And We Can’t Ignore the Annual EWC Showcase Turf Race for 2YO

The EWC has their annual Showcase races this weekend featuring unraced 2 year olds.  Breeding conditions have been invoked on trainers in which only sires housed at tracks supported by the EWC can be used (sorry Kentucky).  As for the DS and DDS, they can be anything including using a retired mare. There are two races this weekend with one on the dirt and the other on the turf and this article features the turf race.  Later in 2019, a planned reunion of these runners will be held in the form of a listed stake race.   As none of these entrants have yet raced, handicapping the field is mostly based on the breeding.  Here’s a look at the field:

 

1    8/1

KING GIMLET is a feisty colt coming out of Queen Connection who took three wins over her career.   She has bred eight previous horses, all winning at least at the allowance level and two taking a stake level win.   Tanino Gimlet was the sire used and he has seen decreasing usage over recent years.  31% of his 2018 crop have already earned wins and one of three bred in 2019 has a victory.   The back end has a hard hitter in Kingmambo as DS and Redoute’s Choice also adds nice support.  Owner Denovo is hopeful that this guy will be crowned the “king” when the race is over.

2    49/1

TSR’S LYON comes out of game mare Pornikova and is the fifth child of this 8-time winning mare.  Two of her children have won within the allowance level.  Elusive City was selected to be the sire by owner Tstack.  Although not frequently used, 72% Elusive City’s 2018 crop has earned a win, a very healthy percentage.  Rounding out the breeding line are Sakhee as DS and Rainbow Quest as DDS which add a nice kick to the grass ability.  This horse has been gelded but that may not stop it from being a lion.

3    5/1

RACING MONSTER is a scratch bred entrant who is owned by Marky4577.  This colt carries the Charm Spirt x Nureyev x Forty Niner lineage.  Charm Spirit, as a sire, has seen increased usage over recent years and is ranked 29^th with 2018 breedings.  The kids bred last season have one 52% of their race and include 3 stake winners (2 of which have grade wins).   Nureyev x Forty Niner round out the breeding line for this colt.   Charm Spirit has been doing well lately as a sire and trainers have noticed including Marky4577 who hopes this one will truly be a monster.

4   9/2

A.  P. PIE PYE is the daughter of G3 winning A. P. Rizz kid, a mare that earned over $600k in her career with 8 victories.  She has 11 more children with 4 listed stake winners and 2 grade level winners.  Six of her last bred children have won stake races.  Owner Tyedye has had much success with this mare and teams it up this time with sire Pierro.   The sire had two stake winners in his 2018 crop with 38% taking home a win.  A. P. Indy x Unbridled are top notch but both lean towards producing dirt winners.  Tyedye is not phased by this as his last four horses out of the mare have been stake winning grass runners.  Tyedye hopes that he won’t be wearing pie when the race is over.

5   22/1

METAL TOWN comes out of game mare Dreaming of Queens who has now produced a dozen runners.  Recent horses out of the mare have not performed well but going back a number of years, she has produced a listed stake winner as well as a grade level winner.  Owner Neonshadow ventured to use Real Steel who is a first-year sire and has had four runners race this year with no wins to date.   A decent back end of Pulpit x Pine Bluff are included in the bloodline, however, these lean more toward dirt running ability.   Quite a bit of unkown here with not much to go on with the first year sire and things get a bit tougher with how the impact of the dirt producers on the back end will help this filly when she runs on the turf.

6    30/1

THE KING’S GOLD is a filly who has stake winning Bonnie Chevalier as her mother who won 14 races during her racing days.  She has four previous children, two have won at the allowance level.   King’s Best was the choice as sire by owner Bbudgies and his two year olds last season saw 44% of them picking up a win.   The back end of the bloodline contains Touch Gold x Deputy Minister who produce children more for the dirt.  There is some in-breeding here as Touch Gold is the son of Deputy Minister.  Regardless of that, there could be some gold to be gained if this one wins.

7    20/1

MARKS CHOICE was bred by owner Crawf68 by using game mare Barath Brush.  Barath earned 7 wins over her lifetime of racing and mothered 6 prior children with only one winning at the allowance level.  Marks Choice has been sired by Aclaim who is in his second year as a sire.  Last year he produced two stake winners, one also taking a grade stake win and 35% of the kids bred last year have picked up a win.  This filly has a lesser known Barathea as the DS and Broad Brush as DDS.   While this one may not look like much, the sire has already produced stake winners in his first year as a sire and this lady could be the next notch on the bed post.

8    31/1

BOBBY THOMAS has been entered by Millerfarm and is the son of Marlo Thomas, a mare who amassed 7 wins over 32 races.  Three previous children are out of this mare, two of which have placed in a stakes race.   Third year Bobby’s Kitten was assigned the roll of sire and in the 2018 group of children, 37% have a win and one has taken a stake victory.   Four two-year olds out of this sire have raced this year with two picking up wins.   Dylan Thomas x Dubai Millennium complete the breeding line with both favorable to the turf.   This one may turn out to favor the sprint and could be ready to strike first time out.

9    71/1

WELCOME APPROVAL is the eighth child out of Irish D’Inverne who is a 7 time winner with her very first child becoming a stake winner.  Owner Hemarfarms opted to recruit Acclamation as the sire in breeding with the game mare.  Acclamation has been lightly utilized in recent days and 12 of 19 sired runners last year (63%) captured a win.  On the backside we find Carnegie x Nugget Point, both are also lightly used in breeding.  The breeding line is not as strong as others in the race but if this one fires up, there will be a nice welcoming in the winner’s circle with the filly’s owner.

10   7/1

EWC MILLER THREE is the third in the EWC Miller brand of horses owned by Cuetec.  The original EWC Miller ran in the Showcase stake race and finished second.  EWC Miller Two had a second in the Showcase maiden race and later finished third in the Showcase stake race.  This year we have a filly who comes out of 4 tinning mare Some Say a Queen who has bred her ninth child.  Of the previous 8, one has become a stake winner.   Miller Three is bred with the solid Oasis Dream as the sire with More Than Ready x Grand Slam on the backend.   Oasis Dream is ranked 10^th for 2018 breeding and had 9 stake winners (3 becoming grade winners) last year with over 60% of children visiting the winners circle.  Cuetec has had success with the Miller brand and don’t be surprised if it should continue.

11    31/1

KING KRIS K belongs to owner Jm23stable and this colt is the first baby to retired mare With Kris who snagged a pair of wins over a relatively short career.   Popular with trainers is King Kamehameha that was chosen as the sire.  He ranked 75^th overall in 2018 with that year’s crop with 48% of the group winning a race thus far.  Inclusive are 4 stake winners with 3 who advance to win grade level races. Turf producing Grey Swallow x With Approval round out the bloodline.  Whether or not the bloodline is strong enough to make this one king of the field will only be determine don the raceway.

12    20/1

EXTRA HEAVY is a colt that is owned by Atthewire and is the second child to Excedida, a winner of 5 races.   First year sire The Anvil provided his services and in limited racing in 2019 he has witnessed one of two horses he sired race and win.  The Anvil is joined by grass producing Exceed and Excel as DS and Pivotal as DDS.  While The Anvil has not yet been established as a productive sire, he does have Galileo in his bloodline which could add an extra heavy and strong boost to this two year old.

13    81/1

SPORTS MOUNTAIN is a scratch bred colt owned and trained by Brit9.   The bloodline consists of Sports Edition x Monashee Mountiain x Bel Esprit.  Sire Sports Edition is a first-year sire and only has one horse this year that has set foot on the track.  The backend of the breeding is lightly used and does not contain anything too eye-popping.   Pretty much an underdog in the field who has a mountain to climb but with 2 year olds, anything can happen.

14    35/1

LITTLE ELENIOR is a scratch bred filly and owned by BigT123.   She contains the Golden Ticket x War Chant x Maria’s Mon pedigree.  Golden Ticket has started his fourth year as a sire and saw his usage sliced by more than half in 2018.  Despite the reduced usage, there were 51% of children bred in the year that won a race.   War Chant is the DS and pretty much produces an even amount of dirt/turf runners where DDS Maria’s Mon tilts toward the dirt.  This little girl may have a tough task before her but big things could be in her future.

15    15/1

QUEEN SYLVANAS will represent owner Smittie 684 in this affair.  This is a filly bred out of Warcraftsman who was recently retired for the purposes of breeding this filly.  The mare was hooked up with sire Duramente, who is a third year sire and has produced a number of grass runners.   In 2018, 42% of his children won a race with 6 nailing a stake win (including one with a grade level win).   The backside of the bloodline is made up of Mastercraftsman x War Chant.   Over his first two years as a sire, Duramente has produced 12 stake winners and he may have crowned another one with this Queen.

16    3/1

NAMELESS ONE is apparently a horse with no name and is owned by Kashbarn.  This colt comes out of Miss Treat who won twice in 27 races.  Four horses have been bred to this game mare with one becoming a stake winner.   The lineage for this colt is Frankel x Giant’s Causeway x Kingmambo.    Frankel ranked 4^th amongst sires in 2018 producing 7 stake winners (2 also won graded races) and an overall winning rate of 58%.   The breeding line is solid and Kashbarn is hopeful that this runner will make a name for itself.

17    9/1

IRISH’S ADVANTAGE is the first child out of Quantum Leaps, a stake winning mare.  Sire Cape Blanco’s services were secured for the breeding and in 2018 crop he had one child win a stake race with 50% of all children gaining a victory.  Looking for an advantage by using this sire, Owner Thegracie has added Dynaformer x Green Desert on the backside with both being good support for producing grass runners.   Having a mother that is a stake winner could add to the advantage.

SELECTIONS

With the larger field I’ve made a handful of selections with hopes one will score:

1)      A. P.  Pie Pye has a game mare that has a streak of producing stake winners and his filly could rule this race.

2)      EWC Miller Three will look to have a toast after the race and I like the Oasis Dream as sire.

3)      Nameless One is a scratchbred with Frankel as the headliner in the pedigree.

4)      Extra Heavy has a first-time sire and I’m hoping the Galileo in the sires bloodline will mean something.

5)      TSR’s Lyon has a sire that may be slightly underrated and last year’s crop produced a high percentage of winners.  Maybe there is something to it.

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