The Motherly Love
Headlining our races for Sunday in New York is The Motherly Love (G2) where we will feature the two-year-old fillies over seven furlongs on the dirt. The Grade II race, offering up a total purse of $375,000, will go off at a post time of 4:10 PM EST on Sunday over a track rated as fast. Let’s take a look at the nine fillies that will be going to the starting gate.
- Tapit Tonight – tenpoint12 – P. Haynes – 8/1
Making her second attempt against graded company, the brown filly is by top sprinter Midnight Lute. The filly has won two of her four starts to date, finishing off the board only once. The most recent start for the two-year-old came in Canada during the Hooserhead Juvenile Fillies (G2) at six and a half furlongs. Coming out of the gate and settling just off the pace early in third, she would start to fade back midway through the race before rallying a little late to cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of seventy-nine. Her most recent win was her prior start to this which came in an allowance race over the same distance in Hong Kong. Closer to the pace in second out of the gate, she made her move late in the stretch to win the race by three-quarters of a length.
2. Autumn Variation – faugheen – J. Migliore – 9/1
Making her second start against graded company, the chestnut filly by Munnings. The scratch bred filly most recently started in The Schoolerville (G3), along with many others in the field this weekend. Last out of the gate here in New York during that race, she picked up a spot early and continued to stalk the pace far back at the rear of the field. She would make a late bid down the stretch to cross the wire in sixth, setting a speed figure of seventy-seven. Prior to this the filly would secure her most recent win in the form of an allowance race over six furlongs across the country in California last May. Once again the last out of the gate, she would make her move earlier in the race before sneaking up into first at the stretch and going on to win by three-quarters of a length.
3, Xip Her Up – liamswan – S. Tate – 6/1
Sired by Violence, this chestnut filly most recently started here in New York in late July during The Schoolerville (G3) at six furlongs. The filly shot out to the front out of the gate early but gave up the lead at the midway point of the race. She would maintain this position, crossing the wire in second and setting a speed figure of eighty-three. She would win her race prior to this, a listed stakes race over five and a half furlongs in Minnesota. Out of the gate and briefly in second early, the filly quickly took over the lead and managed to hold on to win by a head at the wire.
4. Shocking Jolt – rac2024 – D. Carlson – 6/1
Making her second graded start of the year, this brown filly most recently started in late July in Canada during the Hooserhead Juvenile Fillies (G2) at six and a half furlongs. Facing a field of ten, the filly settled in the middle of the pack out of the gate. At the midway point of the race the filly had moved up into third and was taking aim at the other fillies down the stretch. She crossed the wire in second, just a length off the winner, and set a speed figure of eighty-four for the race. Her last win was in March during an allowance race over six furlongs in Ohio held over a track rated as good at post time. Running just off the pace of the front runners early, she took over the pace at the midway point of the race to win by three-quarter lengths.
5. Battle Patrol – bigblueracing6 – Z. Ayya – 5/1
With just two career starts under her belt, the bay scratch bred filly is by War Front. She broke her maiden at first asking in late May during a maiden special weight race in Kentucky over six and a half furlongs. Out of the gate well off the pace in eleventh, she would be urged to make her move midway through the race and eventually going on to win by three-quarters of a length. Next up for the filly was a big step up in class to listed stakes company. This race was also in Kentucky over the same distance. Last out of the gate in the eight-horse field, the filly didn’t make her move until the field came into the stretch. She would come up just short in the race, crossing the wire in third while setting a speed figure of eighty.
6. Nhill Nesuzu (AUS) – chatham06 – J. Benisz – 9/2
Making her fourth start this weekend and stepping up in class for her first attempt at graded company, the Australian-bred daughter of Triple Crown winner Justify is out of the stakes placed dam Lorne Suzuki. The chestnut filly is undefeated so far in her three career starts. The most recent of her starts came in late July during a listed stakes race in Italy over six furlongs. Facing a small field of four other horses, the filly was last out of the gate at the start but started to pick up ground midway through the race. She would continue with her forward motion to win in her listed debut by a length and a half while setting a speed figure of eighty-two, equaling a previous lifetime best speed figure that she’d set in her prior race, which was an allowance start over six and a half furlongs.
7. Mystic Harmony – jwest3 – J. Hernandez – 4/1
Making her fifth career start, the filly is one of the last sired by Speightstown and is one of the few in the field to have already won a graded race. The chestnut filly is undefeated in her four starts to date, the most recent of these coming here in New York during The Schoolerville (G3). This race was the only one where the filly hasn’t been sent to the lead right out of the gate. In this race she would settle just off the pace in second before taking command of the pace midway through the six furlong race. She would go on to win by a length and a quarter while setting a speed figure of eighty-six. This will be the fillies first time stretching out to seven furlongs.
8. Just Voodoo – kingranch – N. Lawton – 9/2
The most experienced of the field for Sunday, this chestnut daughter of Justify has made five career starts to date. Her most recent start came last month during a listed stakes race in Kentucky over a mile. Out of the gate in fifth, the filly started to make her move midway through the race and had moved up into third. Down the stretch though she would be shuffled back to cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of eighty-seven. Prior to this she had a start against graded company in the Lean Machine Stakes (G2) at six and a half furlongs in Michigan where she would finish sixth. Her most recent win was in early May during a listed stakes race over six and a half furlongs. After setting off the pace in fourth, the filly would stalk the front running pace to win by a length and a quarter at the wire.
9. Glitter Glue (GB) – oakridge19 – J. Karczewski – 12/1
Going into her first start against graded company with this race, and drawing the far outside, the daughter of Havana Grey (GB) started her racing career on the turf, winning at first asking over five furlongs in Belgium. Her most recent start came overseas in Italy during an allowance race over six furlongs this past July. The filly came out of the gate and settled just off the pace in second early, briefly took on the lead at the midway point of the race, but was then overtaken in the stretch to go on to cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of seventy-nine, which is a lifetime best speed figure for the filly. Prior to this the filly had made her first start on the dirt, which also brought her her most recent win. This start came over five and a half furlongs in Belgium over a track rated as good. She took the claiming race in wire to wire fashion, winning by a length. She is off as the longshot for Sunday.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Mystic Harmony
Place: Xip Her Up
Show: Shocking Jolt