“The Armchair Guide to the Race of the Week”
The 2nd. Running of THE BARRETS/CTBA CLASSIC – Florida v California
Saturday, January 24th. at Santa Anita – Race 6 – Post Time 3.00 p.m. PST
Four-year-Olds and Upward – 1 1/8 Miles on the dirt – Purse $1,000,000
No.
P.P.
Form
Horse
Trainer
Age
Weight
Jockey
Rating
1
(2)
112023-
MIDAS EYES
Bobby Frankel
4
120
John Velasquez
137 F
1A
(7)
134120-
PEACE RULES
Bobby Frankel
4
120
Jerry Bailey
142 F
2
(1)
320422-
CONTINENTAL RED
Ian Jory
8
122
Pat Valenzuela
128 C
3
(3)
203040
GREY MEMO
Warren Stute
7
122
Matt Garcia
135 C
4
(4)
01012-0
EXCESSIVEPLEASURE
Doug O’Neill
4
120
Jon Court
136 C
5
(5)
0P021-3
STANDARD SETTER
Jeff Bonde
4
120
Ryan Fogelsonger
119 C
6
(6)
01/300-0
HOT MARKET
Craig Lewis
6
122
Jose Valdivia Jr.
133 C
7
(8)
030331-
WHITE BUCK
Mike Mitchell
4
120
Mike Smith
127 F
8
(9)
1/311-
SOUTHERN IMAGE
Michael Machowsky
4
120
Victor Espinoza
139 F
9
(10)
42431-3
TOUCH THE WIRE
Craig Dollase
4
120
Corey Nakatani
131 F
10
(11)
011101-
EXCESS SUMMER
Jeff Mullins
4
120
Gary Stevens
129 C
11
(12)
1/4430-0
THE JUDGE SEZ WHO
Milton Wolfson
5
122
Kent Desormeaux
130 F
Also Eligible:
33033-4
COMMANDER’S FLAG
Bruce Headley
5
122
Jose Valdivia Jr.
126 C
21/004-1
PAY THE PREACHER
Michael Dickinson
6
122
A.Gorman
132 F
- Form: most recent races from right to left.
- P = pulled up.
- - = end of year.
- / = 2 years ago.
- F = Florida.
- C = California.
Morning Line: 3/1 Midas Eyes and Peace Rules, 5/1 Southern Image, 8/1 Touch the Wire, 10/1 Excessivepleasure, 12/1 Grey Memo, 16/1 Hot Market, 20/1 Others.
Summary: Money, as usual, talks. And the $1 million purse has brought out a full and intriguing field of Floridians versus Californians, in a strange scenario where a Classic contender (Peace Rules) receives weight from several veteran quasi-claimers. So it should be just a question of loading up on Bobby Frankel and waiting about two minutes to collect? WRONG!
This is an unusual race in many ways, because you very seldom come across such a diverse collection of horses running under such strange conditions…..So a weird result is quite possible…..especially as the two Frankel horses are front-end guys and they could easily be done in by a speed duel. Therefore we’ll look for a) a horse that likes this racetrack, and b) one that can come from off the pace.
Briefly (from the rail):
Continental Red….in 56 races he has only one win here….so forget him
Midas Eyes….0 for 2 here, he will be close to the lead…..but will he last?
Grey Memo….0 for 15 here, he looks like an early season horse, though, and with the right trip could be a dangerous closer.
Excessivepleasure…speed, speed, speedy…..but so are others, which could blunten him.
Standard Setter….coming off a claim for 32K…no chance.
Hot Market….3 wins on this track, he’s had his problems lately…..but working well and cannot be discounted.
Peace Rules…Grade 1 winner, who was 3rd. in the Kentucky Derby last year, he’s the class of the race and would ordinarily be giving these plenty of weight. But, while his stalking-style might suit this probably fast pace, he might not have it as easy as one would think.
White Buck….recent turf form is o.k. but this looks like a tough assignment.
Southern Image…2 for 3 at Santa Anita, this lightly-raced colt must have had his problems. Nevertheless, what he lacks in experience he makes up for with talent….and, in that regard, he figures to be tough to beat here…..if he gets this trip?
Touch the Wire….winless on this track, he ran on well last time out…..but this will be a lot tougher.
Excess Summer…with a 6 for 10 lifetime record (1 for 2 here) he always runs well….and he gets Stevens here, which won’t hurt. But the distance just might.
The Judge Sez Who….has obviously had problems lately…..but his past form is not bad, although he’s never run on this track before.
Also Eligible:
Commander’s Flag….well-bred horse would be a fringe player, if he gets in.
Pay the Preacher…..when he’s right he’s dangerous….as is his trainer, always…so never say never
Selection: SOUTHERN IMAGE to beat Peace Rules, with Grey Memo and Hot Market the long-shots.