Steadhemp / Mike Phipps Handicap

One of the undercard races on New Yorker day is the Steadhemp / Mike Phipps Handicap (G1). The Grade I race is open to fillies and mares, three-yeas-old and up over a mile and one-sixteenth over the main dirt track. With a purse of $1,500,000 the race is sure to attract the top fourteen fillies and mares on dirt in the region. With the track listed as fast for race day let’s take a look at our contenders. 

1.Tarkin – kaner8 – F. Oxon – 11/1 

Coming into the race off of two consecutive wins, the four-year-old bay filly sired by War Front has made a total of fifteen career starts. Most recently racing last month in The Taffy Mile (G1) in Louisiana on a track rated as good, the filly broke and settled into eighth early. Gaining momentum midway through the race she would go on to win by three and a half lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred fifteen. Prior to this she would win the Orange Blossom (G1) over a sloppy track at a mile and one-sixteenth in Arkansas this past March. Sent out with a similar running style, she would emerge victorious by three-quarters of a length while setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred seventeen. 

2. Into Bookworms – herren – Z. Ayya – 15/1 

Approaching two-million dollars in career earnings, the daughter of Into Mischief is coming into this race off of a win last April in the Union Jack Flyer Stakes (G1) at a mile in California. Held back in the middle of the pack in sixth early, the bay filly started advancing midway through the race before kicking into another gear in the stretch and winning by two and a half lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. Other graded wins for the four-year-old filly include last years Sister Hen Stakes (G1) and the Movieland Starlet (G1) in her two-year-old season. 

3. Warisamoneymaker –asrstar16 – D. Givins – 11/1 

In the third post, the daughter of War Front is seeking her first Grade I win of her career. The five-year-old bay mare has made twenty-three career starts, most recent of which came in the Just Blaze Stakes (G2) at a mile in Maryland last April. Settling just off the pace in fourth, she made a run in the stretch but came up just short to cross the wire in second while setting a speed figure of one hundred ten. Her most recent win was in March of 2024 during the Fantasia Handicap (G2) at a mile and one-sixteenth. Breaking fifth, she moved up quickly into fourth but would not make a bid for the turn until the field reached the stretch. She would win by one and a quarter lengths. Her latest Grade I start came in The Santa Mariana Stakes in California over a mile and one-sixteenth where she would cross the wire in third. 

4. Mammings – wrathbeard03 – F. Gossett – 10/1 

Sired by Munnings, the five-year-old brown mare most recently started in April during the Just Blaze Stakes (G2) at a mile in Maryland. Settling behind horses in sixth out of the gate, she would start to advance midway through the race and would achieve a fourth-place finish while setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. Her most recent victory came in February down in Florida during the Sabian Handicap  (G3) over the same distance. Out of the gate in ninth, she would start to progress midway through the race and would win the contest by two lengths, equaling a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred fourteen. The mare is still looking for her first Grade I win, her last attempt at the condition coming in the Oh My Sweet Clemintine (G1) last year in California where she would finish seventh. 

5. Jessica Bella – sloma – F. Inzamam – 14/1 

Sired by Ghostzapper, the five-year-old bay mare has made twenty-three career starts, winning eight times. Her most recent start came in late March during the It’s The Weekend Sprint (G3) at seven and a half furlongs. Out of the gate and settling into fifth she would begin to fall back midway through the race and would ultimately cross the wire in thirteenth, setting a speed figure of one hundred three. Her most recent win came in her prior start during a listed stakes race over seven furlongs overseas in China. Coming from the middle of the pack, she would win by one and a quarter lengths. Her last Grade I race was in the Gone Til November Stakes in which she finished second. 

6. She’s Dangerous – given5 – O. A. Haack – 6/1 

Certainly the most prestigious horse in Saturday’s field, the five-year-old chestnut mare is a Hall Of Fame inductee and two-time End Of Year Award winner with career earnings of over seven million dollars. The most recent start for the mare was in late March on a sloppy track in the Orange Blossom (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth. Settling into fourth out of the gate, the mare picked up the pace midway through the race and would cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred sixteen in the slop. The daughter of Curlin last won in November of last year during the Breeders’ Bowl Distaff (G1) across the country in California at a mile and one-eighth. Exhibiting her versatility, the mare was well off the pace out of the gate in twelfth and steadily started to gain ground on her opponents early in the race. She would win by three-quarter lengths. 

7. Kharkiv – epic – J. Drozd – 8/1 

This is the only horse in our field for Saturday that has yet to win against graded company. Having made twenty-eight career starts, the six-year-old mare most recently started last month during the Wizzer Stakes (G2) at a mile here in New York. Settling into seventh out of the gate, she started to challenge other runners midway through the race and would cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. His most recent win was in February during a listed stakes race over nine and a half furlongs. Running in a similar fashion, the mare won by two lengths. 

8. Friends Of Friends – flightlineasr – J. Wilson – 12/1 

From one of the first crops of Flightline, this five-year-old bay mare has won four times in her twenty-two career starts. Her most recent start was in Late April during the Union Jack Flyer Stakes (G1) over a mile. Breaking and settling into seventh and made a good run down the stretch to cross the wire in second while setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. Her most recent win came in August of last year in the Oh My Sweet Clementine (G1), also in California, at a mile and one-eighth over a track rated as good. Setting off the pace in fourth before making a run in the stretch and winning the race by a quarter of a length. 

9. Sigyn Line – musse3 – L. Ledwith – 15/1 

One of the longshots for this weekend, this daughter of Flightline is coming into the race off of two consecutive wins. The most recent of these races came in the MD Distaff (G2) at a mile and one-sixteenth in what would be the second graded start of the fillies’ career. Stalking from fourth out of the gate, she steadily gained ground throughout the race and she would go on to win by an impressive margin of five and a quarter lengths. Prior to this she’d won an allowance race over a mile in Washington. Her only other graded start of her career came last year in October during the Gowader Stakes (G2) at a mile where she would stalk from fourth early but fade to twelfth at the wire.  

10. Coroner Premier – hoosier23 – C. Demoney – 8/1 

In post number ten for Saturday, the six-year-old brown mare is by Authentic and most recently started in late March in the Orange Blossom (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth over a sloppy track. Going to the lead straight out of the gate, the mare fell back in the stretch to a third-place finish while setting a speed figure of one hundred fourteen for the race. Her most recent win comes in December of 2025 in Florida during The Exit Stage Left (G3) over the same distance, this time over a fast track. Stalking from just off the pace in second, the mare took over the lead midway through the race and went on to win by an impressive margin of five and a quarter lengths while putting in a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred sixteen. 

11. Fun One – nybred – G. Owans –13/1 

Making the third start of her four-year-old season this Saturday, the chestnut filly most recently started in March during the Orange Blossom (G1) at a mile and one-sixteenth, which came up this year with a sloppy track. Well off the pace early in tenth, she would linger towards the rear of the field for most of the race and not make a drive for the front until the field entered the stretch. She would come up short with a sixth-place finish and would set a speed figure of one hundred ten. Her prior start would be a winning one, coming in January during The Encino Man (G2) over the same distance across the country in California. Off the pace in eleventh at the start, she would start moving forward a little earlier in this race and would win by three and a half lengths while setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred sixteen. 

12. Just Gorgeous – jastables24 – P. Appolonia – 8/1 

Making her twentieth career start this Saturday, the daughter of Silver State has won six of these starts. The bay five-year-old mare most recently started in The Taffy Mile (G1) in Louisiana last month, which was run over a track rated as good. Breaking cleanly, she settled into second early but would fade in the stretch to cross the wire in eighth while setting a speed figure of one hundred five. Her most recent win came in November of last year in Canada during the Gone Til November Stakes (G1) at a mile in Ontario. Settling into the middle of the pack in sixth, she challenged other runners early in the race and quickly started gaining ground on the rest of the field. She would take over the lead in the stretch and go on to win the race by one and a quarter lengths while setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred sixteen. 

13. La Mocita – g1mareshaack – B. Orazio – 9/1 

Making the twenty-fourth start of her career this weekend, the five-year-old light grey mare is by top sire Tapit and most recently raced in late April in Iowa during the Cubic Zirconia Path Stakes (G3) at a mile and one-sixteenth. This was the first graded event for the mare since last year. Stalking early from second, she took the lead at the halfway point of the race but would then fall to third at the wire, setting a speed figure of one hundred six. She had her last win in her prior start which came in listed stakes company over the same distance in Wyoming where she took the field from gate to wire to win by half a length. 

14. Clontarfy – saughduss – J. Wesselman – 9/1 

At six years of age, the daughter of Flatter is relatively lightly raced at eighteen career starts. The most recent start for the bay mare came across the country in California during the Union Jack Flyer Stakes (G1) at a mile. The mare broke sharply and went straight to the lead out of the gate and led the pack right up into the stretch where she was unable to fend off the late charge of a pair of other contenders and she would cross the wire in third, setting  speed figure of one hundred nine. Her most recent win came in September of last year during the Are We There Yet Mile (G1) in New Mexico. She would take the field from gate to wire in the mile-long contest, winning by two lengths. 

Flrancho’s Picks: 

Win: She’s Dangerous 

Place: Tarkin 

Show: Kharkiv