

i like the 9, but he is so overbet. I'll go small on the :6: bomb across the board for fun. with the 6/9 box for a little extra fun

[cutchemist42]

:3: 1u Win 2u Plc
:8: 1u Show


Terrible start for Commisioner, was over from the start, yet he still came back to catch Rebranded for 3rd.

[Tom]

Good night, Midnight Hawk.
Been fun , but the real horses have work to do.
Go find a one turn mile. You are not going to make it at Kentucky, son.
You got no heart and you got no punch.

Oh, and everyone who saw his butt today, thanks for playing, Pick up a copy of our home game on your way out.

[Bullet Plane]

Chalkfest!

Sometimes the crowd gets it right.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but it's hard to fool the chalkeaters!

[letswastemoney]

Horses looked so tired nearing the finish line.

[Bullet Plane]

Horses appeared to "bunch up" into the turn. Typical of a slow pace. I thought it would get much more strung out... and possibly set up for an off the pace type. But no, the speed horses were still there at the end. Gasping for air.

[Troopa]

Midnight hawk with another lackluster finish down stretch . He just doesn't have the stamina

[Smarty Cide]

Midnight hawk with another lackluster finish down stretch . He just doesn't have the stamina



true, my first derby toss

[Smarty Cide]

Think Chitu goes to Santa Anita?

[Tom]

This was Pretender's Weekend.

[menifee]

Think Chitu goes to Santa Anita?

No - he will go straight to the Derby. Santa Anita Derby is on April 5th.

[menifee]

This was Pretender's Weekend.

You are absolutely right about that.

[bgbootha]

I can't see how anyone from this weekend makes a splash in the derby. Th egood news is there are some easy tosses for me.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I can't see how anyone from this weekend makes a splash in the derby. Th egood news is there are some easy tosses for me.

I've been looking for a declaration for this weekend anyway.It was basically a gambler's dress rehearsal for Florida Derby weekend.So how bout we call this one the turd before the storm?! :p

[dnlgfnk]

Good night, Midnight Hawk.
Been fun , but the real horses have work to do.
Go find a one turn mile. You are not going to make it at Kentucky, son.
You got no heart and you got no punch.

Oh, and everyone who saw his butt today, thanks for playing, Pick up a copy of our home game on your way out.

Agree, Tom.

Garcia on Chitu, though not pushing, allowed some rein to remain close to Garen almost throughout the run to midturn, when he urged Chitu to contest Midnight Hawk's approach. Smith had a good hold on Midnight Hawk even after passing Chitu-- almost to the stretch before asking Hawk. But that unimpressive stretch speed relative to Chitu's spending more energy to that point left me unimpressed. At low odds in his next race, I would anticipate beating Midnight Hawk.

[Robert Fischer]

Agree, Tom.

Garcia on Chitu, though not pushing, allowed some rein to remain close to Garen almost throughout the run to midturn, when he urged Chitu to contest Midnight Hawk's approach. Smith had a good hold on Midnight Hawk even after passing Chitu-- almost to the stretch before asking Hawk. But that unimpressive stretch speed relative to Chitu's spending more energy to that point left me unimpressed. At low odds in his next race, I would anticipate beating Midnight Hawk.

Yea. Midnight Hawk was pretty much a more talented horse - up until they entered the stretch. Unfortunately the horse has major problems.
Chitu was tough.
I do think that he has a tendency to lose some position at the top of the stretch vs top-class rivals, and that he was fortunate that Midnight Hawk is not a complete race horse.
Chitu seems like a really game G2 horse to me at this point.

[bgbootha]

I've been looking for a declaration for this weekend anyway.It was basically a gambler's dress rehearsal for Florida Derby weekend.So how bout we call this one the turd before the storm?! :p

You got my vote....With the next three weekends coming up this really was just a bad appetizer this past weekend.

[Valuist]

Midnight hawk with another lackluster finish down stretch . He just doesn't have the stamina

He looked like a staggering drunk in the final furlong. He did lose some ground on both turns but he appears distance challenged.