AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS
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DELTA JACKPOT S. (G3), 8TH-DED, $1,000,000, 2YO, 1 1/16M, 9:30 P.M. CST, 12-1 |
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| 1 | XCHANGER, 2, c, by Exchange RateSaragoza, by Crafty Prospector O-Domenico Zannino; B-Oscar Martinez (Fl) |
| 2 | MALT MAGIC, 2, c, by Cherokee RunLa Cucina (Ire), by Last Tycoon (Ire) O-Zayat Stables; B-Domino Stud of Lexington, LLC (Ky) |
| 3 | SCATTER THE TAK, 2, G, by MutakddimScatter, by Shadeed O-Heiligbrodt Racing Stable; B-North Highland Farm (Md) |
| 4 | GO POPPA FOOZE, 2, c, by Exciting StoryCatawba, by Seeking the Gold O-Dream Walkin Farms Inc; B-Dream Walkin’ Farm, Inc. (Ky) |
| 5 | OFFICER ROCKET (GB), 2, c, by OfficerOcean View, by Gone West O-Frank Fletcher Racing Operation Inc; B-J Chaplin (GB) |
| 6 | ICE MAN COMETH, 2, c, by TrippiTrial On Ice, by Skip Trial O-Klaravich Stables Inc; B-Chris Weiss (Fl) |
| 7 | MISTYCAL LIGHT, 2, c, by Festival of LightSweet Misty, by Lucky So n’ So O-Tommy E Landreth; B-Landreth Tommy Edwin (Ky) |
| 8 | BIRDBIRDISTHEWORD, 2, c, by Pure PrizeBerchta, by Rocky Mountain O-Raymond H Cottrell Sr; B-Lucy Edwards & Randell Edwards (Fl) |
| 9 | PIRATES DEPUTY, 2, G, by BertrandoWinter House, by Deputy Minister O-J Terrence Lanni & Bernard C Schiappa; B-Martin J. Wygod & John Spohler (Ca) |
| 10 | FREESGOOD, 2, c, by Free HouseFun Project, by Housebuster O-William L Currin & Alvin Eisman; B-Wm. L. Currin & Al Eisman (Ca) |
Friday night’s $1 million Delta Jackpot S. (G3) should be a terrific wagering
event. A competitive field of 10 two-year-olds will line up for the two-turn, 1
1/16-mile race, and we’re going to take a flyer with recent maiden winner ICE
MAN COMETH (Trippi), who ships in from Aqueduct for trainer Richard Violette Jr.
Ice Man Cometh broke slowly and was out of the picture before closing quickly
to finish fourth, beaten just a half-length, in his debut at Saratoga. In his
next start, he broke better and chased the pace along the inside, angled out
momentarily, then dove toward the rail in upper stretch, finishing with
interest for runner-up honors in the sloppy NATC Futurity at Monmouth Park. Most
recently, the bay colt broke alertly to the lead and cruised to an 8 1/2-length
victory over maidens at Aqueduct on October 25. Ice Man Cometh has shown
improvement in each of his three starts and recently worked one mile in New
York. He has the look of a live longshot at 15-1 on the morning line beneath
Rafael Bejarano.
XCHANGER (Exchange Rate) closed determinedly to win the Sapling S. (G3), then battled a fierce headwind while attending the pace from the
outside before finishing a non-threatening sixth in the Champagne S. (G1). The Mark Shuman-trained colt rallied on the outside before
finishing third in the Nashua S. (G3) in his last start and may be
able to work out a ground-saving stalking trip from the rail under regular rider
Joe Bravo. He is a good one to use in the vertical exotics at a square price.
The Bob Baffert-trained MALT MAGIC (Cherokee Run) was a romping 9 1/2-length
maiden winner around two turns at Del Mar, then attended the early running
before faltering in the Norfolk Breeders’ Cup S. (G2). In his most recent
outing, the dark bay colt forced the early issue from the outside and was
essentially eased in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Malt
Magic has been burning up the track since the Breeders’ Cup, working six
furlongs in a bullet 1:11 on November 14, six furlongs out of the gate in a
bullet 1:10 4/5 on November 20 and four furlongs in a bullet :46 3/5 last
Saturday. He is a dangerous front runner with an inside draw but probably won’t
be anywhere near his morning-line odds of 20-1.
OFFICER ROCKET (GB) (Officer), the dead-heat winner of the
Arlington-Washington Breeders’ Cup Futurity (G3), finished a distant fifth in
the Iroquois S. (G3) last out. Trainer Bob Holthus said the
chestnut displaced his soft palate in the Iroquois and has since undergone a myectomy. Officer
Rocket worked six furlongs in 1:11 4/5 on November 22 and will have to revert
to his previous form to factor here. BIRDBIRDISTHEWORD (Pure Prize) is
two-for-two on the turf and exits a good fourth-place effort in the Breeders’
Futurity (G1) on Polytrack at Keeneland. In his only dirt start, the Kenny
McPeek trainee finished fifth to Officer Rocket, beaten 12 1/4 lengths, in his
debut at Arlington Park. Birdbirdistheword, the 3-1 favorite on the morning
line, and Officer Rocket, the 7-2 second choice, could both go forth at underlaid odds.
Another Baffert trainee, PIRATES DEPUTY (Bertrando), was a fast-closing
second to FREESGOOD (Free House) in the restricted California Cup Juvenile S. on
October 28 at Oak Tree. The dark bay has been training sharply since then and is
worth a second look at a price under Garrett Gomez. Freesgood defeated fellow
California-breds in his last two starts, but will get
tested for class with these. Note that he began his career for a $40,000 tag.
GO POPPA FOOZE (Exciting Story) won the local prep for this race, the
one-mile Jean Lafitte S., in front-running fashion by a widening nine lengths.
He figures to vie for the early lead but is hard to recommend at 9-2 on the
morning line. SCATTER THE TAK (Mutakddim) has yet to finish out of the money in
three career starts on Polytrack at Woodbine. He will make his first start for
trainer Scott Blasi but could be a cut below some of these.
MISTYCAL LIGHT (Festival of Light) was all out to defeat first-level
allowance foes on November 16 at Laurel Park. He would be a surprise.