CashCall Futurity Pros and Cons
Since my pros and cons article on the Hollywood Starlet (won by Streaming) seemed to drive some discussion, it's only fitting I continue the series with a look at the final Grade I to be run in the history of Betfair Hollywood Park: The $750,000 CashCall Futurity.
Pros: The hard-knocking son of Square Eddie has back-to-back second-place finishes in stakes company on his resume. Last out, he ran a solid second at this route, so the two-turn setting shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Cons: While he's gotten better near the end of his 2-year-old season, Electric Eddie is still a maiden. He's also taking a huge step up in class from the listed stakes ranks, and this field includes Tamarando, who dispatched him fairly easily last out in the Real Quiet.
2) Tamarando
Pros: One of the few Grade I winners in this field, Tamarando won the Del Mar Futurity earlier this year and most recently came from off the pace to win the Real Quiet going away. There were some concerns after the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee was beaten twice at Santa Anita, but he seems to be rounding into form.
Cons: You can argue he didn't beat much last out, and while the starts at Santa Anita came on conventional dirt, he fell to several horses he'll face again today in those outings (namely FrontRunner winner Bond Holder).
3) Bond Holder
Pros: His fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile may have been better than it looked. He was well back early and had to alter course in the stretch, yet still managed to beat most of a very talented field. Additionally, his most recent six-furlong drill in 1:12 and change at Hollywood Park (per Equibase) was very good.
Cons: As sharp as he was at Santa Anita, he's only got one win in six lifetime starts, and is 0-for-4 on synthetic surfaces. That includes an inauspicious debut at Hollywood Park in July, when he ran fifth.
4) Candy Boy
Pros: His maiden-breaking win last out was extremely impressive. He went from last to first at this route and kicked away to win by more than eight lengths. The workouts since then have been excellent, and he attracts the services of Gary Stevens.
Cons: This is a big step up in class. He beat just four others in the aforementioned victory, and two back, he had the misfortune of running into Tap It Rich, who shows up in this spot.
5) Tap It Rich
Pros: A buzz horse entering the Breeders' Cup Juvenile off a very impressive win at first asking, the Bob Baffert trainee ran fifth after a troubled trip. He has every reason to improve off of that effort, and Baffert has changed bits in an attempt to get the son of Tapit to be more relaxed during the race.
Cons: Like many young horses, there are questions about his maturity. He was rank at times during the Juvenile, and this race features a similarly-large field with very talented horses. If he puts it together, he's a major player, but the potential exists for him to find distractions in his first-ever start on a synthetic surface.
Pros: Good luck finding holes in his first two starts. After a dominant maiden win at Golden Gate, Jerry Hollendorfer sent the gelding south for a romp in the Grade III Hollywood Prevue. He thumped a field that included the highly-touted Kobe's Back by nearly eight lengths in 1:22.17 for the seven-furlong distance, and a repeat effort would make him very difficult to beat.
Cons: About the only unknown with the son of Candy Ride is the two-turn distance. His pedigree (out of a Storm Cat mare) would indicate that the added ground should not be a problem, but he'd be far from the first horse to have trouble stretching out against a Grade I field.
7) Even Echo
Pros: Well, he'll be a price.
Cons: This horse is 0-for-6, has never finished better than fifth, and was thumped in the FrontRunner in his only other try in graded company.
Pros: He broke his maiden at first asking and hasn't run badly in two starts since then. He was forced to close into the Santa Anita speed bias two back and ran third in the Prevue last out over this surface.
Cons: Prevue winner Shared Belief beat him by nearly 13 lengths in his last outing, and Joe Talamo got off to ride Karma King. Edwin Maldonado is more than capable, but that's a LOT of ground to make up for a horse trying two turns for the first time.
9) Karma King
Pros: He's yet to run a bad one in three lifetime starts. He won first out at Del Mar, was second in an allowance at Golden Gate, and most recently ran third in the Real Quiet behind Tamarando and Electric Eddie. Talamo stays on, and he's been riding well.
Cons: There's plenty of early speed to keep this one company early. Last out, he set pretty solid fractions before getting reeled in, and on paper, a similar situation seems possible in this spot unless he shakes loose and slows things down going around the first turn.
10) Poker Player
Pros: He's accomplished on a synthetic surface, having won the Grade III Bourbon at Keeneland before a failed run in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.The distance isn't an issue, and his late-running style ensures he'll at least be moving in the right direction late in the game.
Cons: This will be his fifth start at as many racetracks since August. While the win in the Bourbon was really solid, his eighth-place run last out raises the chances that the Grade I level is a bit too much for him at this point.
11) Sheikinator
Pros: This son of Curlin out of a Dixie Union mare is tailor-made for two turns. He overcame adversity last out at Churchill, moving five-wide amidst slow early fractions to break his maiden at this distance. Two back in his debut, he blew the break, yet still rallied for second money on the polytrack at Keeneland.
Cons: This is a major jump in class for the Ken McPeek trainee. Also, we're getting to where post positions start becoming problems, and another wide trip could be in the cards.
Pros: He's done very little wrong, winning at first asking at Keeneland before running third in the Delta Jackpot. Delta Downs isn't often kind to deep closers, but the son of Einstein salvaged a share despite running in last for most of the early going. Hollywood Park should be much more fair to his running style.
Cons: They weren't crawling early last out, and Rankhasprivileges was still beaten by open lengths. Maybe Rise Up was THAT good that day, but this is a very good field, and this post may leave him in the parking lot around the first turn.
13) Kobe's Back
Pros: If not for the presence of Shared Belief, we'd be talking about a sharp return by Kobe's Back, who ran second in the Prevue and topped the third-place finisher by more than four lengths in his first start since June. The son of Flatter should only be sharper in his second start off the layoff for John Sadler, and he's attracted Joel Rosario.
Cons: Rosario will have his hands full in saving ground from the 13-hole. Also, maybe he needed the race to a certain extent, but nearly eight lengths is a lot of ground to make up to Shared Belief, especially when that one drew a far better post.