The spotlight in the racing world will be on the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park this Saturday. This race is for two-year-olds, and will be contested at 1 1/16 on the Cushion Track. Six CashCall Futurity starters have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including names such as Alysheba, Thunder Gulch, and Real Quiet. Due to the staggering purse of $750,000 the winner is virtually guaranteed a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Into Mischief took the race last year under Victor Espinoza for trainer Richard Mandella.
With a large field of twelve, this event is sure to be competitive. The most notable entry is Pioneerof The Nile, who joined the Bob Baffert barn after finishing a close fifth in the Breeders Cup Juvenile. Prior to that race he was a distant third to Square Eddie in the Grade 1 Lanes End Breeders Futurity at Keeneland. The son of Empire Maker has been working well for Baffert and looks poised for a career effort.
I like Axel Foley to win this race. Named for Eddie Murphy’s character in Beverly Hills Cop, he broke his maiden in his second career start at Lingfield in Great Britain for trainer John Best. The son of Officer earned a Racing Post Rating of 81 for that race. Blood-Horse quoted assistant trainer, Martin Smith, saying: “The jockey who rode him that day just smacked him once and said he could get a mile and a quarter,”. If he can win the CashCall Futurity, it would the first step on the long road to the Kentucky Derby. He will be racing with lasix for the first time, and the odds of 12-1 make me like him even more.
Other contenders include Azul Leon, Chocolate Candy, and Bittel Road. Most recently second in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue, Azul Leon has to prove he can get the distance in this one. He is a Grade 2 and Grade 3 winner at distance under one mile. Chocolate Candy will be entering this race after a victory in the Real Quiet Stakes. Bittel Road is a Grade 3 winner on the turf, but will be trying Cushion Track for the first time.
I’m probably going to put some win money on Axel Foley if he goes off at a price higher than 8-1. Lets not forget that his connections are the same ones who connected with Square Eddie in the Lanes End Breeders Futurity at 10-1. I’ll use Pioneerof The Nile, Azul Leon and Bittel Road for my exotics. Good luck, and Merry Christmas!
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