Smooth Dream streak put to test in Milstein; Indiana-sired contenders to defend home turf in Dan Patch
by Brett Sturman
Entering a new part of the stakes season following the conclusion of The Meadowlands Championship Meet with last Saturday’s (Aug. 2) Hambletonian day card, the state of the 3-year-old male pacing group is very much up in the air.
Major stakes races to date including the North America Cup, the Messenger, the Meadowlands Pace, the Adios Pace and then with the Cane Pace one week ago, have all produced a different winner. If not for top colt Louprint being forced out of action with his emergency procedure the week leading up to the Meadowlands Pace this division may not even likely be a question, but his time away while on the mend has changed things. In this week’s Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll Louprint dropped out of the top spot falling to #3 and through no fault of his own, that trend will continue with each passing week. Without Louprint, at least for the time being, then who?
The next closest divisional contender in the poll comes with Prince Hal Hanover with the 13th highest number of receiving votes. Following his first-placed-second finish in the Meadowlands Pace and then a second in his Adios elimination, Prince Hal Hanover picked up a deserved signature win last out in the Adios final. Two slots after comes Madden Oaks who, in addition to his second-placed-first win in the Meadowlands Pace, was runner-up in the North America Cup and Cane Pace, but Tioga Downs remains the only track this year where he’s crossed the wire first.
It’s another two notches to Captain Optimistic who seems to have righted the ship through his last two races; a win in the Tompkins-Geers and then a 1:48.1 come from behind win in the Cane Pace. Then comes Messenger champion Twisted Destiny who was game in narrow defeat in a hard used Adios final. That leaves just one other 3-year-old in the poll’s receiving votes section, Smooth Dream.
Smooth Dream, who was winless last year in three starts as a 2-year-old, will enter Saturday’s Carl Milstein (Grade 2) at Northfield Park with a perfect 9-for-9 record on the year. Though most of those wins have come against New Jersey-restricted foes where Smooth Dream has proven to be the best of the products of sire Cattlewash in the state, there’s reasons to believe he could be good enough to take the next step.
Three different times this year Smooth Dream has beaten the colt Manolete. For those not familiar with the formidable 3-year-old, Manolete was third by less than two lengths to Twisted Destiny in both the Messenger elimination and final, second to Papi’s Pistol by a small margin in the prep race for the Meadowlands Pace and then regarded enough to be odds of 12-1 in the Pace final. Most recently in the Tomkins-Geers, Manolete had the entire length of the stretch to go by Smooth Dream and looked at one point like a sure thing to do so, but Smooth Dream showed his grit. In a race prior in a conditioned race at Yonkers, Smooth Dream beat older foes including former Borgata winner Hellabalou.
What Smooth Dream will have to prove in the Milstein though is that he’s fast enough to go with some of the best 3-year-olds. Of his nine wins this year off mainly soft fractions, only two of the final times were sub-1:50; the best of which was a 1:49.2 win races back in an NJ SDF leg.
Love them or hate them, the Trackmaster Horse Ratings used as a classification tool by many tracks is one objective way to look at things, and it doesn’t favor Smooth Dream. With a rating as of Aug. 7 of 89.42, Smooth Dream’s rating is well below that of other Milstein foes such as Prince Hal Hanover (96.71), Twisted Destiny (95.79), Fast Choice (95.05) and Swingtown (93.20).
With all of that said, the nature of half-mile Northfield oval may not be a true indicator where Smooth Dream stacks up regardless of the outcome, but it’ll be interesting to see the fresh face, and he’s earned his chance. He’ll start from post 4, and with the projected speed to his inside, I’d think Smooth Dream will have to come from off the pace. Prince Hal Hanover from post 2 will be leaving, Odds On Wildfire, from post 3, took them to three quarters last out at Pocono in 1:21.2 so it’s likely he’ll be going forward, and Twisted Destiny from the second tier post 9 should be pushing through early, too. The $300,000 Carl Milstein goes as race 12 on the Saturday Northfield card.
At Hoosier Park, the weekend stakes action kicks off tonight (Aug. 8) with another $300,000 event, the Dan Patch stakes for free-for-all pacers. Of races I hope the Graded Stakes committee revisits for next year, this race should be at the top of that list. In a race that produces full fields of millionaires, double-millionaires, Breeders Crown winners, divisional champions and the very best free-for-all types on down the line, this is a race unquestionably deserving of a Grade 1 status.
This year’s race is no exception to that quality. Little Rocket Man is one of three Indiana-sired horses in the race along with Coach Stefanos and Sabonis, and three carry legitimate chances. If there was a wager where you could bet on any of the three Indiana-sired horses to any of the eight others, the Indiana group would be favored.
Starting with Little Rocket Man, he’s still going as strong as ever at age 9. A winner 8 out of 10 on the year, he was actually the second wagering choice last out in that Hoosier Open as Coach Stefanos returned from The Meadowlands.
A 1:47.2 winner in the Brower and then just missing by a neck in the Haughton in 1:47.3, in his last outing Coach Stefanos sat the trip to Little Rocket Man, but was no match late for his fellow state-bred foe. Coach Stefanos gave all he could from the two-hole and not only couldn’t close to Little Rocket Man but was picked off by a couple other horses when tiring trying to do so. In the Dan Patch, I’d think it’ll be back to an off-the-pace try for Coach Stefanos from post 6, while Little Rocket Man should be utilizing his post advantage for speed from the two-hole in this large 11-horse field.
Captain Luke will be just six days removed from his 1:47.3 win in a McKee split on Hambletonian Day and he’s been sharp in almost every start this year. His win last Saturday reflets a new lifetime mark taken off the pocket trip and he’ll be looking for similar early position once again here in the Dan Patch. It’s worth noting however that Captain Luke picked up Dexter Dunn for the McKee, and now – not surprisingly – Dunn will stick with Sabonis who will start as one of two horses from the second tier.
After a shaky start or two to begin the year, Sabonis has been excellent throughout The Meadowlands meet this summer and it’s hard to believe that his record stands at just 1-for-7 on the year considering a couple of the huge miles that he’s gone. He comes off a first-over try in his division of the McKee last week and will certainly be a threat if Dunn can work out any semblance of a fair trip.
Bythemissal can never be counted out and while not at his strongest in those last two at The Meadowlands, it’s back to Page now who drove him most recently to that 1:47.1 win at Scioto and he could be showing speed right to the outside of Captain Luke. Desperate Man returns to the Midwest where following a game second-place finish in the Northfield’s Battle of Lake Erie to Ken Hanover in 1:48.4, he won a Yonkers Invitational and then was snapped last out in the Gerrity at Saratoga by a 35-1 longshot. Huntinthelastdolar showed up at The Meadowlands last week following a series of races at Yonkers and was quite good for Engblom. In that race he led early, yielded to Captain Albano and then ran into some trouble as that leader tired in the stretch, but still did well enough to angle and come on to the inside of Sabonis for second; encouraging.
All told, this is one of the deeper free-for-all races of the year and I’ll go with Little Rocket Man to get it done for his first Dan Patch win, with Indiana-breds taking two of the top three spots for their home state trace. Picks: Little Rocket Man, Captain Luke, Sabonis
