ateamstupid
05-28-2007, 03:57 AM
Heading out to Big Sandy later today for my fourth straight Met Mile, which should be plenty of fun.. Just wish the fifth race weren't so inscrutable and I could actually put together a manageable Pick Six ticket!
Have a great Memorial Day everyone.
With temperatures hovering circa 90 for the past week or so in the five boroughs, summer appears to be tapping at New York City's door, and while the solstice will have to wait a few more weeks, the season's pseudo unveiling will take place on Monday with the Memorial Day observance holiday. And while we all look forward to dusting off the grills and employing lighter clothing, the racing world also will begin to turn its sights toward the sunny season soon enough, and there's no better way to segue from the slow winter to the hopeful summer than with the Memorial Day staple Metropolitan Handicap, more commonly known as the Met Mile. Just about the only relevant dirt mile left on earth, the Met has seen its share of superstars (Tom Fool, Native Dancer, Sword Dancer, Kelso, Carry Back, Buckpasser, Forego, Holy Bull and more recently, Ghostzapper come to mind), and while this year's field lacks a true standout, it's a strong gathering of some of the handicap division's budding players and fringe contenders. It's been said that as soon as they hit the wire in the Met Mile, summer is underway.
114th Running of The Metropolitan Handicap
1 Mile (dirt)
3+, $600,000, Grade I
[2] LAWYER RON (Todd Pletcher / Edgar Prado) 5-2
Son of '97 Met winner Langfuhr sports an impressive .500 batting average for his career, including a 10-for-13 record on conventional dirt, and comes into this off what's probably his career race thus far, a dominant win in the G2 Oaklawn Handicap. Other than in the BC Classic and Derby, this chestnut really hasn't run a bad race and he comes into this with a steady string of works flanked by three local breezes. His versatility is his greatest strength, and that'll come in handy in the ever-tricky one-turn mile. Main knock is that he's never beaten anybody, and while this may not be the strongest Met field ever assembled, it's still going to take a major effort to get the picture snapped. Obvious contender, but would be careful about taking too short of a price.
[3] HALF OURS (Todd Pletcher / John Velazquez) 12-1
Unbridled's Song gray hasn't done a thing wrong other than get hurt since airing in his debut at 1/5 in the Spring of '05. Recently suffered his first career defeat, getting handled by Wanderin Boy in the sloppy G3 Alysheba at CD, and thinking it was a good routing acid test for this colt. Love the run two back in the G2 Richter Scale, where he set a blazing pace and still emerged victorious late. With the Dutrow rabbit in here, tractability will be key for this dude, but he's clearly very talented and helps form a serious 1-2 punch for Pletcher.
[1] MR. UMPHREY (Rick Dutrow / Rudy Rodriguez) 3-1
Entered as a rabbit to keep things honest up front for stablemate Silver Wagon and his late run.
[4] SUN KING (Nick Zito / Eibar Coa) 5-1
Last year's runner-up in this race regularly runs numbers good enough to win this kind of heat, but the problem is that he never actually seems to win this kind of heat. He had every chance to run down Silver Train a year ago and couldn't do it, he got outgamed by Invasor in the G1 Whitney Handicap, and a few weeks ago took the lead in the stretch of the G3 Westchester Handicap only to wilt late and finish third as the favorite. Gets his fifth different rider in six starts in Zito's new best friend Coa, and the way he's been riding this meet, the switch certainly seems positive. Should be ready for a top effort and perhaps this time, that'll get him to the winner's circle.
[1A] SILVER WAGON (Rick Dutrow / Javier Castellano) 3-1
Two years back's runner-up in this race has proven to only get better and better with age, recently snagging the G1 Carter after a so-so break, and he appears to be training lights out since then with the exception of a work on Apr. 29. One could look at his Carter as a product of super fractions, but he's proven before that he doesn't have to be a million lengths back to punch hard in the lane. Two most recent lame tries came around two turns and on polytrack, respectively, so he can certainly be forgiven for those, and he simply appears to be at the top of his game right now. Splits should be earnest at the very least. The pick to give Dutrow a 'Silver' repeat.
[5] ACCOUNTFORTHEGOLD (Gary Contessa / Mike Luzzi) 15-1
NY-bred has certainly perked up since joining the Contessa barn, blowing four 100+ BSF numbers and two negative TG numbers in the past five starts, but today presents a whole new ballgame to this Successful Appeal bay. He's either going to have to run faster than he ever has in order to get to the front or learn real quickly how to rate in order to hit the wire first. Useful horse, not sure this is the right spot for him.
[6] LATENT HEAT (Bobby Frankel / Rafael Bejarano) 6-1
Juddmonte colt followed up a pair of CA wins with a fourth-place finish in the Carter, in which he set a blistering pace and faded in the final furlong. He's lightly-raced, so it's tough to know how good he can be at his best. A major positive in his corner is that he's proven he doesn't have to show the way all around the track to be effective. Encouraging to see Bejarano give up a day's worth of mounts at CD to come in and ride. Not in love with anything he beat out west though, and also not crazy about him being shipped back and forth across the country in between races. Dangerous, but will likely limit him to the lower ends of tickets.
[7] POLITICAL FORCE (Allen Jerkens / Cornelio Velasquez) 15-1
Homebred colt ran the race of his life thus far in the prep for this, finishing second before being disqualified to third for coming in on Sun King. That was certainly a respectable effort, but he'll have to not only duplicate that run, but improve on it against a vastly superior field today. There are no giants in her for Jerkens to slay, but think this gray is up against it.
[8] CORINTHIAN (Jimmy Jerkens / Kent Desormeaux) 10-1
Safe to pretty much draw a line through this Pulpit chestnut's last race, in which he broke about a dozen lengths slower than the rest of the field after jumping at the start, but even if he ran back to one of his GP efforts in here, he would still need to progress further, and that's not factoring in the possibly less than ideal post and distance. Castellano's on the 'Wagon. Can't see it.
[9] SILENT NAME (Gary Mandella / Corey Nakatani) 8-1
Mildly surprised last out in the G2 Commonwealth BC at KEE in his first start away from turf, and Sun King used the C'wealth as a springboard to a big run in this race last year. Son of Sunday Silence earned a big figure for his win, but we all know how automatically polytrack form translates to dirt form. Main thing he's got going for him is that he's got plenty of mile experience, albeit on another type of ground, but considering the outside draw, the presence of other speed and the questionableness on the surface, going to take a pass here.
1A - Silver Wagon
Looking better than ever and ready for another big effort
4 - Sun King
Hate to say it, but could be second best yet again
6 - Latent Heat
Doesn't need the lead, ran way too quickly early in Carter
2 - Lawyer Ron
Major contender but has yet to beat anyone remotely significant
Have a great Memorial Day everyone.
With temperatures hovering circa 90 for the past week or so in the five boroughs, summer appears to be tapping at New York City's door, and while the solstice will have to wait a few more weeks, the season's pseudo unveiling will take place on Monday with the Memorial Day observance holiday. And while we all look forward to dusting off the grills and employing lighter clothing, the racing world also will begin to turn its sights toward the sunny season soon enough, and there's no better way to segue from the slow winter to the hopeful summer than with the Memorial Day staple Metropolitan Handicap, more commonly known as the Met Mile. Just about the only relevant dirt mile left on earth, the Met has seen its share of superstars (Tom Fool, Native Dancer, Sword Dancer, Kelso, Carry Back, Buckpasser, Forego, Holy Bull and more recently, Ghostzapper come to mind), and while this year's field lacks a true standout, it's a strong gathering of some of the handicap division's budding players and fringe contenders. It's been said that as soon as they hit the wire in the Met Mile, summer is underway.
114th Running of The Metropolitan Handicap
1 Mile (dirt)
3+, $600,000, Grade I
[2] LAWYER RON (Todd Pletcher / Edgar Prado) 5-2
Son of '97 Met winner Langfuhr sports an impressive .500 batting average for his career, including a 10-for-13 record on conventional dirt, and comes into this off what's probably his career race thus far, a dominant win in the G2 Oaklawn Handicap. Other than in the BC Classic and Derby, this chestnut really hasn't run a bad race and he comes into this with a steady string of works flanked by three local breezes. His versatility is his greatest strength, and that'll come in handy in the ever-tricky one-turn mile. Main knock is that he's never beaten anybody, and while this may not be the strongest Met field ever assembled, it's still going to take a major effort to get the picture snapped. Obvious contender, but would be careful about taking too short of a price.
[3] HALF OURS (Todd Pletcher / John Velazquez) 12-1
Unbridled's Song gray hasn't done a thing wrong other than get hurt since airing in his debut at 1/5 in the Spring of '05. Recently suffered his first career defeat, getting handled by Wanderin Boy in the sloppy G3 Alysheba at CD, and thinking it was a good routing acid test for this colt. Love the run two back in the G2 Richter Scale, where he set a blazing pace and still emerged victorious late. With the Dutrow rabbit in here, tractability will be key for this dude, but he's clearly very talented and helps form a serious 1-2 punch for Pletcher.
[1] MR. UMPHREY (Rick Dutrow / Rudy Rodriguez) 3-1
Entered as a rabbit to keep things honest up front for stablemate Silver Wagon and his late run.
[4] SUN KING (Nick Zito / Eibar Coa) 5-1
Last year's runner-up in this race regularly runs numbers good enough to win this kind of heat, but the problem is that he never actually seems to win this kind of heat. He had every chance to run down Silver Train a year ago and couldn't do it, he got outgamed by Invasor in the G1 Whitney Handicap, and a few weeks ago took the lead in the stretch of the G3 Westchester Handicap only to wilt late and finish third as the favorite. Gets his fifth different rider in six starts in Zito's new best friend Coa, and the way he's been riding this meet, the switch certainly seems positive. Should be ready for a top effort and perhaps this time, that'll get him to the winner's circle.
[1A] SILVER WAGON (Rick Dutrow / Javier Castellano) 3-1
Two years back's runner-up in this race has proven to only get better and better with age, recently snagging the G1 Carter after a so-so break, and he appears to be training lights out since then with the exception of a work on Apr. 29. One could look at his Carter as a product of super fractions, but he's proven before that he doesn't have to be a million lengths back to punch hard in the lane. Two most recent lame tries came around two turns and on polytrack, respectively, so he can certainly be forgiven for those, and he simply appears to be at the top of his game right now. Splits should be earnest at the very least. The pick to give Dutrow a 'Silver' repeat.
[5] ACCOUNTFORTHEGOLD (Gary Contessa / Mike Luzzi) 15-1
NY-bred has certainly perked up since joining the Contessa barn, blowing four 100+ BSF numbers and two negative TG numbers in the past five starts, but today presents a whole new ballgame to this Successful Appeal bay. He's either going to have to run faster than he ever has in order to get to the front or learn real quickly how to rate in order to hit the wire first. Useful horse, not sure this is the right spot for him.
[6] LATENT HEAT (Bobby Frankel / Rafael Bejarano) 6-1
Juddmonte colt followed up a pair of CA wins with a fourth-place finish in the Carter, in which he set a blistering pace and faded in the final furlong. He's lightly-raced, so it's tough to know how good he can be at his best. A major positive in his corner is that he's proven he doesn't have to show the way all around the track to be effective. Encouraging to see Bejarano give up a day's worth of mounts at CD to come in and ride. Not in love with anything he beat out west though, and also not crazy about him being shipped back and forth across the country in between races. Dangerous, but will likely limit him to the lower ends of tickets.
[7] POLITICAL FORCE (Allen Jerkens / Cornelio Velasquez) 15-1
Homebred colt ran the race of his life thus far in the prep for this, finishing second before being disqualified to third for coming in on Sun King. That was certainly a respectable effort, but he'll have to not only duplicate that run, but improve on it against a vastly superior field today. There are no giants in her for Jerkens to slay, but think this gray is up against it.
[8] CORINTHIAN (Jimmy Jerkens / Kent Desormeaux) 10-1
Safe to pretty much draw a line through this Pulpit chestnut's last race, in which he broke about a dozen lengths slower than the rest of the field after jumping at the start, but even if he ran back to one of his GP efforts in here, he would still need to progress further, and that's not factoring in the possibly less than ideal post and distance. Castellano's on the 'Wagon. Can't see it.
[9] SILENT NAME (Gary Mandella / Corey Nakatani) 8-1
Mildly surprised last out in the G2 Commonwealth BC at KEE in his first start away from turf, and Sun King used the C'wealth as a springboard to a big run in this race last year. Son of Sunday Silence earned a big figure for his win, but we all know how automatically polytrack form translates to dirt form. Main thing he's got going for him is that he's got plenty of mile experience, albeit on another type of ground, but considering the outside draw, the presence of other speed and the questionableness on the surface, going to take a pass here.
1A - Silver Wagon
Looking better than ever and ready for another big effort
4 - Sun King
Hate to say it, but could be second best yet again
6 - Latent Heat
Doesn't need the lead, ran way too quickly early in Carter
2 - Lawyer Ron
Major contender but has yet to beat anyone remotely significant