The Big Apple Distaff
The feature race this weekend in New York will be The Big Apple Distaff (G1) featuring fillies and mares of four-years-old and up. The prestigious $750,000 Grade I race will take place this Saturday with a post time of 4:00 PM EST on the main dirt track. Drawing a total of nine horses for this year’s race, the track is set as fast for post time this weekend. Let’s take a look through the contenders.
- Mind Your Shackles (JPN) – kizunafarms1 – J. Selden – 4/1
Coming into this race off of four consecutive wins, the Japanese-bred chestnut filly most recently started here in New York during the Firecracker Stakes (G2) at six and a half furlongs in early July. Breaking out of the gate and easing into seventh early, the four-year-old was asked to make his move towards the middle of the race before she went on to win by one and a quarter lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred eleven. The other three consecutive wins for the filly are rounded out by a listed stakes race in Japan in May and two allowance races.
2. Justa Regent – beefcake – N. Gibson – 7/1
Returning to graded company, and making just her second start with this caliber of company, the five-year-old mare is lightly raced with twelve career starts. Her most recent start came during a listed stakes race in Arizona over six furlongs. Facing a small six-horse field, the mare was last out of the gate at the start, but began to pick up position fairly early in the race. She would cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred one. Her only graded start to date was in June during the Only Eight Planets Stakes (G3), held over seven and a half furlongs where the mare would finish three and a half lengths off the pace in fifth in her graded debut. May saw the mare’s most recent win, which came in an allowance race at six furlongs.
3. Nuka Sassy (AUS) – xmonster2 – E. Cerda – 5/1
Seeing her last race in The Princess Looney (G1) like many others in the field this weekend, this Australian-bred four-year-old filly is sired by the late Lonhro and has made a total of thirteen career starts. Her most recent race resulted in a third place finish for the brown filly, which saw her set off the pace in seventh at the break and begin to make her move early in the race, gradually picking off other contenders. With her third place finish, she would set a speed figure of one hundred twelve. Her most recent win was this past February during a listed stakes race over six furlongs in Kentucky. Facing just six other contenders in this race, the filly was out of the gate in fourth and started making her move at the three-furlong mark in the race. She would win by a length in the race and then returned back to graded company.
4. Drive To Kentucky – vautour – J. Drozd – 5/1
We’ll have a rematch in this race with this light grey filly and Jack’s Frency and the previously mentioned Nuka Sassy (AUS), who recently faced each other in The Princess Looney (G1) at six furlongs in Florida in late June. The light grey, sired by Fiber Sonde, went straight to the lead out of the gate in the sprint and led throughout right until the end where she was passed by her forementioned rival to finish second, setting a speed figure of one hundred thirteen and finishing just a length off the eventual winner. The filly’s most recent win came in March during a step down in class to the allowance level where she won in gate to wire fashion, easily winning the contest by two and three-quarter lengths. The grey filly has finished off the board only twice in her career.
5. Cuff And Crease – worldclass5 – D. Raymond – 10/1
Returning to graded company for this race, this four-year-old light grey filly is by the Triple Crown winner Justify and will be making her twentieth career start this weekend. Her most recent start came during a listed stakes race in Virginia over five and a half furlongs. The filly battled for the lead early out of the gate, taking a short command of the pace within the first few furlongs. She would be overtaken by her rival in the final strides of the race, finishing second by a head while setting a speed figure of one hundred four. Her most recent graded start came in early June during The Blackhawk Cup (G3) at seven furlongs in Illinois, this year run over a good dirt track, where she would cross the wire in seventh. Her most recent win was here in New York at seven and a half furlongs in an allowance race on the turf. This filly will be going off as our morning line longshot.
6. Jack’s Frenzy – fightclub – L. Radzinski – 4/1
As the favorite going into this race, this four-year-old filly has had some races that have been a little up and down recently, her most recent start coming in the Diamond Stakes (G1) at six furlongs in Texas. Facing a field of eleven for the Grade I event, the filly came out of the gate and settled into the middle of the pack at the start. About midway through the race the filly was urged to start to pick up the pace and by the time the field reached the stretch she was striding towards the leaders but would come up short of a win with a third-place finish while setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. Her race prior to this was in June in Florida during The Princess Looney (G1) over the same distance. Further back off the pace here, she would make her move at about the same point in the race but go on in the stretch to win by a length.
7. Anklet – natural2 – F. Gossett – 8/1
One of the older contenders in our field for Saturday, this five-year-old is by Mitole and will be making her twenty-seventh career start this weekend. The most recent start for the bay mare was here in New York during The Honored Miss (G2) at six furlongs. The mare set out of the gate just off the pace in second until taking control of the lead in the middle of the race. She would go on to win by a head, setting a speed figure of one hundred five. This was the third consecutive win for the mare who previously won The Elegant Mum Stakes (G3) at five furlongs and a listed stakes at five and a half furlongs.
8. Woette’s Looza – wonder6 – M. Lannoo – 6/1
The most experienced in the field for Saturday is this mare who will be marking her thirtieth career start with this race. She is returning to graded company after a step down in class. The most recent start for the five-year-old chestnut mare came in a starter allowance race in Massachusetts over seven and a half furlongs. Taking off for the lead out of the gate, the mare held onto this position right up unto the stretch where she was finally caught by a late closing contender to finish second, setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. Her most recent win was her start prior to this, a claiming race over the same distance in Kansas last June. Settling into an early second out of the gate, the mare turned the tables on her competition with a closing kick that brought her the win by a length and a half. Her last graded stakes start was July of last year during The Gleaming Invitational (G3) at seven furlongs in which she finished eighth.
9. Heisi – peachman8 – A. Jolly – 8/1
Making her second start against Grade I company, the four-year-old by top sire Quality Road made her most recent start in the Diamond Stakes (G1) at six furlongs in Texas. The bay filly came out of the gate a beat slowly and settled into eighth early on. She never seemed to find her stride in her first attempt against Grade I company and fell back to tenth at the wire, turning in a speed figure of ninety-six for the race. The filly had previously won two consecutive graded starts in The Sunflower (G2) and Real Danger Handicap (G2), both over six furlongs. The filly was much closer to the pace out of the gate in these races, stalking the front runners, and won by a length and three-quarters and a length respectively.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Drive To Kentucky
Place: Jack’s Frenzy
Show: Nuka Sassy (AUS)