Further and Beyond heads for Seeking My Dream Trophy
Reigning Horse of the Year Further and Beyond, who flopped as the favourite on last at the races, will get an opportunity to rebound as well as re-establish his dominance at the Open Allowance level when he takes on rivals in the $1.2-million Seeking My Dream Trophy feature event at Caymanas Park today.
Further and Beyond, who was hunting his third-consecutive win, finished fourth in the The Viceroy Trophy won by Excessive Force over eight furlongs (1,600m) on April 23. Then Further and Beyond allowed all lumps of weight, but today his recent conquerors are slapped with heavy increases in weight, giving the Anthony Nunes trainee an edge in the handicaps.
Based on this weight difference, Further and Beyond, who will carry 57.0kgs (126 lb), has the opportunity to restore his dominance at this level. Of note, is that jockey Linton Steadman is reunited with Further and Beyond replacing Robert Halledeen.
The Seeking My Dream Trophy, a three-year-old and upwards contest at seven and a half furlongs (1,500m) honouring the former Derby and two Diamond Mile winner, is positioned as the eighth race on the nine-race card with a post time of 4:45 pm. First race is at 12:35 pm.
Excessive Force, from the stables of Philip Feanny, is two wins from three starts this season and both of his wins were in impressive fashions and have brought the once troublesome Excessive Force close to the top of the pile.
For this race, Excessive Force has gone up substantially in the weights, moving up from 47.5kgs (105 lb) from when he defeated Further and Beyond in the The Viceroy to now 56.5kgs (125 lb).
However, the American-bred runner is in such good form at the moment, the possibility of repeating is far from being remote. To do so, Excessive Force will have to put every hoof right, and he cannot misbehave and go wide as he has done in previous races.
The improving foreigners I Am Fred, Runaway Algo and I’ve Got Magic all could prove equal to the task at hand here.
I Am Fred was an impressive nine-length winner over one mile on April 30 in a time of 1:38.3 minutes, and although that was in the grade below, the run is still a good effort to be considered here. The Jason DaCosta trainee now comes up against stiffer opponents but gets a pull of four lbs in the weights, which should aid his cause of earning a spot on the board. This US-bred gelding is made significant gains at this time and it would not be surprising if he upends all before him.
Runaway Algo is the much talk about foreigner who defeated Mahogany by 1 1/4 lengths in the recent Easter Sprint run over five and a half furlongs (1,100m) when he entered Overnight for the first occasion.
Trained by Dale Murphy, Runaway Algo should not be bothered by the extended trip and is primed to give his best against the best. For this his first encounter at the Open Allowance, Runaway Algo has to taken seriously.
I’ve Got Magic has been holding his own in this grade while improving with every run, but again he will play second fiddle to his stablemate Excessive Force here once again. I’ve Got Magic will, however, play a prominent part in this race, as his early speed will provide the impetus needed by Excessive Force.
The field is made up of Crimson, Generational, and Race Car.
Ones to watch:
Race 1) Speechless/Formal Gladiator/Fresh Cash
Race 2) Highky Bless/Schlesinger/Okahumpka
Race 3) Diligent/Uncle Wal/Rockdale
Race 4) Bin Laden/Anngelos/XY Soul
Race 5) Blue Seas/Fearless Vibe/Tocatbetheglory
Race 6) Buzz City Light/Josh/Sonny T and Chippy
Race 7) Slamsilano/Great Britt/Faukland
Race 8) Further and Beyond/I A Fred/Excessive Force
Race 9) Morimoto/Giant Wheeler/Stomp The Rhythm