Transylvania Stakes preview
Friday, April 6, 2007
Keeneland - Race 9
1 Mile (Turf)
Central Bank Transylvania Stakes (Grade 3)
3-year-olds
Purse $150,000.
MARCAVELLY won his first two starts in very promising fashion, and has yet to finish out of the exacta. He finished second to eventual Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Dreaming of Anna in the Grade 3 Summer Stakes at this distance at Woodbine, and then almost overcame a potent anti-speed bias in the off-the-turf Bourbon at Keeneland. Twilight Meteor, the horse that ran Marcavelly down in the Bourbon, returned to win the Hallandale Beach Handicap on the grass at Gulfstream with a 94 Beyer Speed Figure. Marcavelly is trained by one of the best in the business in Bill Mott, and has the tactical speed to be prominent from the get-go. He should be right there when the field swings into the stretch.
SEDGEFIELD raced against the grain of a speed-favoring track when second in the Grade 2 Lane's End over Polytrack, but he didn't change leads in the stretch, and was drifting in just a bit during the final furlong. He boasts improving Beyers, and should appreciate switching back to the grass, but he wheels back rather quickly, and must avoid a wide trip from an outside post position. He may be slightly overbet. U D GHETTO won the Grade 3 Kentucky Cup Juvenile over Polytrack, and synthetic surface form often translates to the grass. He has some angles in his corner as he adds blinkers for the second start of the year, and there is some turf blood on the bottom side of his pedigree. COBRADOR's lone win came on grass, and he shows some solid works leading up to this race. He'll make the important third start of the form cycle on Friday, and was stuck in outside post positions in his last two races over Polytrack. He gets a huge rider switch to Gomez, and is an intriguing exotics candidate.
IN JEST took all the money for his debut run at Tampa Bay, and won with ease. He'll take a huge step up in class, but the normally-conservative barn is showing a great deal of confidence by placing him here.
Selections:
1. Marcavelly
2. Sedgefield
3. U D Ghetto