Racing Dudes Three Stars of the Week: Coast to Coast Action Brings Excitement

Though the Grade 1 superstars might have had the weekend off, horse racing fans everywhere were still treated to several exciting performances from coast to coast. Let’s take a look at who made our latest Three Stars of the Week:

1. Get Smokin

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: lone speed in a New York turf race is deadly. Yet somehow, despite that being common knowledge for us, every other jockey in Saturday’s Seek Again Stakes at Belmont Park seemed surprised when Junior Alvarado piloted Get Smokin to a front-running victory that seemed as likely as Aaron Halterman ordering a plain cheeseburger for his last meal on earth. The Magic Mike Show guys were all over this race and the sequence (more on that later), giving out the winning Late Pick 4 tickets that included making this impressive Tom Bush trainee their top pick. As long as he keeps getting easy leads, Get Smokin is going to be a terror on the New York turf circuit.

2. Going Global

Simply put, this filly was phenomenal in winning Saturday’s Honeymoon Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park. She sat off the early pace, then expertly weaved between horses in the far turn before blowing the doors off her rivals in the stretch. Now a winner in 5 straight, including 4 turf stakes at Santa Anita, she’s clearly the best of the west coast’s 3-year-old turf filly division, and trainer Phil D’Amato (who knows a thing or two about winning Grade 1 turf races) called her the best 3-year-old filly he’s ever trained. It’ll be interesting to see what “new shooters” will challenge her this summer at Del Mar, which will later serve as host of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

3. Temple City Terror

It’s not easy reeling in a leader who puts 16 lengths on second place, but Temple City Terror did exactly that Saturday night under the Churchill Downs lights when she managed to catch the loose-running Dalika in the late stages to win the 1 1/2-mile Keertana Stakes. That was her first stakes success for trainer Brendan Walsh, who said after the race that keeping her running long is the plan moving forward. After seeing how well she did in the Keertana, it’s not hard to imagine why.

Honorable Mention: Mike Somich

The Racing Dudes’ own Mike Somich gave out $7,000 worth of winning multi-race tickets at Belmont Park from Friday-Sunday, all for a total ticket cost of roughly $1,400. The time to get on the Somobombs train is now!