The Trains
It will be a weekend of action-packed racing this weekend in New York as the weekend offers up several graded stakes on the card which will lead up to the highlight to be run on Saturday. However, we will switch our focus now to one of the races leading up to that point, and the highlight race of Friday’s card, which will be The Trains (G1) over seven-eighths of a mile on the dirt and open to filles and mares of four years of age and up. We’ll have a fairly large field for this year’s race as twelve fillies and mares will be heading to the starting gate to take a shot at the $500,000 prize being offered up for the sprint. Let’s take a look at the contenders.
- Ryan’s Gate – ballgame – K. Proehl – 4/1
First up and drawing the inside rail will be this light gray mare the late sire Arrogate. The Kentucky-bred has won over a million in lifetime earnings, but is still seeking out her first Grade I win. The most recent start for the mare was earlier this month in the Superfilly Handicap (G1) over a mile and one sixteenth here in New York. The mare was sent straight out to the lead in this race, but at the midway point of the race would be overtaken and ultimately would cross the wire in fifth while setting a speed figure of one hundred and eight. March saw the last win for the mare, which came in the Winchester Cup (G3) over a mile in Argentina.
2. Widow’s Web (SAF) – thethumb19 – L. Radzinski – 12/1
One of the longer shots on the board for Friday, this South African-bred filly will be making her fourth graded start of her career. Most recently, the brown filly by Var started in the Go For It Handicap (G3) over six and a half furlongs in Arkansas. The filly was forwardly placed in the race, settling just off the pace into third at the beginning of the sprint. She would make up some ground in the final furlongs to finish second, just a quarter of a length off the winner, while setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. The most recent win for the filly came this past May during the Vagabond Handicap (G2) over six and a half furlongs here in New York where the filly would win by a head at the wire.
3. Book Of Gates – wetfast – V. Jef – 8/1
In the third slot we will have our second runner by Arrogate in the field for Friday. The five-year-old roan mare is seeking her first Grade I win again in this race after making her first attempt against Grade I company in her last start, the Superfilly Handicap (G1) earlier this month over a mile and one-sixteenth. The mare would be held off the pace in this race in the back half of the field in eighth out of the gate. She would steadily gain some ground on the rest of the field and cross the wire in sixth, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. The most recent win for the mare was in June during the Delta Tau Chi Sprint (G2) over seven furlongs in Nebraska. Again, she would be placed closer towards the rear of the field out of the gate and would take over the lead midway through the seven-furlong race to win by a length and a half.
4. Just Regal – scout1 – F. Duffy – 9/1
The second of our million-dollar earnings to go into the starting gate for Friday, this four-year-old by filly is by Triple Crown winning Justify and out of the graded placed mare Gigawatt Regality. The most recent start for the second rated dirt sprint filly was The Nutcracker (G1) over seven furlongs here in New York this past August. The filly would settle into the middle of the field out of the gate in this race but never seemed to fire as she came home to finish eighth while setting a speed figure of one hundred two. The most recent win for the filly was in her prior start, this coming in a listed stakes over seven furlongs, also here in New York.
5. La Tia Marisela – derbyhaack – O. A. Haack – 7/1
Returning to graded company this weekend after a step down in class for her last couple of starts, this five-year-old mare is by Uncle Mo and is out of the Grade II winning broodmare La Vieja Marisol. The bay mare is coming into this race off of two consecutive wins at the allowance level, both over seven furlongs with victories by margins of a length and a quarter. The most recent graded start for the mare was in Florida during The Davey Jones Handicap (G2), also at seven furlongs, where she would cross the wire in seventh, back off the pace by three and a quarter.
6. He Was A Big Heel (IRE) – tea5 – J. Sands – 19/1
The longest shot on the board for Friday’s race, this Irish-bred filly by Highland Reel will be making her graded stakes debut in this Friday’s race. After beginning her career on the turf, the filly was transitioned over to the dirt after six starts and has improved greatly with the surface change. She is coming into this race off of two consecutive wins in allowance races on the dirt over seven furlongs. The most recent of these, run in Pennsylvania, earned the filly a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred eleven with a winning margin of a length and a quarter.
7. Hurt City – monmouth – F. Gossett – 12/1
Next up we will have another longshot who will be taking a step up in class in Friday’s race and will be facing Grade I company for the first time. However, the four-year-old brown filly has earned her spot, coming off of three consecutive wins to get here, including, most recently, the Lil’ Leprechaun Dash (G2) over seven furlongs in Italy. The filly was well off the pace at the start of this race, was asked to make her move at the midway point and went on the cross the wire a quarter length in front with a speed figure of one hundred ten. This victory was preceded by two others, one a listed stakes at seven and a half furlongs in Maryland, and an allowance race over a mile in Washington over a sloppy track.
8. Violet Moreau – beerkeg14 – R. Hansen – 10/1
In the eighth slot, this four-year-old light grey filly by Tapit will be making her twenty-second lifetime start. The most recent start for the scratch bred mare was last August during The Rancho Renaldo (G3) over six and a half furlongs over a sloppy track in California. The filly was held just off the pace of a few front runners, tucked in behind them in fourth. She was asked to make her move midway through the race and moved into second but was shuffled back in the stretch to cross the wire in third, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. The most recent win for the filly was overseas in Belgium during the Real Danger Handicap (G2) at six furlongs. She was placed closer to the front in this race, second out of the gate and overtook her adversary late in the stretch to win by a head, once again over a sloppy track.
9. City Beast –mightbite – J. Drojd – 17/1
Next up, we have a four-year-old filly that seems to be coming into her own as of late with a recent win here in New York during the Dancer Cap (G2) over seven furlongs this past August. The filly went straight to the lead in the race and none could catch her as she coasted home to win by a neck with a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred and elven. Her prior start, over a listed stakes race in Indiana over the same distance, also resulted in a win for the filly, though over a larger margin of one and a quarter lengths.
10. Tiz Tapit – danzigmoon3 – D. Givins – 5/1
This five-year-old light grey mare by Tiznow will be making her third start aginst graded company this Friday. Her only graded start of the year was in her last race during The Garden Handicap (G3) in Kentucky over a mile. The mare was held off the pace in fourth at the start, started to make her move midway through the race and would cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred sixteen. Her most recent win was in her prior start, coming across the country in California during a listed stakes race over a mile. Ran in a very similar fashion to her more recent start, the mare would win this race by two lengths while recording a lifetime best speed figure.
11. Sasha Sparrow (IRE) – beerbong – C. Mecklenburg – 5/1
The third and final entry into Friday’s field to have already eclipsed the million-dollar mark in lifetime earnings, this lightly raced five-year-old mare is by No Nay Never and has had a racing career primarily over the turf, though she has succeeded on the dirt in the past as well. The most recent start for the blue-blooded mare came here in New York this past June during the CVBears Hometown Turf Stakes(G1) at six and a half furlongs over the turf. The mare led the field from gate to wire in the race, going on to win by a length and a half while setting a speed figure of one hundred eleven. Her most recent start over the dirt was in January in California during The Everclear Handicap (G1) at seven furlongs. In this race, she would be held back off the pace in second and would cross the wire second just a length off the winning pace.
12. Prima Facia (IRE) – valesa – M. Grunhard – 13/1
The final horse to go into the gate on Friday, this four-year-old bay filly is returning to the graded stakes after taking a step down in class. The most recent start for Galileo filly was in an allowance race over seven and a half furlongs here in New York. The filly settled into third behind the front runners out of the gate but would come up to challenge in the stretch, emerging the victor by a head at the while, while setting a speed figure of one hundred six. Her last graded start was also here in New York this past may in the mile long Wizzer Stakes (G2) where she would finish ninth, though only beaten by three and a half lengths, after stalking well off the pace at the start of the race.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Sasha Sparrow (IRE)
Place: Hurt City
Show: Ryan’s Gate