The Galloping Hat Rack

A nice field of ten proven and promising turf horses line the gate for the Joe Hirsch this year, and despite lacking the mighty Point of Entry, it still looks like a pretty good race with past Breeders’ Cup winner Little Mike, two-time G1 winner Big Blue Kitten, Arlington Million winner Real Solution, and world record-setter Twilight Eclipse taking up a stall.

I’m a bit annoyed that the Ramseys have entered two horses, which guarantee to slaughter the value of a pick 3 or 4 should one of them prevail, so my main mission with this race is to find some alternatives.  Grass should stay firm for the race, read on to see what value I could find.

$600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational - 3-Year-Olds & Up. 1 ½ miles on turf at Belmont Park. Post Time: Saturday, September 28 at 5:17pm EST.

[Post Position, Horse - Jockey, All carry 126 lbs, Trainer - Summary, Opinion in italics]

1) Nutello - Jose Lezcano, Graham Motion - A giant *yesssss* goes out for this horse, a returning son of Lemon Drop Kid and descendant of some marvelous turf heritage, who finished 3rd last out in the Sword Dancer (I) after being rank early on. He switches trainers to the good turf trainer Motion, keeps turf rider Lezcano, and gets first-time Lasix. Improvement potential is there, which is great because I’m already keen on him!

2) Imagining - John Velazquez, Shug McGaughey - The Giant’s Causeway colt created some buzz at Saratoga, looking hot in the paddock before skirting off wire-to-wire in a 9 ½ furlong event to win by nearly 6 lengths– a big deal for a grass race– over Atigun and Eagle Poise. He looks good and should be forwardly-placed early by the excellent hands of Johnny V.

3) Big Blue Kitten - Joe Bravo, Chad Brown - Betting a Ramsey horse seems to be a smart investment these days, and few horses of theirs are running as well as the BBK. A son of Kitten’s Joy, he’s got turf pedigree and turf connections with top trainer Chad Brown and has won at this distance before with the Sword Dancer (I) last out. Can he go three G1s in a row? Not unheard of and he’s a smart mover. I don’t think he’s as cranked as he was last time though, and possibly might be saving some wind for the Breeders’ Cup. At his current odds, be sure to play someone else too.

4) Slumber [GB] - Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott - Few connections are as “lucky” to me on the grass quite like the Juddmonte-Mott angle. Euro-bred, he won two straight Saratoga allowances (again, those are almost like G3 races), which he won handily despite going wide in his last. He looks to improve in his 2nd race off a year-long layoff, and he won in his first one back as a very keen closer.

5) Real Solution - Alan Garcia, Chad Brown - The Arlington Million winner and coupled Ramsey entry, the other Kitten’s Joy in this race tries to stretch out beyond the 10 furlongs of the Million for the first time and should be able to handle that task ok. His recent races have been good but not amazing as they could be for a Brown-Ramsey Kitten’s Joy. He won the Million via DQ and hasn’t cruised in a race since he left Rome.

6) Twilight Eclipse - Javier Castellano, Tom Albertrani - A world record holder and known ace at this distance (2 wins and 1 place including his world record run), the Purim gelding ran well but a mite too late to catch BBK last out in the Sword Dancer (I). He’s a speedball on the turf, an ace at the distance, and gets Castellano.

7) Boisterous - John Velazquez, Shug McGaughey -

8) Joes Blazing Aaron - Rajiv Maragh, Mike Maker - Winless in 7 meek starts this year, the Graeme Hall gelding is owned by the Ramseys fresh off a Saratoga claim where he finished 4th by less than 2 lengths for a $62,500 tag. Mike Maker/Ramsey angle is strong, and the pair have been notorious for turning around horses. But from a claim to a G1? Lucky he’s part of a good coupling or else I’d have to skip him.

9) King Kreesa - Irad Ortiz Jr, John Englehart - An awesome little gelding by Kingmambo stallion King Cugat, King Kreesa was a stubborn second last out to Wise Dan and tries to stretch out for the first time here. He’s never been off the board at Belmont, with 4 wins in 7 starts. While he breaks from the outside, King Kreesa looks to be the pacemaker and is a pretty capable horse. Can he stretch out?

10) Little Mike - Mike Smith, Dale Romans - Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf winner and the ultimate mighty mini, the Spanish Steps gelding breaks from the far outside and has seen better days, last out running 6th in the Arlington Million by 4 lengths after setting the pace. Mike Smith takes the reins for him this time and Dale Romans is pretty good reforming horses on their 3rd start off the layoff. Little Mike lost this race last year, and will likely go with King Kreesa straight for the lead. Had he an uncontested lead, I might like him more, but he didn’t even win this race last year and is not in peak form.

Top 3 Picks in Order:

1) Imagining

2) Big Blue Kitten

3) Slumber [GB]

I had to do a lot of paper stabbing whittling down this quality race, but Imagining stands to improve much and will likely have good position to unleash hell into right off that Saratoga stake. Big Blue Kitten is still hot, and looked great winning the Sword Dancer last out, but I’m cautious about using him as chalk with possible regression. Slumber [GB] stands to gain something; some of his Euro races look pretty good and he ought to keep improving 2nd off the layoff.

For pick ¾: All 3. I might play Twilight Eclipse here too as a horse who doesn’t have the greatest form on paper right now, but has Castellano up and is never wrong at the distance on firm going.

Value Pick: Anyone but the Ramsey horses