2012 Donn Handicap Preview: Potential Entries

Written by George Misken
Monday, 06 February 2012 20:38

Our horse racing preview of the 2012 Donn Handicap will include a look at the potential entries in this field.

The 2012 Donn Handicap will be held on Friday, February 11th at Gulfstream Park and the purse this year is set at $500,000.  The race has attracted some of the biggest names in horse racing to run the 1 1/8 miles on dirt, and you can watch the action unfold live on HRTV.  Although there is still plenty of time before we get a finalized field, it is never too early to check out the potential entries that are likely to make up this year’s Donn Handicap.

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2012 Donn Handicap – Potential Entries:

Shackleford – The 2011 Preakness Stakes winner is making his return after finishing 2nd in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in early November of last year, and he should be just fine using his wire-to-wire speed at this distance.  He hasn’t won since that Preakness upset, but he’s also finished 2nd in 3 of his last 4 races.

Ruler On Ice – The 2011 Belmont Stakes winner is also in the field, but I’m a little concerned about how Ruler On Ice ended last season.  He has also gone 5 straight without a win but has finished in 2nd only once during that span and might be stronger in a longer race.

Mucho Macho Man – Unlike most of the other potential entries in the Donn Handicap, Mucho Macho Man already has a started in 2012.  He looked excellent in winning the Sunshine Millions Classic at this distance last time out, and it is interesting to note that the race was held at the same Gulfstream Park dirt that the Donn Handicap will be decided upon.

Mission Impazible – Has raced here twice with 2 2nd place finishes in allowance races earlier in his career.  Mission Impazible finished 2nd in the Clark Handicap last season and has yet to show that he can consistently beat the better horses in the sport.

Santiva – Once thought of as a potential Triple Crown favorite, Santiva has fallen off quite a bit since taking 1st in the Kentucky Jockey Club back in late 2010.  He was disappointing in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes last year before ending with a 2nd place turf finish in a Gulfstream Park allowance.  Santiva has raced on the turf at Gulfstream Park this year as well but ended up finishing 9th.

Redeemed – Has never finished outside of 3rd through 8 career races, but also hasn’t been facing a dominant level of opposition.  Redeemed ended 2011 with wins in the Oklahoma Derby and Discovery Handicap and figures to be the wild card of the 2012 Donn Handicap field.

Trickmeister – Has won all 5 career races, including a 1st place finish at Gulfstream Park in the Harlan’s Holiday most recently.  He’ll also be taking a large step up in competition if he is amongst the entries for this race, but all he’s done so far is cross the finish line first.

Where’s Sterling – This underdog has raced at Gulfstream Park 4 times now and has finished in the top 2 in 8 of his 9 career races.  He’s lost to some big names but has also shown that he’s not capable of beating the top-flight horses.  Only time will tell if the Donn Handicap is the race that Where’s Sterling finally gets it together against the better contenders.