Racing Dudes Divisional Rankings 8/17/16

Older Males

1. California Chrome – It’s Pacific Classic week! What a match up between California Chrome, Dortmund, and Beholder.

2. Frosted – Another unbelievable performance by Frosted as he won the Whitney Stakes with basically a hand ride. Only flaw on his resume this year is the Dubai World Cup.

3. Flintshire – Another “wow” performance for this beast on the turf. Who can match up with him right now in the male turf division? Nobody!

4. Melatonin– Proved his worth for the third straight race as now I’m completely sold that he’s for real. Now has two Grade 1 victories at the classic mile and one quarter distance.

5. Dortmund – If he can stay healthy and keep running as well as he did in the San Diego Handicap he’ll be tough to handle. Pointing towards a rematch in the Pacific Classic with California Chrome next.

Sleeper: Effinex– He is so up and down, but that’s what makes people forget about him. At his best he can run with anyone.

Older Females

1. Tepin – Will now be pointing towards the Woodbine Mile and a possible match up with Arlington Million winner Mondialiste

2. Beholder – The Pacific Classic is on her radar, and she could definitely redeem herself with a win in that race.

3. Stellar Wind – She takes down Beholder!! What an amazing effort by Stellar Wind in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes. She’s come back as an extremely strong four year old.

4. Cavorting – Awaiting her next race as she’s been running as good as anyone in this division to kick off the year.

5. Curalina – Even though it was a short field in the Shuvee Handicap last weekend, Curalina was fantastic. In two of her three races this year she’s looked unbeatable.

Sleeper: Forever Unbridled – People are forgetting about her as she hasn’t ran in awhile, but she’s been extremely solid so far this year.

3 Year Old Males

1. Exaggerator– He goes to the Haskell Stakes and gets the track he loves once again. Things have worked out well for Exaggerator, and his resume now suggests he’s the top horse in the division. His head to head races with Nyquist THIS YEAR are now 2-2, and Exaggerator now holds a 2-1 advantage in races ran around two turns.

2. Nyquist – All of the sudden Nyquist can’t rate off the pace…and all of the sudden he can’t win. Maybe he just really hates the slop. He must regain his prior races soon or this divisional award is going to slowly keep slipping away.

3. Creator– I’ll keep him at #3 for now, but he has to run better next time out. His Jim Dandy was a totally disaster.

4. Gun Runner– May have just hated the slop at Monmouth in the Haskell Stakes as he never looked comfortable. I’ll give him a mulligan.

5. American Freedom– We all thought this horse was developing into something very nice, and now we know it for sure. Great effort in the Haskell Stakes as now we know he’s arrived on the scene.

Sleeper: Laoban– All you can do is laugh at this one…but hey if he can repeat that Jim Dandy effort he’ll have a shot in the Travers Stakes.

3 Year Old Females

1. Songbird– Just a fantastic effort in the Coaching Club American Oaks which puts her back in the top spot. Staying in Saratoga and pointing towards the Alabama next as she looks to add to her resume.

2. Catch a Glimpse – My apologizes to her as I think she’s AWESOME, but Songbird is the boss again after her Saratoga romp.

3. Cathryn Sophia – Needs to rebound from her poor Acorn effort and get back to rolling soon. There are quality fillies behind her at the moment.

4. Carina Mia – Deserves a lot of credit for trying to take on Songbird, but was just simply second best in the Coaching Club American Oaks.

5. Go Maggie Go – Perhaps she was due to bounce a little bit off two back to back big efforts. Will give her a pass for now.

Sleeper: Off The Tracks – Even though she finished third in the Test Stakes I still thought she ran an incredible race.

Sprinters

1. Lord Nelson – Another massive performance in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby, and this time at 6 furlongs. Definitely the top dog in the division now.

2. A. P. Indian – Just like Lord Nelson this horse has stamped himself now as one of the top sprinters with back to back flawless efforts.

3. X Y Jet – Was running better than anyone before the injury. Hope he comes back 100% when he returns.

4. Kobe’s Back– No way I’m going to penalize him for his Triple Bend Stakes effort because the ride was poor. He’ll be fine.

5. Private Zone – Has to rebound with a better effort next time out or he’ll fall out of the rankings.

Sleeper: Marking – His narrow loss to A. P. Indian last time out looks very good now. He’s flying way under the radar.