Bram’s Take: The Madness of March Begins
Image:
Description:
Photo of Shagaf by Gulfstream Park/Leslie Martin; Donald Trump photo by Michael Vadon - https://www.flickr.com/photos/80038275@N00/16512978040/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42096198
Super Saturday at Aqueduct figures to have a surprise ending that might just shake up the race for the Kentucky Derby’s favored status. Certainly, however the Gotham Stakes shakes out, it won’t be any more unifying then what happened in our nation on Super Tuesday where a couple of New Yorkers (kind of) took control of a Presidential race that feels far, far, far, far, far (I’ll stop writing far) from over.
New York’s Hillary Clinton — remember when she traded in Arkansas for Gotham — is the Democrat du jour. That’s no surprise. Donald Trump’s shocking take down of the GOP is. The King of New York, or at the very least New Jersey (see Chris Christie staring at him longingly) has turned the “party” into a political brawl for the ages. He’s like Mine That Bird when he won the Derby. We were all like, “that’s nice, but let’s not let the Triple Crown drought end on the craziest of longshots.”
via GIPHY
The Gotham Stakes has got that political feel to it. Sunny Ridge and Adventist figure to appeal to the conservative base, safer bets. But you just know they don’t figure to win the big one come early May. They are the Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz of the field. Good old chaps who talk a good game but when the bully comes calling, they try to hold back the tears.
Shagaf and Mo Power come roaring into Gotham with not much of a track record but a whole lot of bluster. We might very well have a Trump out of these two, a runaway train.
Here’s the field for the Gotham Stakes:
Laoban: Good news, he’s consistently improving. Bad news, Aaron Gryder and his not-so-much win percentage gets to ride him for the first time. He’s Ben Carson, mildly intriguing but not ready for prime time.
Shagaf: He’s 2-for-2 in his warm-ups at a mile and won them both handily. Sired by Bernardini, he’s got the look of someone who can go the distance. Deal with it America. Trump!
SHAGAF'S WIN IN JANUARY AT GULFSTREAM
Courtesy of Gulfstream Park
Adventist: The second race of his career was a $250,000 race on this track back in January. That’s a bit presumptuous, eh? What, you feel like the sport owes you this? Who are you, Jeb Bush?
Vicento: His times simply aren’t fast enough. I can’t see it happening. Sandwiched between a couple of Trump-a-likes will have him sidling up to the winner hoping for a free ride to Churchill Downs. Chris Christie.
Mo Power: Two $50,000 warm-ups as a heavy favorite in Florida leads him to this spot. He was the chalk in both and won’t be here, so he’ll be pressed unlike anything he’s dealt with in his limited experience. He’s got that Trump look, but I’m feeling it’s a little more Ivanka then Donald. But that said, with the Todd Pletcher/John Velazquez combo involved, that Super Pac might just turn this candidate into a surprise Derby entrant. Hello, Michael Bloomberg.
Conquest Big E: He’s been in two big stakes races before and he’s not even come close. Sorry Charlie, this isn’t the race for city comptroller. Martin O’Malley.
Sunny Ridge: Old Sunny has that solid feel. He’s got that old-fashioned look. The old-fashioned feel. He’s going to be a contender. He’s going to have his voice heard. You’ll remember he was there. And you’ll thank him for making it a race. But he won’t be standing in the winner’s circle. Bernie Sanders.
SUNNY RIDGE WINNING WITHERS STAKES
Courtesy of NYRA
Rally Cry: I’m a sucker for split times and his December win at Gulfstream Park is hard to miss. Having not been in spots like this before, I can’t call him Hillary, but he might very well be the one we have to give the nod of approval to when the votes get counted.
Here’s the real question, who’s going to come out of the gate and set the pace? Rally Cry has never done it before but I’d humbly suggest as campaign advisor that it might not be a bad thing to see if he can go wire to wire. The times he can post figure to be the type of unifying force the horse racing delegates like to see. Say he doesn’t want to go all Trump, then what? It’s like everyone will allow everyone else the lead if they so desire. That would play into the hands of a Sunny Ridge or Adventist. But on this day, I don’t feel like the old way of thinking works. I’d love to pick Mo Power if for no other reason we all know Trump is only in this thing for Mo Power but I’ll instead go with my gut and take Shagaf. He’ll be making my America great again … for a day.
The Full Milty: Trifecta - Shagaf over Laoban, Adventist, Mo Power, Sunny Ridge, Rally Cry.
$400,000 Gotham StakesSaturday, Aqueduct, Race 9, 4:50 p.m. ET1 1/16 miles, dirt, 3-year-olds
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Odds
1
Laoban
Aaron Gryder
Eric Guillot
McCormick Racing and Southern Equine Stable
15-1
2
Shagaf
Irad Ortiz Jr.
Chad Brown
Shadwell Stable
3-1
3
Adventist
Kendrick Carmouche
Leah Gyarmati
Treadway Racing Stable
4-1
4
Vincento
Angel Arroyo
Rudy Rodriguez
Vincent S. Scuderi
20-1
5
Mo Power
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
Repole Stable
6-1
6
Conquest Big E
Jose Ortiz
Mark Casse
Conquest Stables
6-1
7
Sunny Ridge
Manny Franco
Jason Servis
Dennis A. Drazin
7-2
8
Rally Cry
Junior Alvarado
Todd Pletcher
Paul P. Pompa Jr.
5-1