2/18-20 (OP): Bayakoa; Spring Fever; Southwest (G3)

[Kasept]

SATURDAY 9th (5:02) Bayakoa S.

1 1/16 Miles | Fillies and Mares | 4 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $100,000

1 1 Tourmaline Borel C H Moquett Ronald E 117 L 8-1
2 2 Absinthe Minded Thompson T J Lukas D Wayne 119 L 9-5
3 3 Darland Morales R Haran John 115 L 20-1
4 4 Tiz Miz Sue Marquez C H Jr Hobby Steve 117 L 8-5
5 5 She's All In Quinonez L S Von Hemel Donnie K 117 L 7-2
6 6 Dawn Lane Court J K Habeeb Donald J 115 6-1

First Half Late Daily Double / Exacta / 50 Cent Trifecta

[Kasept]

SUNDAY 8th (4:44) Spring Fever S.

5 1/2 Furlongs | Fillies and Mares | 4 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $60,000

1 3 Bent Missile Mello D Becker Scott 115 Blk-On L 5-1
1A 5 Awesome Symmetry Ocampo I Becker Scott 115 L 5-1
2 1 Sarah's Song Saez G Robertson McLean 115 L 9-2
3 2 Denali Glitter Cintron A Martin Timothy E 115 L 30-1
4 4 Quest for Success Court J K Ice Tim A 115 L 10-1
5 6 Hearts On Fire Birzer A E Von Hemel Donnie K 117 L 10-1
6 7 Gleaming Berry M C Calhoun W. B 119 L 3-2
7 8 Palooza Thompson T J Lukas D Wayne 115 L 5-1
8 9 Mindy Sue Marquez C H Jr Robertson McLean 115 L 6-1

A-Coupled: Bent Missile and Awesome Symmetry

First Half Late Daily Double / Exacta / 50 Cent Trifecta / 10 Cent Superfecta

[Kasept]

MONDAY 8th (4:41) Southwest S. (G3)

1 Mile | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $250,000

1 Red Jack Court J K 115 L
2 Unbridled's Note Leparoux J R 115 L
3 Jake Mo Berry M C 117 L
4 Majestic Stride Marquez C H Jr 115 L
5 Longview Drive Garcia M 119 L
6 Junebugred Bravo J 122 L
7 No Spin Graham J 119 Blk-Off L
8 Reckless Jerry Laviolette B S 115 L
9 Ring It Up Wade L 115 L
10 Laurie's Rocket Borel C H 117 L
11 Castaway Bejarano R 115 L



MONDAY 9th (5:15) Southwest S. (G3)

1 Mile | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $250,000

1 Z Rockstar Berry M C 115 L
2 Adirondack King Elliott S 117 L
3 Scatman Quinonez L S 115 L
4 Apprehender Diego I 115 Blk-Off L
5 Chalybeate Springs Marquez C H Jr 115 L
6 Pee H Dee Wade L 115 L
7 Cyber Secret Hill C 115 L
8 King Coral Escobar M 115 L
9 Secret Circle Bejarano R 117 L
10 Big Wednesday Vazquez R A 117 L

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Kasept

MONDAY 8th (4:41) Southwest S. (G3)

6 Junebugred Bravo J 122

Can't wait!!!

[Calzone Lord]

Secret Circle's probably going to be asked to rate a little with that wide draw and a few sprint speeds to his inside.

Should be fun to see how he runs with the first route now into him.

The sire of Secret Circle (Eddington) was beaten twice in a pair of maidens to start his career. He was a plodding type who developed into a Grade 1 winning 4yo who twice won Graded Stakes beyond 9 furlongs.

The dam of Secret Circle was a classy plodder who I remember well from Calder. She was beaten 21 and 13 lengths in her first two career tries in maiden races at Colonial Downs. Developed into a consistant closing router with a whole lot of Calder black type.

It's not a precocious and sprinter pedigree. It's more a developing plodder to developing plodder pedigree.

Hard Spun failed in the Southwest from a similar wide draw, while rated for the 1st time, with stretchout sprinters drawn to his inside...but he was wide against a gold rail that day when 4th to Teufulesburg, Officer Rocket, and Forty Grams. Smarty Jones just held off the late run of Two Down Automatic when he won the Southwest.

I don't know if Secret Circle is in the mold of maybe a Smarty Jones, Funny Cide, Hard Spun type...all I really know is he's a very good, fast horse, who might or might not want more than a mile. Now is about the time when he has to show himself.

[Indian Charlie]

Agreed. I think he's generally an underrated horse.

I even used him in that silly SA 3yo contest.

[NTamm1215]

It will work in his favor that he's in the softer division.

[Dahoss]

How about the run Baffert is on? Even more amazing is he's doing it with the one man mush gang behind him.

Pretty incredible.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Can't wait!!!

Did he cross the finish line yet?

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

How about the run Baffert is on? Even more amazing is he's doing it with the one man mush gang behind him.

Pretty incredible.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

The sire of Secret Circle (Eddington) was beaten twice in a pair of maidens to start his career. He was a plodding type who developed into a Grade 1 winning 4yo who twice won Graded Stakes beyond 9 furlongs.

The dam of Secret Circle was a classy plodder who I remember well from Calder. She was beaten 21 and 13 lengths in her first two career tries in maiden races at Colonial Downs. Developed into a consistant closing router with a whole lot of Calder black type.

It's not a precocious and sprinter pedigree. It's more a developing plodder to developing plodder pedigree.

What's interesting is that Secret Circle's full brother, Eddington Limit, is an out-and-out speed horse.

[NTamm1215]

If Castaway wins another graded stake this year I'll need to be resuscitated. Today was his day.

[Kasept]

Preliminary Beyers: Secret Circle 102; Castaway 92.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

What's interesting is that Secret Circle's full brother, Eddington Limit, is an out-and-out speed horse.

You're right...and that's his only other sib to race so far.

Where the hell is the speed and precocity coming from in that pedigree?

Eddington was a plodding developing router. The dam Ragtime Hope was a plodding developing router. And Ragtime Hope's best sibling was Really Polish ... who was another deep closing router ...



She was 3rd in a slow paced Kentucky Oaks closing from 12th and finishing behind Keeper Hill and Banshee Breeze.

Those horses like Smarty Jones, Funny Cide, War Emblem, Hard Spun ... they all had sprinters as sires and distance on the bottom. He's got distance top and bottom and can certainly sprint with any of those names...and those four horses all struggled with routing there first few tries. If anything, Secret Circle is better at a mile than any of them to this point.

Maybe I'm just totally fooled by his pedigree -- but he's still a very good and fast horse who is racing at such a high level from his debut on.

Like Hoss said, Baffert is hot right now. He's not rating anything either...if anything, the opposite.

[Indian Charlie]

It's not impossible for a horse with ND and Mr. P a few generations back to be speed oriented, but yah, it is strange.

Some other examples would be Moscow Ballet. He was considered strictly a sprinter in his brief career, and sired mostly speedier/sprint types. He was by Nijinsky II out of a half to Mill Reef.

Or Apalachee. By Round Table from the great Moccasin. This horse sired pure speed.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Those horses like Smarty Jones, Funny Cide, War Emblem, Hard Spun ... they all had sprinters as sires and distance on the bottom.

Big Brown was obviously another one as well. His sire Boundry was a sprinter.

[outofthebox]

I think Bafferts and Bejarano have done a masterful job getting this colt to relax and finish a two turn race. When i watched this horse in the BC Sprint Juvi at that time i would have never thought of him racing like this. The pedigree has be baffled as well. I remember tossing him in his maiden race because of the "route" influence..