Commute tries turf in James W. Murphy
Commute, who has faced stiff company in California this season, finds himself amid an eclectic group for the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the Pimlico turf. Three logical contenders never have won on turf or are trying the surface for the first time Saturday, while five of the eight runners have only a maiden win to their credit.
Commute, who drew post 5 under Julien Leparoux, has tangled with solid company in his four starts at Santa Anita for trainer Mark Casse. The colt was unplaced in his January debut behind Yiannis and Gimme Da Lute, both now stakes winners. After winning his maiden, Commute finished third behind the Grade 1-placed One Lucky Dane in an optional claimer in March and second to the well-regarded Cyrus Alexander in April.
Commute’s pedigree suggests he’ll relish a surface switch. The colt is out of turf winner Royal Humor, whose dam, Clearly a Queen, was a multiple graded stakes winner and stakes producer on turf.
Another intriguing first-turf prospect is First Spark, who has won 1 of 2 starts, both sprinting at Aqueduct, for Todd Pletcher. The Wertheimer Brothers homebred, who owns the field’s second-highest Beyer Speed Figure, is out of a Dynaformer half-sister to Take the Ribbon, a graded stakes winner on turf.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 First Spark. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 20-2-4-2 with a $0.35 ROI over the past five years with horses trying turf for the first time in non-graded stakes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
There are two stakes winners in the Murphy in Bluegrass Singer and Force the Pass. Bluegrass Singer is a two-time stakes winner on dirt this season, with victories in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes and the Parx Derby. The Mucho Macho Man was one of two efforts in which he posted a 92 Beyer, giving him the field’s best number. The gelding finished second in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park West in his only try on turf.
Force the Pass, never worse than second, is the field’s lone stakes winner on turf, with a neck win in the Cutler Bay Stakes on April 1 at Gulfstream. He earned an 83 Beyer for that effort, the top last-out figure in the field.
The unbeaten Woodwin W makes his stakes debut off an allowance victory going 1 1/16 miles on the Pimlico turf.
The field gets international flavor in Syntax, who began his career in his native Ireland before coming to the U.S. last year, and British-born Lysander The Greek, making his first start here. The Maryland-bred All I Karabout rounds out the field.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Syntax. Trainer Bill Mott is 21-10-1-2 with a $5.19 ROI over the past year in turf routes with last-out maiden winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan