Bakken the key to allowance sprint
Bakken, the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt before being scratched due to a temperature, is the one to beat in Thursday’s eighth race at Belmont Park, provided he starts in the $80,000 optional claimer at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Although still eligible for second-level allowance conditions, Bakken clearly has exceptional ability, so much so that his connections might bypass this spot in favor of Friday’s $200,000 Phoenix Stakes on Keeneland’s brand-new dirt track. The Phoenix is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Purchased as a yearling for $450,000, Bakken burst onto the scene late in his 3-year-old season last October for Chad Brown. He wired a six-furlong maiden special weight race in 1:08.46 here and returned at Aqueduct for a similarly impressive allowance score a few weeks later before finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita.
In his only start this year, Bakken was second in the Grade 2 True North as the 2-1 favorite, beaten less than a length by Palace, who then swept both of Saratoga’s Grade 1 sprints for older males, the A.G. Vanderbilt and Forego.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Bakken. Trainer Chad Brown is 16-7-2-4 with a $3.22 ROI over the past five years with Javier Castellano aboard dirt sprinters returning from a 61- to 180-day layoff at NYRA tracks. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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In Bakken’s absence, Captain Serious would inherit the role of favorite. A New York-bred gelding trained by Mike Hushion, Captain Serious ran his two best races at Belmont earlier in the year, taking the Mike Lee Stakes by three lengths and leading to the final yards of the Grade 3 Dwyer. He was beaten as the favorite in both the Amsterdam and the Albany stakes at Saratoga.
KEY CONTENDERS
BAKKEN (Last 3 Beyers: 101-94-96)
◗ He was second in his only start this year behind Palace, who subsequently won both Grade 1 sprints for older males at Saratoga.
◗ The lightly raced colt ran six furlongs in 1:08.46 in winning as a first-time starter at Belmont last October.
CAPTAIN SERIOUS (Last 3 Beyers: 78-90-92)
◗ The New York-bred gelding posted his two fastest Beyers at Belmont’s spring-summer meet, including a 98 in winning the Mike Lee in the stakes-record time of 1:20.99.
CANDYMAN E (Last 3 Beyers: 78-86-93)
◗ The last-out $80,000 claim is the only entrant besides Bakken with a triple-digit Beyer, having earned a 104 for winning the Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes earlier this year.
◗ The 7-year-old gelding tops the field in wins (10) and earnings ($577,203).
SAM SPARKLE (Last 3 Beyers: 90-93-63)
◗ He has earned Beyers of 90 or better while winning on all four New York Racing Association dirt tracks.
◗ He has posted five career victories and has never paid less than $13.80 for any of those wins.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Sam Sparkle. Trainer David Cannizzo is 20-5-0-6 with a $4.04 return on investment over the past five years with last-out winners in dirt sprints on the NYRA circuit. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan