Six furlongs may be wrong distance for favorites in Monday feature
Six-furlong dirt sprints are common at any American racetrack. Yet surprisingly, it’s a distance that none of the three best horses in Monday’s $32,000 feature at Delaware Park relish.
Good Feng Shui, a consistent 6-year-old with 6 wins in 15 starts over the past two seasons, hasn’t scored going six furlongs since August 2013 at Monmouth Park. You have to go all the way back to 2012 to find a six-furlong victory for the Jamie Ness-trained coupled entry of Guam Typhoon and Dual Exhauzt. The 8-year-old Guam Typhoon is 0 for 4 going six furlongs since winning back-to-back $100,000 stakes in August and September of 2012. His stablemate, Dual Exhauzt, is just 2 for 21 lifetime in races at 5 1/2 and six furlongs.
So Monday’s seventh race, a second-level optional $25,000 claimer, might be a good spot to try and beat the otherwise logical favorites.
An off-the-pace runners, such as Unzapped , Ghostbuster, or Livonzin,, might be able to pick up the pieces if the favored front-runners fade in the final furlong.
Ghostbuster, although 0 for 9 over the past two seasons and just 1 for 10 at Delaware, rallied to miss by a head facing similar competition two starts ago, finishing 1 1/2 lengths in front of Unzapped.
The 5-year-old Unzapped, part of an uncoupled entry for trainer Mac Robertson, could be ready to peak making the third start of his current form cycle. His six-furlong race in March at Oaklawn Park that produced a 92 Beyer Speed Figure might be good enough to win in this spot.
Livonzin has been given two months off since a pair of dull performances. His two most recent workouts, including a half-mile bullet in 47.80 seconds, were good and he fired as a first-time starter at Delaware as a 3-year-old two seasons ago.
Race 7
KEY CONTENDERS
Good Feng Shui (Last 3 Beyers: 89-91-79)
Reclaimed by trainer Mike Pino for $22,000 out of a five-furlong turf win on July 2. His last dirt win came sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs in the slop at Parx in March. Hasn’t won going six furlongs since Aug. 24, 2013 at Monmouth.\
Dual Exhauzt (Last 3 Beyers: 81-85-53)
Plunges from $65,000 to the optional $25,000 claiming tag after a runner-up finish as the 3-2 favorite in a five-furlong sprint Aug. 2. Did beat similar optional $25,000 claimers going two turns and 6 1/2 furlongs at Charles Town two starts ago and won a six-furlong sprint for $16,000 claimers at Pimlico in May.
Guam Typhoon (Last 3 Beyers: 54-99-45)
This 16-time winner’s best recent races have all come at 5 1/2 furlongs. Last six-furlong win came in September 2012 in $100,000 Changing Times at Penn National. Takes steep class drop from $65,000 to $25,000 optional tag following ninth-place finish in late May.
Unzapped (Last 3 Beyers: 72-79-80)
Only 1 for 13 over the past two seasons, but he beat optional $15,000 claimers locally in May and ran a 92 Beyer at Oaklawn in March that would make him dangerous here.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Mac Robertson is 6 for 27 (22 percent) with dirt sprinters third time off a layoff in an allowance sprint.
Ghostbuster (Last 3 Beyers: 78-83-80)
Winless since beating similar competition to this in October 2012 at Delaware, but came within a head of scoring 14-1 upset on July 16.
Livonzin (Last 3 Beyers: 54-70-65)
A combined 0 for 5 the past two seasons, but showed signs of life in two sharp workouts since Aug. 6. Won first two starts of his career at Delaware as a 3-year-old in 2012.