Cruel Intention

CRUEL INTENTION Smiling Tiger – Perfect Feat (Pleasantly Perfect)

Chefs: Profile = 1-5-4-0-0 (10) Index = 4.00 CD = .70

Mares: Profile = 4-8-3-10-5 Speed = 12 Stamina = 15 Index = .83 Triads = 15-21-18

Sportscaster Jim Rome made a huge statement with Jungle Racing and a little black colt once deemed the Best Horse in the World. Shared Belief, often described as a “Once in a Lifetime” tour de force and one who most likely did not have the opportunity to show off his best, the Champ left us all way too soon.

Jim Rome may have struck gold again and scored himself a “Second in a Lifetime” horse with a striking young colt named Cruel Intention.

A new colt owned by Jungle Racing should catch one’s eye especially when the colt rolls off two wins back to back in blazing fashion. This time trained by Bob Baffert instead of Jerry Hollendorfer and this time a Smiling Tiger boy instead of a Candy Ride boy. Big difference not only in the caretaker and the sire but a huge difference in the type, style and balance as well.

Shared Belief was a tough cut stamina boy who displayed speed that seemed to come from nowhere. The new colt, a sweet speed demon who is hiding his explosive stamina. The two couldn’t be any more different, especially when it comes to winning Derby configurations.

We will never know how Shared Belief would have fared in the Kentucky Derby. With the high inheritance of stamina coupled with the severe lack of inherited speed, one could conclude that he would have had a very hard time in the Derby, but the heart and determination of that horse would have probably overtaken his numbers as it did in all of his others. High inheritance of speed dominates the Derby. This speed must be offset by enough stamina to sustain it going 10f with a field of 20. Too much stamina is detrimental in the Derby. The balance must be there, and the balance should be skewed to speed. Enter Cruel Intention.

The bottom of Cruel Intention’s chart through Pleasantly Perfect is the stand-out line which leads to Pleasant Colony, an Intermediate Chef who passes dominating speed to his offspring. This line continues to yet another magnificent Chef, this time in the Classic category, His Majesty. Onward it continues to the famous Ribot and reines Flower Bowl. One of the most dominating lines that can be found in a chart, second only to Graustark leading back to Ribot and Flower Bowl. Adding to the chart, it includes Intermediate/Classic Fappiano and Brilliant/Classic Seattle Slew. Cruel Intention does not have a ton of chefs in his chart, but the ones he is boasting are top notch and the way they blend together leaves him with a very impressive set-up when combined. The only connection between Cruel Intention and Shared Belief for Jim Rome is the presence of Ribot in the bottom of both colts chart. For Shared Belief, he was holding Graustark, for Cruel Intention, he goes by way of His Majesty.

There is only one slight knock in his chefs set-up but it is minor compared to the final outcome of the balance. His chef profile, 1-5-4-0-0, does dip down in the Classic slot which is generally not a good thing however since he has only a 1 in his Brilliant slot, this still keeps everything leaning right. In other words, had Cruel Intention had even just one more chef who passed down Brilliant distance and his number in that slot rose to a 3 or a 4, then it would have skewed everything even higher to the speed side and compromised his chef stamina inheritance. The CD says it all. With a .70 Center of Distribution, his ability to carry that 4.00 index is exceptional. This .70 CD is lower than average for a 4.00 index and it allows Cruel to sustain his speed much further than a “normal” 4.00 colt.

Since Cruel inherited 4x more speed than stamina from his chefs and he can sustain it a bit further than norm, the addition of his mares stamina COUPLED with a 15 in the speed slot of his triads is PERFECTION. He could not afford high speed numbers from his mares to be added to his chefs numbers. If that number were higher, he may have had a very hard time going the 10f distance. Since the triads bend much strong to stamina it makes that portion out of balance. It is exactly what a 4.00 index would need to tackle 10f. When the chefs and the mares combine, that is where everything balances correctly. High speed inheritance, lower CD next to that index and mares triads that lean to stamina. The additional lower .83 mare index suits his 4.00 chef index perfectly.

Cruel Intention has a low 10 combined points in his chefs profile. There is a strong possibility that the reines will take over and dominate. It will be hard for them to overtake the exceptional Ribot line, however the mares profile is stunning and perfectly configured. It is also much more loaded than one simple line. The reines may indeed shine and either way, Cruel Intention should have no worry. Both ways pan out magnificently so it will make no difference either way. And if he gravitates to them both, all the better because when combined they fit harmoniously together as one.

The mares profile: 4-8-3-10-5

The two dominating numbers; the 8 in the Intermediate (7-8-9f) slot and the 10 in the Solid (13-14-15f) spot. The Classic is low in the center and the two ends (Brilliant and Professional) are low and almost even (leans more to stamina a bit). With this configuration, if you take the two dominating numbers and average them, they fall to the right of the center at approximately 11.1f. Adding in the extra little blip up in the Professional slot, realistically, the mares fall at 11.2f. This is wonderful.

When combining the chefs to the mares and blending everything together, Cruel Intention has inherited the potential for an extreme advantage at 10f in the Kentucky Derby. Rain or shine. His optimum distance from his combined chefs and mares falls at approx 10.2f and this is mainly attributed to the perfect mares profile and the .70 CD.

With Pool One for the Kentucky Derby Futures open this weekend, this is one guy who has exactly what it takes to go the distance with a huge amount of inherited speed. The trainer also gives a very good nod in that regard as well. Lets hope for his safety and well-being as he begins his new career. This horse has a ton of potential for the Derby and the Preakness. His numbers unfortunately fall extremely short for the Belmont Stakes. But being a Baffert horse, lets not worry too much about that yet.