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TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS
A dearth of speed in Sunday's $100,000 Commonwealth Turf S. (G3) at Churchill Downs might give JIMMY SIMMS (Lost Soldier) the advantage in the 1 1/16-mile test over the Matt Winn turf course. The Steve Asmussen trainee will be making his stakes debut and running past a mile for the first time, but has captured both previous starts on turf at Woodbine in wire-to-wire fashion, and has the look of lone speed on paper. Relatively fresh, he also might possess a fitness edge over those who have been going all season long. MR MACCOOL (Giant's Causeway) and NISTLE'S CRUNCH (Van Nistelrooy) both flopped in last month's Bryan Station S. (G3) at Keeneland, but we expect them to show more this time. For Mr Maccool, it was an uncharacteristic 10th-place effort in the Bryan Station. He captured his first two grass attempts at Churchill during the spring meet, then won the Jersey Derby prior to a solid third in the Kent S. (G3) two back. His affinity for the course makes him appealing. Nistle's Crunch has been knocking heads with many of the best turf sophomores this year. Though a non-stakes winner, he's been competitive in tougher situations, including a third in the Crown Royal American Turf S. (G3) here during Kentucky Derby (G1) week. SEASPEAK (Mizzen Mast) finished first in the Bryan Station, but was disqualified and placed second for bumping favorite Cowboy Cal (Giant's Causeway) during the stretch run. That was a strong effort considering he had failed to pass his first allowance condition at Arlington Park in his two prior starts. The downside is that he will be a far shorter price than the 12-1 on offer at Keeneland, and he might be an underlay given his overall record. AMAZING RESULTS (Grand Slam) was a dual stakes winner on the grass at Fair Grounds last winter, and has thrown only one clunker since then when unplaced in the Arlington Classic following a layoff. First or second in nine of 11 starts, the Chris Block trainee worked a bullet five furlongs in preparation for this race last weekend. BOSS LAFITTE (Dynaformer) despises wet turf; thus many of his poor efforts this campaign can be forgiven. He's won two of his last three starts contested on firm ground, including the USA S. at Lone Star in May. The Hawthorne Derby (G3) came up weak this year; thus our inclination is to downgrade CHEROKEE TRIANGLE (Cherokee Run) and SNOOSE GOOSE (Aptitude), who were second by a neck and third by a half-length, respectively, in that race. For Cherokee Triangle, it was a continuation of the fine form he showed against lesser at Canterbury and Ellis, but this will be his toughest test of the year. The same also applies to Snoose Goose, who has finished behind Cherokee Triangle twice this season by narrow margins. ALLSAROTT (Grindstone) earned a fat 107 BRIS Speed rating for his runner-up finish in the Best of Ohio Endurance S. at Thistledown last time. He fared well in his lone turf start at River Downs, which was an Ohio-bred stakes, but we fear a big bounce is coming following such a strong effort. VEILED PROPHET (Kingmambo) finished ahead of our top selections in the Bryan Station, but otherwise hasn't stood out as graded stakes quality. SILVER MOUNTAIN (Victory Gallop) is unraced since taking a first-level allowance here in May going 1 3/8 miles and might need this race to shake off some of the rust.
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