Harry’s Picks 091914 There is much excitement in the fall air as California Chrome is ready to return to the races this Saturday in the million dollar Pennsylvania Derby a G2 test which has drawn a cosmopolitan group of adversaries for California Chrome to match wits and strides with. Having run the rack of the Santa Anita derby, Kentucky Derby & Preakness Stakes this spring the son of unheralded Lucky Pulpit found a big hole in his ozone layer when coming up short in the Belmont Stakes back in June 2014. His los unleashed a furious controversy as his connections went apoplectic on national TV accusing the “sharpies” in Manhattan of having contrived to prevent the gallant California Chrome from finishing his job at Belmont Park- The furor seems to have passed away and most racing people are anticipating a excellent race to handicap and watch- I have the names of 8 3yo I front of me – and a brief look at some pedigree “takes” may prove helpful as fans make their way thru the program at Parx Track Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. 1. California Chrome has a dam which was inbred to Numbered Account. The latter being the fanciest broodmare I believe one can breed into- so great is the genetic superiority of Numbered Account that a champion was raised from an assignation of Lucky Pulpit & Love the Chase!!! This is tantamount to finding life flourishing on the moon!! Pedigree fans will be delighted to know Numbered Account by Buckpasser out of Intriguing has enough pedigree to be invited to one of those parties depicted in Kubrick’s last flick- stemming from American Family “4” California Chrome has galvanized those interested in the vagaries of “pedigree” his broodmare sire array has a of Princequillo, Sir Ivor, Vaguely Noble, Ribot, Beau Pere & Sir Galahad II- the latter perhaps the greatest sire of broodmares of all-times! 2. Candy Boy is a son no doubt of red hot sire Candy Ride, the unbeaten champion who has ignored his somewhat humble bloodlines to be amongst the top half dozen sires currently operational in the world. Candy Boy appears to be a “sprinter” but to his credit his 10th dam Orangerie was sired by sensational influence William the Third a foal of 1898 with a number of vital crosses to phenomenal broodmare Pocahontas! His dam She’s An Eleven was inbred to Secretariat’s disgusting half brother the blimp Somethingfabulous- the only thing missing from Somethingfabulous when in action was him and his rider munching on a box of chocolates- I believe I saw all of Somethingfabulous races in NYRA land and he never failed to disappoint. 3. Protonico is a new face to me- a son of mega-beast Giant’s Causeway, Protonico may fail in here because his best win was in the Smarty Jones stakes locally- that may not be enough seasoning and class to overcome some of the high flyers coming out for this Derby- his dam side seems too speedy to be taken very seriously, then again his grand dam was a sensation in South America and at Belmont Park! And she placed in a version of the St. Leger run in Chile. 4. Bayern was my pick in the Travers, think it was, and he finished last- but he was the leader for most of the races with some excellent runners breathing down his neck- his guru Baffert is a master at winning $1,000,000 pots and Bayern is the kind of horse I’d like to be if I were a horse- go to the front and try and stay there- experts say this is the most difficult way to win. He too stems basically from the same tribe of females as champion California Chrome, so the rub is in his sire Offlee Wild, a very handsome horse but valued at only 4K as a stallion (service fee) that such sires as Lucky Pulpit and Offlee Wild have succeeded with family “A4” mares is a testament to that line of mares being a high quality group cemented by Judy Rullah etc. - this race is shorter than the Travers Stakes so beware, Bayern could last until the finish here. 5. Noble Moon………..here is a long shot for sure- I liked him last time he ran and he was a huge disappointment and sent me to the chicken “coop” for corn kernels to have for supper- he won his debut race at 25-1 and should be #X that when the gates open at Parx Saturday- his sire Malibu Moon was the rage last year and has been relatively quiet in 2014- his 5th dam Sunday Evening is he has the “Stockwell Touchstone Stack!!as much as I’d like to “present” him common sense cries out he’s not on the level of the Kentucky Derby winner by any measuring stick- 6. Classic Giacnroll is a son of Giacomo the 50-1 Kentucky Derby winner of 2005- the ff are 5-F thru Mira Femme- but more importantly is 6th dam Eyes Of Blue was sired by big heart stallion Blue Larkspur- this alone the way I look at racing makes Classic Giacnroll a “possibility” but how can he realistically expect a non stakes winner to beat a multiple G1 champion colt like California Chrome or be able to keep pace with a speed machine like Bayern? 7. Tapiture by cosmic stud Tapit is the great question mark of the Pennsylvania Derby I suppose he’s coming off a win in the rich West Virginia Derby and his pedigree seems more inclined to a mile rather than further- but lo and behold his sixth dam is by the aforementioned stalwart Eight Thirty and perhaps of more importance is that he has the “Touchstone/Stockwell Stack” In my studies I have found many runners who possess this trait have been exemplary runners- here the stack is employed by the 17th and 16th dams Meeanee & Emily! Let’s not forget that Tapiture has Numbered Account I his paperwork as well as she is dam to Private Account who sired the “granny” of Tapiture! On sire points alone Tapiture might be able to prevail here. 8. C J’s Awesome rounds out the field – on performance it seems he has virtually no chance but on pedigree we must consider that the recent sunspot activity may have altered his desire and perhaps he could emerge here at 90-1!! His 3rd dam Love Is Love was sired my favorite non-family member Secretariat- and a glance at his broodmare sire array of >Mizzen Mast>Fit To Fight>Secretariat>Northern Dancer along with all-important 5th dam Quadruple by Fleet Nasrullah (Nasrullah x Happy Go Fleet x Count Fleet) brings a tear to me eye- A Long look into C J’s Awesome family tree revealed many notable horses and mares- so where does the pedigree portion of this bit of handicapping leave me- well, with a trifecta play of California Chrome > Tapiture and C’J’ Awesome h- Picks for Friday 091914 Arlington 1-1x2 2-4x5 3-5x6 4-1ex3x6 5-3 6-3X6 7-3X7 8-3x6x7 9-6 Belmont 1-1 2-1 3-1e 4-2 5-6 6-3 7-7 8-1 9-1 Los Alamitos TB meet 1-2 2-1 3-4 4-2 5-1 6-4 7-5 8-1 Will Rogers 1-9 2-5x8 3-2 4-9 5-2 6-1 7-3 8-1x7 9-4 10-3 11-4 12-4 h/
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 23:43:45 +0000