New faces add intrigue to sprint stakes
PHOENIX – A pair of stakes at Turf Paradise Saturday bring out some of the best local sprinters, plus a scary new face in each race. The $25,000 Hank Mills Sr. (race 7) at 5 1/2 furlongs matches a field of nine, while the $25,000 Sun Devil (race 5), also at 5 1/2 furlongs but for fillies and mares, drew seven.
Never Give In and Kaabraaj, first and second in a sharp optional claimer here on Nov. 27, lead the local contingent in the Hank Mills Sr. Never Give In, a 7-year-old gelded son of Wildcat Heir trained by Robertino Diodoro, is riding a three-race win streak, capped off by that Nov. 27 win. He has worked strongly in the interim. Kaabraaj, a 7-year-old gelded son of Abraaj trained by Jeff Metz, also hasn’t run since Nov. 27. He’s a veteran stakes performer here.
Another local, Kota Copy, also trained by Diodoro, steps up in class after a string of 10 straight top-two finishes.
Hardcore Troubador, a 5-year-old gelded son of Roi Charmant owned and trained by Edward Freeman, makes his first start at Turf Paradise in the Hank Mills Sr. He comes off a powerful win in the KLAQ at Sunland Park Dec. 29. Based in California, Hardcore Troubador held his own against some of the better sprinters there in allowance races at Los Alamitos last September and December.
Fight to Glory and B C Z Middleton, the top two sprinting females on the grounds, knock heads again in the Sun Devil. Fight to Glory, a 5-year-old daughter of American Lion trained by Robertino Diodoro, won the Sun Devil last year. She returns to Turf Paradise, where’s she’s won 5 of 10 starts, after dueling for the lead and fading to seventh in the Bold Ego at Sunland Park on Jan. 6. B C Z Middleton, a 6-year-old daughter of Nobiz Like Shobiz trained by Manuel Ortiz, is a multiple stakes winner here and comes off a sharp second, beaten a neck by Fight to Glory in an optional claimer here Dec. 12.
California raider She’s No Drama looms a danger in the Sun Devil. A 4-year-old daughter of Big Drama trained by Ryan Kenney, She’s No Drama ran second in the Golden Gate Debutante at 2 and was regarded well enough to get a shot in the Grade 2 Las Virgenes at Santa Anita last winter. She hasn’t run since fading to fifth in an optional claimer on Golden Gate’s synthetic track April 7, but has been working well at Del Mar and Turf Paradise.