Unbeaten on turf, Banksy's should provide more value than favored Go Grey
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All third-place finishes are not created equal. Some grade out like a win, while others, like Go Grey’s third Sept. 5, fall into the “somebody had to be third” category.
But because Go Grey’s third-place finish came in the $1.8 million Nashville Derby, he’s the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the featured ninth race Friday at Churchill. And if the line proves accurate, value accrues to other, longer-priced players in this nonwinners-of-three turf route allowance restricted to 3-year-olds.
Trainer Mike Maker and owner David Staudacher evidently like Go Grey quite a bit – they claimed the gelding for $100,000 on July 5 at Saratoga. And guess what – Staudacher is already out on the horse. Go Grey earned $161,000 after looping from 10th around the far turn to be third in the 1 5/16-mile Nashville Derby.
He was, however, nowhere near the top two home, Caroline St. Beat and Glacius, and only 1 3/4 lengths separated the third and seventh-place finishers. Moreover, the steady run Go Grey produced at that longer trip might not translate to success over 1 1/16 miles Friday.
While Go Grey was running for a total possible purse of $3 million at Kentucky Downs, Banksy’s shipped from Churchill to Colonial Downs for a $73,200 allowance race on Aug. 27. The way he won that day, running his turf record to 2 for 2, suggests he’d be a better bet at his morning-line price, 4-1, than Go Grey.
Banksy’s showed a measure of ability from the start of his career, and, racing on dirt at distances between six furlongs and 1 1/8 miles, turned in six performances ranging from decent to quite encouraging. Trainer David Fawkes entered Banksy’s for turf June 25, got rained off, but came back with a second grass entry July 8 at Ellis Park, and Banksy’s finally won a race.
He did so like a horse still feeling his way over an unfamiliar surface, laying in on the last horse he had to pass before finally straightening out and finishing the job. Banksy’s ran differently at Colonial. At Ellis, Banksy’s came with a steady run from partway around the far turn, but at Colonial, he moved up with alacrity going down the backstretch, and when stymied in traffic, appeared to be fully engaged, on the bit and asking to do more. Banksy’s hit the homestretch with momentum, changed leads beautifully, and flashed stronger acceleration than he’d shown in his turf debut. The competition was nothing like Go Grey’s at Kentucky Downs, but Banksy’s looked like a horse on the rise.
Trainer Dallas Stewart, who is 7 for 14 at this meet, entered Royal Causeway, a mildly troubled seventh, less than two lengths behind Go Grey, in the Nashville Derby, and Corona de Oro, who has as much ability as anyone in the field but has never tried turf.
Aces Honor rates a solid chance, too, though the Toronto Cup in which he finished a close second – a race he probably should have won – wasn’t appreciably stronger than the Colonial allowance Banksy’s won.
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