Y15 April Week One

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Sycamore Stakes - 12F - 2yo - Colts - G5+
win Natural Selection (nose)
place Wyvern (neck)
show First Class

Natural Selection was on his game today. He broke really well and went right to the lead, setting a very difficult pace for the other two colts to keep up with. It was quite the trek for all three of them, and they all did a fantastic job at going the distance. The race was very close, with the horses more or less on top of each other the entire time around. It came down to the final furlongs, where Natural Selection really turned up the heat in an attempt to sweep away the competition. The other two colts were not to be left behind, and they kept up remarkably well over such a long distance, resulting in almost breaking a track record. In the end though, Natural Selection hung on. They all photoed for first, and once again it was a very close race, easily any of these fantastic colts could have taken the win and run with it.

All of these colts are fantastic, but Natural Selection really stood out today, hence resulting in a win. Wyvern has been doing a lot of racing within a period of a few short weeks, so he was a little off his game, otherwise he very well could have given Natural Selection a run for his money. As for First Class, he's a lovely colt but he didn't stand out to me as much as the other two, but there's no doubt that he'll be securing another win for himself soon.

[Kenren]

Not contesting the placement, but just pointing out that two races a month is completely standard.

[Deleted]

Oh I know, it wasn't that big a factor in the judging. Just that he had run some races relatively close together where the others were coming in a little fresher. I didn't mean to imply that I thought he was being over raced, as you are doing a great job with him.

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Nigrosine Stakes - 9F - G3
win Stalking The Stars (nose)
place Lookin' Back Lucky
show Lost In Memories
fourth White Rose

Stalking The Stars really stood out in this field, as did Lucky, and I flipped between them a couple of times before deciding. All really nice horses, but didn't see the bottom two contesting with the top.

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SHEEMA CLASSIC* - 11F - 4YO+ G1

"Welcome ladies and gentleman to the Y15 Sheema Classic. We'll be going eleven furlongs today with some of the greatest, if not best turf horses in the country. It's quite a field today, track conditions are fast, and as we head down to observe the post parade, we see the horses are really feeling it today. Now these are the big boys that are running today, absolute turf giants that are known far and wide, and what a privilege it is to watch them run.

 In gate one we have Dare To Impress, a lovely black mare from Grayson Meadows, with Alex Shade along for the ride. She's about as blue blooded as they come these days, out of the two Hall Of Famer's Impressario and Dare To Dream. She had quite the Turf Triple Crown Campaign last year, but she fell short in the Belmont Classic. As we can see, it has apparently in no way impeded her progress, she's rebounded quite wonderfully, and it will be thrilling to see how she handles today against horses of the same caliber.

Next up is Ode To Glory, racing for Valkyrie Stables, sired by well known turf giant All For Glory. He is our reigning champion, having won the Sheema Classic in Y14, no doubt it's a high hope that he can repeat his performance. He had quite the impressive season in Y14 with seven consecutive wins, many of them in the upper levels of the sport. He's jockeyed by Halexia Suhail, looking very confident as they step into the gate.

And here comes The Devil's Hourglass in gate three, a monster of a bay with her very impressive record beneath her. She's from Witch Creek Stables, and she's competed in high stakes races for the majority of her life and has done extremely well, seemingly rising to every challenge that approaches her. No doubt she's going to give it her all today, and it really is anybody's race with horses of this amount of excellency. There's a very content looking Justin Santiago aboard her, he doesn't seem to be too worried about what's to come.

In gate four we have Wish Upon A Star from Stride Of Perfection Stables, she's had a relatively quiet season this year in comparison, but is coming in very fresh off a win with her romp to victory in the G3+ Turf Stable Faceoff. Her record is one dotted with blue as well, and she's out of the very well known HOF Everyday Hero. Even with her slow start into the season, it hasn't seemed to hold her back, as she looks red hot today and ready to get going. Krystal Yhate struggles a little to get a handle on her, but she eventually slips into the gate just fine.

Finally, in gate five comes today's favorite, it's Abastor from Intrepid Racing stables, jockeyed by Jeff Saunders. He's been more or less unstoppable these past few weeks, soaring his way to victory in the Wild Flowers Memorial Stakes in March Week 1 and TW Finish Cup Mile in March Week 2. Whether or not that streak ends today is something else entirely. He's looking very flashy today, he gates without a problem and gets a pat from Jeff Saunders, and now everyone is in the gate and waiting steady, Dare To Impress throws up her head a bit, The Devil's Hourglass is shifting around... And they're off!

It's off to a slow start, all horses seemed to break slow, no one really wants to take the lead, but Abastor is up there now pushing the race along and The Devil's Hourglass settles in behind him followed by Ode To Glory on the outside, then Dare To Impress, and Wish Upon A Star on her heels. Abastor is really asking for a lot now, he's starting to cruise and The Devil's Hourglass is not about to be left behind. Abastor now setting a grueling pace, Dare To Impress pushing hard at The Devil's Hourglass, she's struggling to keep her position, Ode To Glory drifting uncertainly on the outside, and Wish Upon A Star is back about two and a half lengths from the action, moving at her own pace, Krystal Yhate seems to be letting her do their own thing as they head into the fifth furlong.

Abastor is moving full force now, Jeff Saunders is really using the track to his advantage, he's opened up half a length between himself and The Devil's Hourglass, who is still trying to push back Dare To Impress, and the black mare is really chomping at the bit to get around The Devil's Hourglass but it doesn't look like the bay is going to let her. Ode To Glory is having a fine time out by himself on the outside, he's well cleared from the struggle taking place between the top three along the rail, and Wish Upon A Star has yet to move up, the gap between her and Dare To Impress is now about three and a half lengths, and she is still moving off the pace, Yhate does not seem to be in a rush to hurry her, but she might have too soon as they enter into the seventh furlong.

Abastor is pushing at a track record now, he's burning along, displaying remarkable resilience, he's lead the race from the very start and just might move to take the entire thing, he's left about a half length between himself and The Devil's Hourglass, and the mare doesn't seem to be accepting his challenge, he's pulling further away by a length and a half now and Dare To Impress tries to come up along the side but The Devil's Hourglass is just not having it, and she forces the black filly back onto the rail, Alex Shade looking a bit frustrated now. Ode To Glory has swept in from the outside and has filled in the gap between The Devil's Hourglass and Abastor, placing him in second. And they are heading into the final furlongs now, and Wish Upon A Star has finally started to move.

Yes, Wish Upon A Star is flying up along the outside, she's really moving now as she romps past Dare To Impress and tries to sneak around The Devil's Hourglass, the mare tries fiercely to keep her from going around but she's not about to be stopped, she jets by The Devil's Hourglass and pushes past Ode To Glory and up to where Abastor has opened yet another two length lead, and it looks like it's going to be Abastor and Wish Upon A Star down to the wire. Both horses are pushing hard, Abastor is moving even faster now but Wish Upon A Star is not tiring, and there is a four length gap back to Ode To Glory who is holding onto third against The Devil's Hourglass, who is pushing hard but doesn't have much left to give, and Dare To Impress seems to have exhausted herself and has fallen off the pace.

The Wire approaches as Wish Upon A Star has now pushed past the fueling Abastor, and she has opened up about a half length on him as they have less than one hundred meters to go, and Abastor is struggling valiantly to hold on, it looks like he might have a final push- but no, it is Wish Upon A Star who will be the Y15 Sheema Classic Champion by three and a half lengths, Abastor runs in winded behind her in second, and it will be a photo for third between Ode To Glory and The Devil's Hourglass, with Dare To Impress coming in at fifth. An excellent field and a brilliant race to watch, truly proving that these horses are the titan's of the turf.



win Wish Upon A Star
place Abastor
show Ode To Glory (nose)
fourth The Devil's Hourglass
fifth Dare To Impress

Super hard race to judge, but in the end and due to a combination of racing styles and past performance, this is the conclusion I came too. All these horses are absolutely brilliant and will no doubt all rebound back for a win.

[S u N f r O s T ~]

*just about dies* I THOUGHT WE WERE GONERS BRAVE.

If somebody had told me a year ago that this would happen...! XD