Snownut Handicap
The highlight race this weekend in Spain is the Snownut Handicap (G2), which will take place this Sunday with a post time of 3:40 pm EST. The Group II race will offer a total prize purse of $375,000 and will be run over 1600 meters on the dirt, which looks to be graded as fast at post time on Sunday. The race is open to three-year-old fillies and up, though the field for this weekend will all be four-years of age or older, after the field has been set with a total of nine fillies and mares to head to the starting gate for this years’ running. Let’s take a look through the field.
- Kingdom D’Oro (JPN) – dydalt8 – R. Truitt – 15/1
Making her first graded start this weekend, the chestnut Japanese-bred filly has made twenty-two career starts. The filly most recently started over the same distance she will face this weekend in an allowance race in England. The filly was sent straight to the lead out of the gate but would be pushed back in the stretch with the onslaught of late closes, pushing her back into third at the wire. The filly would set a speed figure of one hundred six. Her last victory was in her native Japan this past January, again in an allowance race over 1600 meters. She has made one listed start in her career, which resulted in a twelfth-place finish for the filly.
2. Lemon Fields Forev (IRE) – jastables19 – D. Aniel – 12/1
In the second slot we will have another newcomer to the graded level in this Irish-bred four-year-old. Set to make her fifteenth lifetime start this weekend, the bay filly most recently started during an allowance race over 1500 meters in the UAE where she took the field from gate to wire and won by two and three-quarter lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred two. This was her second consecutive win, the first coming over the same conditions in Ireland. She’s made one listed start in October of last year which resulted in a seventh-place finish over a good dirt track in Germany over 1400 meters.
3. Ryans Gate – ballgame – B. Wu – 8/5
Early favorite for the race on Sunday, this light grey mare has won over one million in career earnings and is an accomplished Group II winner. By top sire Arrogate, the five-year-old mare most recently started in the United States during The Gleaming Invitational (G2) at 1400 meters. The mare was sent straight to the lead in the race out of the gate, but was caught late in the stretch and came home second at the wire while recording a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. The most recent win for the mare came in Argentina during the Winchester Cap (G3) over a mile, which the mare took in wire-to-wire fashion, winning by a length and a half.
4. Promises Nowt – clash – C. Boatswain – 29/1
In the fourth slot we will have the longshot of Sunday’s race in this four-year-old filly by Broken Vow. The bay filly will be making her first graded stakes start this weekend after posting her first triple digit speed figure in her most recent start. This start came in England over a mile during an allowance race. The filly was last out of the gate and lingered towards the back of the pack until she was asked to make her move late in the stretch. She would cross the wire in fourth, two and three-quarter lengths back, with a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred six. The most recent win for the filly was this past March, also in an allowance over a mile. Again, she was last out of the gate in the short four-horse field and went on to win the race by one and three-quarter lengths.
5. Stars And Swords – fairhaven3 – S. Ballesteros – 5/1
Returning to graded company after a brief step down in class, this four-year-old filly is graded placed with a total of sixteen lifetime starts. She is out of the Group II winning broodmare The Faith Militant, who has only produced this filly to race as of date. The most recent start for the filly came in the United States during a listed stakes over 1700 meters. The filly came out of the gate near the back of the field and started to make her move midway through the race, though she would only cross the wire eighth at the wire. She set a speed figure of one hundred and eight for the race, equaling the speed figure she set in her last graded start during The Golfer’s Wager (G2). The most recent win for the filly was also in the US during another listed stakes at a mile. She was last out of the gate early in the six-horse field, made her move midway through the race, and went on to win by a length and a half.
6. Lady Of Uncle Mo – elkstables3 – R. Harzheim – 9/2
Working our way towards the back half of the field, this five-year-old mare will be making her eighteenth start in this Sunday’s race. The bay mare is a Group II winner and will be seeking another win this weekend. Her most recent start was in the United States during the Wizzer Stakes (G2) at a mile. The mare was sent out straight to the lead in the race, but was caught in the stretch and crossed the wire in third, setting a speed figure of one hundred and nine. Her most recent win was in May of last year when she won that same race by two lengths in wire-to-wire fashion.
7. Kate Marley – beerkeg15 – A. Tuscha – 6/1
An accomplished Group III winner, this four-year-old filly by Into Mischief will be making another attempt at a Group II win. Making her twentieth career start this weekend, the scratch-bred mare made her most recent start in Mexico over 1800 meters during the Vogue Handicap (G3) over a good dirt track. The four-year-old was sent out of the gate towards the middle of the pack, but faded in the stretch to finish tenth while setting a speed figure of one hundred and one. Her most recent win came in November of last year during a mile long listed stakes race in the United States. She was placed more towards the rear of the field in this race, settled back early into tenth, but quickly began to pick off other runners. She would go on to win the race by three-quarters of a length.
8. Pineapple – bets4 – N. Ashton – 20/1
A longer shot in the field for this Sunday, this six-year-old mare will be the oldest runner going into the gate this weekend. Racing almost exclusively on the turf, this mare will be making just her second start over the dirt as well as just her second start against graded company. The most recent start for the brown mare was in The Foul Mouth Stakes (G1) in England over a mile on the turf. She was sent out of the gate towards the back of the field in ninth, but lost ground throughout the race until she crossed the wire in twelfth, twenty-two and a half lengths off the pace while setting a speed figure of eighty-one. Her only start over the dirt was under previous owner mauritian2 in an allowance race at 1400 meters where she finished fifth with a speed figure of eighty-seven. Her most recent win was in April of last year during an allowance race in Germany at a mile.
9. Geographica – plano29 – J. Bradley – 9/2
Last into the starting gate for this weekend’s race, this four-year-old is a listed stakes winner seeking out a win against graded company and making her fifth start against this level of competition. The most recent start for the filly came in the United States during the Wizzer Stakes (G3) at a mile. The filly was sent out of the gate and settled just off the pace in fourth out of the gate, which is where she crossed the wire, with a speed figure of one hundred nine. She would win in her prior start, coming during a listed stakes race over a mile. A little further off the pace in this race, sixth out of the gate early on, the filly went on to win by two and a quarter lengths.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Ryans Gate
Place: Lady Of Uncle Mo
Show: Stars And Swords