Sister Hen Stakes

The feature race this weekend in New York will feature the fillies in the Sister Hen Stakes (G1) at a mile and one-eighth on the dirt. The Grade I race, with its total purse of $750,000 is open to three-year-old fillies only and is set to go off at a post time this Saturday of 6:00 am EST. It looks like we’ll have a nearly full field for this year’s running of the race with clear skies forecasted for the day of the race, leaving the track to be listed as fast. Let’s take a look through this year’s contenders. 

1. Tap To My Slew – kingranch – R. Radzinski – 11/1 

Drawing the inside rail, this daughter of Tapit will be returning to graded company with this start and making her second start against graded caliber competition. The scratch bred light grey filly most recently started in May during a listed stakes race over ten furlongs in Kentucky. The filly was sent straight to the lead out of the gate but began to fade back at the midway point of the race. She would eventually come home to cross the wire in sixth while setting a speed figure of ninety-four. Her only graded start to gate came in her prior start, the Full Body Suit (G1) at a mile and one-eighth this past March where she would finish fifth. Her most recent win was in early February during a listed stakes race, also in Kentucky, but over nine furlongs. Out of the gate and off the pace in ninth, she would start moving forward halfway through the race before going on to win by half a length. 

2. Vina Habanera – waregem – M. McClendon – 12/1 

Lightly raced with six starts, the daughter of Vino Rosso is seeking out her first graded race in this start on Saturday. The chestnut filly most recent raced in May in Ontario during The Selena (G3) at a mile and one-sixteenth. Sent out of the gate just off the pace in third, the filly would move up into second by the midway point of the race but was never able to take over the lead. She would cross the wire in second setting her first triple digit and lifetime best speed figure of one hundred. Her most recent win came in late February during a listed stakes race over the same distance overseas on the dirt in Denmark. A little further off the pace at the start in fourth, the filly started inching up on rivals earlier in the race, though she didn’t take over the lead until the finial furlongs. The filly would win the race by two and three-quarter lengths. The filly will go off as the morning line longshot. 

3. Seeking More Candy – asrstar5 – R. Bokie – 6/1 

Returning to graded company after a brief step down in class, the filly by Candy Ride is a scratch bred who most recently started in May during a listed stakes race over nine furlongs in Kentucky. Out of the gate in seventh, she started picking off other horses early and found her way into second at the midway point of the race. She would go on to win the race by a length and a half while setting a speed figure of one hundred five, which is a lifetime best speed figure for the filly. Her most recent start against graded company came in March during the Iool Oaks (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth. Well off the pace early in the race, placed tenth out of the gate, the filly would rally late to cross the wire in sixth. 

4. Into Bookworms – herren – F. Oxon – 7/1 

By Into Mischief, this blue-blooded filly is making her first start since finishing just in the money with a fifth-place finish in this year’s Bluegrass Oaks (G1) over the same distance that she will be running here on Saturday. The bay filly was well off the pace hear early in the race, thirteenth out of the gate. She started to advance on the rest of the field midway through the race and had gotten up to fifth at the wire. The filly set a speed figure of one hundred five, which was a lifetime best, for the race. Her most recent win came in the final start of her two-year-old season last December during the Movieland Starlet (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth. She was a little more forwardly placed in this race, breaking eighth out of the gate, sneaking into third at the midway point, and overtaking the tiring front runners in the stretch to win by two and a half lengths. Her most recent start in the Bluegrass Oaks (G1) was the only race in her seven-start career to date in which she did not finish on the board. 

5. Castlegale (NZ) – homearoan – J. Dizzle – 9/1 

The only horse in the field bred outside of Kentucky, this bay New Zealand bred filly will be making her graded stakes debut this Saturday. Out of an allowance winning dam, the filly will be making her first start in the States as well. Her most recent race was a listed stakes over nine furlongs on the dirt in Norway. Sent out towards the back of the seven-horse pack in fifth out of the gate, at the midway point of the race the filly had worked herself up into second, just a head short of the front running pacesetter. She was not able to secure the lead however and would cross the wire in second, setting her second triple digit speed figure, this one of one hundred. Her only other listed stakes start was her most recent win, this coming in South Korea over the same distance. She was further back early in seventh, was up into second at the midway point of the race and went on to win by two and three-quarter lengths. 

6. Covert Security – vaguy11 – J. White – 8/1 

Finishing off the board only once in her career, the bay filly has made a total of eight lifetime starts. Sired by Maximum Security and out of a stakes placed dam, the filly most recently started last May in the Bluegrass Oaks at a mile and one-eighth. Well off the pace in fifteenth at the start, the filly closed late to cross the wire in second, just a length off the pace from the winner.  The filly would set a speed figure of one hundred nine for the race, which was a lifetime best for the filly. Her most recent win was in her prior start, which took place in March during The Wall Street (G2), here in New York over the same distance. The filly wasn’t as far off the pace at the start in this race, though still positioned back in seventh. Midway through the race she would be positioned to challenge the front runners and would go on to win the race by three and a quarter lengths. 

7. Choose Dur – ydoihate2yos – K. Friar – 10/1 

Despite coming close on several occasions, this chestnut filly is seeking her first graded win of her career. The most recent start for the daughter of top sire Curlin came across the country this past April during the California Oaks (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth. The filly launched out of the gate sharply and was into first early, leading the field right up until the final furlongs where she was overtaken by a late closing challenger and shuffled back to second at the wire, a heart breaking three-quarters of a length off the pace. The filly would set a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred four for the race. The most recent win for the filly came in the final start of her two-year-old season during a listed stakes race over a mile in California. The filly took the field from gate to wire in the race, winning by half a length. For the start this weekend, the filly will undoubtedly be in contention for an early pace setting spot out of the gate. 

8. Harpsinger – deyoto7 – W. Desantis – 10/1 

The second horse in the field for Saturday sired by Curlin, this chestnut three-year-old filly will be making her graded stakes debut. Her most recent start came during an allowance race over nine furlongs last May. Out of the gate towards the middle of the field at the start, the filly began to challenge other runners midway through the race before going on to win by half a length with her second record triple digit speed figure, setting a one hundred one for this race and equaling her previous best from her prior race which came in a listed stakes race in Virginia over the same distance. She would come home to finish fourth in the listed race. 

9. Guikaze – givenspren – V. Gardner – 7/1 

A Grade I winner, this filly, like much of the field, is coming into this field out of the Bluegrass Oaks (G1). In the prestigious Kentucky race, the filly was off the pace in tenth at the start, not making a move until midway through the race. She made a modest bid to the front in the stretch, but only crossed the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred five, which was a lifetime best speed figure for the filly. The chestnut filly won her prior start, which came in February over a mile and one-eighth during the Vermont Is 4 Lovers. The filly was held towards the middle of the pack in the race early and let loose at at the midway point before she would go on to win the race by half a length. 

10. Take The Cone Off – givenhot2 – J. Piotrowski – 5/1 

By top sire Tapit, this three-year-old light grey filly also saw her most recent start in May’s Bluegrass Oaks (G1) at a mile and one-eighth.  The pacesetter of the race early out of the gate, she held on to that position right up into the stretch before she ended up getting overtaken in the final furlongs to come home third while setting a speed figure of one hundred six, equaling a lifetime best speed figure that the filly first set during a listed stakes race in Ontario this past January. The most recent win for the filly came in early March, also in Ontario, during the Fully Body Suit (G1) at the same distance as the Bluegrass. Out of the gate in second at the break, the filly took command of the pace midway through the race, going on to win the contest by a quarter of a length.  

11. Cody’s Second Wish – tramline – B. Fairfield – 11/1 

Also returning to graded stakes company for this weekend’s race, this bay filly will be making her eleventh career start. Her most recent race came in early May during a listed stakes race over ten furlongs in Kentucky. Coming out of the gate and settling well off the pace early in ninth, the filly did begin to challenge other horses fairly early on in the race and was up into fifth by the time the field reached the midway point of the race. She would eventually cross the wire in third, just one length off the pace, while equaling a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred.  Her only graded stakes start to date was in The Whitetail Stakes (G3) at a mile and one-eighth in early April where she would finish seventh. Her most recent race came in her finial start of her two-year-old season during an allowance race over eight and a quarter furlongs in Arkansas. This was run in a similar style to her most recent start, with the filly coming from the back of the field early before eventually wining by two and three-quarter lengths 

12. Laugh At Stupidity – asrblack0 – M. Buck – 10/1 

Coming back for a third try against Grade I company, the light grey filly is by Curlin and out of a listed stakes winning broodmare. Her most recent start was a victorious one and came in early May during the Timber Stakes (G3) at a mile and one-sixteenth in Pennsylvania. Settling just behind the front runners in third out of the gate, the filly had taken command of the pace by the midway point of the race and went on to win by a quarter of a length while setting a speed figure of one hundred three, a lifetime best. The filly has made only two other graded starts, most recently the Full Body Suit (G1) in Ontario at a mile and one eighth and The Darley (G1) late in her two-year-old season. The filly would finish fourth and ninth in these races respectively.  

Flrancho’s Picks: 

Win: Guikaze 

Place: Take The Cone Off 

Show: Into Bookworms