Balmoral: Saturday 2/7 Analysis
Jeremey Day's analysis of the Saturday 2/7 card at Balmoral Park.
Jeremey DayFeb 05, 2015
Jeremey Day's analysis of the Saturday 2/7 card at Balmoral Park.
Frankyfourfingers never had won a race of note when the Dubai World Cup Carnival began in January, and his trainer, Salem bin Ghadayer, never had won a race, period. But Thursday at Meydan, the pair teamed up to capture the Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2, a breakthrough for both horse and trainer.
Stay Gold, a multiple Group 1 winner and sire of Japanese Horse of the Year Orfevre, has died at age 21, Racing Post reports.
Firing Line acquitted himself well in his stakes debut and first attempt around two turns, finishing second by a head to unbeaten Dortmund in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 20. Now targeting another showdown with Dortmund in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes this Saturday, the colt’s pedigree suggests his best days are still ahead of him. Both sire Line of David and dam Sister Girl Blues blossomed at age 3 or later.
The reigning Horse of the Year vs. maybe the most talented horse in the country. A competitive turf marathon out West. Some of the best older horses back East, along with possibly the third-best turf horse in the land. It’s a mouthwatering menu, and best of all, it’s offered in the X-Country pick four, so a correct assessment can pad your wallet, as well as providing racing excitement.
Finnegans Wake was 7-2 when he won the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Del Mar in November. He was 8-1 when he scored a minor upset in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Jan. 3. Bettors may finally catch on and make Finnegans Wake the favorite when the 6-year-old runs in Saturday’s $200,000 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita.
Months after their first meeting, the rivalry is renewed Saturday at Santa Anita. And this race happens 90 minutes before California Chrome and Shared Belief run in the San Antonio.
The body of work Sunbean and Heitai bring into the $1 million Premiere Night program of Louisiana-bred stakes Saturday at Delta Downs is something to behold. Between them, the horses have won 25 races – 20 of them stakes – and have banked a cumulative $1.8 million. They are pillars in the Louisiana program, and they provide appealing bookends on the meet’s second-richest card behind Jackpot Day.
Salutos Amigos will be attempting to earn himself a trip out of the frigid confines of Aqueduct and into the warmth of a Dubai desert evening when he heads a field of six entered in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes.
They came out of the woodwork for the Saturday feature at Fair Grounds, a third-level turf-route allowance also open to $62,500 claimers that drew 13 entrants, a massive number for an allowance condition this high.