On Saturday, five 2-year-olds will enter the starting gate for the US$500,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (USA-G1). That's right -- five colts for Grade 1 black type and a piece of half a million.
I realize that most of the top juveniles have already been put away for the winter, but awarding Grade 1 brackets for a race like this is an embarrassment to the grading system. Of the five contestants, one (No Problem) upset the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes in his last start; another (Mr. Z) was second by a nose in the Grade 3 Delta Jackpot and was Grade 1-placed earlier in the season. The rest of the field is lightly raced, with three maiden wins and a first-level allowance among them. There are certainly some promising colts here, but you'd think that given the light credentials of this bunch, a few more trainers would have been encouraged to let their youngsters take a chance.
It's always possible that the winner will prove to be quite a nice horse. But it's also entirely possible that the winner will retire as a Grade 1 winner with nothing else to speak of on the resume. Which only goes to show that not all black type is created equal, whatever the level.
I realize that most of the top juveniles have already been put away for the winter, but awarding Grade 1 brackets for a race like this is an embarrassment to the grading system. Of the five contestants, one (No Problem) upset the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes in his last start; another (Mr. Z) was second by a nose in the Grade 3 Delta Jackpot and was Grade 1-placed earlier in the season. The rest of the field is lightly raced, with three maiden wins and a first-level allowance among them. There are certainly some promising colts here, but you'd think that given the light credentials of this bunch, a few more trainers would have been encouraged to let their youngsters take a chance.
It's always possible that the winner will prove to be quite a nice horse. But it's also entirely possible that the winner will retire as a Grade 1 winner with nothing else to speak of on the resume. Which only goes to show that not all black type is created equal, whatever the level.
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