Equinics-Northlands Park
The last race on the Equinics race card in Vermont is the Northlands Park. This race is for three-year old fillies & mares and the race will be contested on the dirt track at a distance of 6f. This race comes with a rich one-million dollar purse, not bad for a G1 event. Four of the top 10 ranked three-year old sprinters will square off in this race and includes the top ranked Street Etiquette.
After the race results are declared official, and the ceremonies within the winner’s circle conclude, the 2012 Equinic games will come to its conclusion. The closing ceremony will feature over 30 different breeds of horses from throughout the world and include a laser light show utilizing the inner track fountains and a spectacular fireworks show amongst much, much more. The finale will of course conclude with the extinguishment of the Equinics flame.
Now a look at the horses that will be tested in the finale. I went a bit differently and ranked these in three categories. Podium Candidates are the horses that I think have the best chance of finishing in the top three and stepping onto the podium. Podium Opportunists are ones that could get to the podium if they can fire things up. Podium Dreamers are horses that don’t look likely to get there and will need an extremely strong performance to step onto the podium.
The listings are in no particular order:
PODIUM CANDIDATES
13. 6/1 VICENZA represents the Vermont residency and gets to race at the hometown track. This mare out of Bernardini started her racing career with a five race win streak. She has gone on to win nine of thirteen career starts, which include a pair of graded races, the first coming last October in the Camlaw stakes and the most recent was last month in the Priority Princess. This 8th ranked sprinter scored her career best speed on July 7th of 103 when finishing second in the Priceless graded event. Definitely a horse with a shot.
8. 9/2 STREET ETIQUETTE may be the one to beat as she is currently ranked #1 on the circuit. As a representative from the Blazing Saddles residency, this Street Cry daughter has won eight of twelve races and has in excess of a million in earnings. Four graded wins include The Sorgento, Dell Computer Debutante, Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile Filly and All Saints Derby. The All Saints Derby was a prep for the Bluegrass Derby, a race she ran in and finished 9th after leading most of the race. Speeds have hit or been above 100 over the last five starts. Interesting that she is ranked #1 as she has been competing at longer distances since September which may reflect how solid she is.
17. 8/1 HARLEM BEAT is the only offspring out of Harlem Rocker (a 2nd year sire) who has won a graded race. This chestnut colored mare represents the residency of Empire State Racing. She looked a little rusty after taking part of the winter off finishing 6th in a low-end stake race. She sharpened up quickly, as she put in a solid second in another low end event. But timing seems to be perfect for this ninth ranked horse as she’s won her last two races, both graded, taking the Manhattan District and Bob Barker. Speeds of 101 and 105 make the timing look perfect for this girl in this race.
5. 9/1 GRAND ENTRANCE ships in from the GR Simsters residency for this big event. This daughter of Tiz Now has been ranked 41st amongst sprinters and has yet to gain a graded race win. However, she has come close. She missed by under a length in the Miss Stallion in May and ran out of real estate too soon while rallying in the Bob Barker to miss by a neck. Speeds in this pair of races were 105 and 101 respectfully. She was rather flat in her last start in the Dynamita Sprint, finishing fifth. She has the ability to overcome this performance and if successful could mean trouble for the rest of the runners.
2. 10/1 ROZELLE CHIANTI comes into the race carrying the official colors of the Queensland Racecourse residency. Ranked 64th right now, this Pulpit girl certainly looks to be in peak form. She has won six of nine races and put in a very strong second, missing by a stride in the Dynamita Sprint, her second grade race. In this stakes race, she set her career best speed of 105 just last month. Most recently her speeds have ranged from 99 to 105. A lethal lady that needs to be respected.
PODIUM OPPORTUNISTS
10. 16/1 CANADIAN KASH is the 10th ranked filly and represents the East West Connection. This Scat Daddy child has one grade in to her credit which came this past March in the Girl Up Front. In this race, she posted a career best speed of 100 coming on a good track. Form has been questionable for this tenth ranked runner following this victory as her speeds have ranged from 75 to 98 and a best third place finish recently in a low-end stake race. She has a knack for getting on the board, but this field may be too much.
9. 12/1 RAW SPEED got the call to represent the Universal Racing Club residency for this race. This Elusive Quality offspring has won six of ten starts and this includes one grade win which was collected last November when she won the Mistaken Soda Identity Stakes. This gal has won her last two starts, both on the lower-end stake circuit, and includes a career best speed of 104 this past April. Current ranked 34th with good current form this gal has opportunity if able to get in the area of that 104 speed again.
12. 16/1 WHITTLESBY did not race as a two year old and first set her feet on the race track this past March. This gal represents the Midas residency and is the daughter of Speightstown. With only four career races under her belt, she is not yet ranked. Despite this, she has won twice and place twice and always finishing within a length of the winner. Her speeds have progressed from 81 to 103 which she hit last month. This will be her first stakes race and with her accelerating speeds, she could be overlooked by the gamblers who may be surprised to find this one on the podium.
3. 16/1 APACHE CANYON is the offspring out of Absolute Harmony, a sire that has been rarely used and has not produced a stakes winner in the past five years. However, a healthier AP Indy and Kris S. mare a boost in the bloodline for this entrant representing the Testbarn residency. She is highly ranked at 2519 for lady sprinters and this is mainly because she’s run the short distances only twice, with one time going on the turf. Her record is 4-2-0 in six dirt efforts, mostly running mile races. Her speeds have been clocked between 90 and 98 over the last four. She’s been sidelined since late May and could be a little rusty coming in. Has a shot in her first grade race appearance.
12. 16/1 WHITTLESBY did not race as a two year old and first set her feet on the race track this past March. This gal represents the Midas residency and is the daughter of Speightstown. With only four career races under her belt, she is not yet ranked. Despite this, she has won twice and place twice and always finishing within a length of the winner. Her speeds have progressed from 81 to 103 which she hit last month. This will be her first stakes race and with her accelerating speeds, she could be overlooked by the gamblers who may be surprised to find this one on the podium.
PODIUM DREAMERS
1. 17/1 IM A VEGA will represent the residency of Minnesota Downs in this race. This mare, out of Brahms, has one a nice 7 races in the 13 she has competed within. Currently ranked 35th in the sprint class for female three year olds, she has yet to win a graded event, despite trying three times. However, in the lower end stake races, she has been victorious four of five tries. She comes into the race with a mere two weeks rest, and taking an easy win on an off track in a short field with an 88 speed. She can go faster, thus far topping out at a speed of 96 this past May. I don’t think she’ll find the winner’s circle, but she has had a decent rest between races despite coming in with short rest. Speed numbers haven’t been consistent and this one could go good or bad, risky venture.
4. 18/1 VEAL CUTLET BG is currently ranked 129th in the 3 year old sprint class. She travels in from the Kentucky Horsemen residency. She has an impressive record of 6-5-0 in 12 starts finishing off the board once which came last October. Sired by Roses in May, this girl has seen her speed numbers improve over the past three starts from 80 to 100 which came in mid-May. She has only raced within the allowance level, making this her first stakes race of any kind. She looks to be at a disadvantage as her last race was well over two months ago and will probably be rusty coming in.
15. 28/1 WILL IT END is the representative from the NWRC. This girl, bred from Tale of the Cat, broke her maiden in May which is her only victory to date in eleven starts. That does not mean that she isin’t competitive as she has finished second a total of seven times. Although she is currently ranked 168th in the sprinting class for 3-year old fillies, she has shown improvement earlier this month establishing a career best speed of 94 in low-end stakes class. Still, she has a lot of talent racing against her which will pose of a touch challenge to overcome.
7. 22/1 HAACK’S RIDE is the chosen runner from the Hispano Parlante residency. This daughter of Candy Ride in comparison to the competition, is highly ranked at 290. Until January of this year, this lady’s speeds had been poor, recorded in the 60-70 range. But in March, they vastly improved to the low to mid 90’s in four consecutive races. In each of these races, she finished a competitive second. Only one graded race appears on her record and she was a well-back 7th in the Getaway Stakes last September. Definitely overmatched in this race but the experience could be beneficial in future races.
6. 16/1 CONOPUS has just established a new career speed mark of 101 in her last race going 7.5f in an allowance race while picking up the second of five career wins. She is ranked 309th and is a delegate from the DelPenn residency. This filly out of A.P. Indy has flip-flopped between dirt and turf surfaces and has performed well on both. As a two-year old she raced in a pair of graded events, the Butterfly Futurity and Dr. Shut-Yer-Lips Juvenile collecting minor purse checks for fourth and fifth place finishes. A nicely bred lady who hasn’t lived up to expectations will probably find this field to be fairly tough to overcome.
14. 23/1 BOBBY Z flys into town as the representative for the City-Race Rhein-Main Turf Club residency. She is highly ranked at 617th in sprints and this is somewhat related to her splitting time between the route races and shorter sprints. Sprint-wise, she’s been on the board 5 of 6 starts, with 2 wins. This daughter of Lookin at Lucky has one career race in stakes, a low end 8.5f event in November where she finished second. Speeds have been in the low 90-range recently. She looks like an outsider in this race, but it should be noted that she has only two races on the dirt that were sprints…she won both times.
16. 99/1 SALTIRE ORANGE is an unranked three year old due to a short two race career. Offspring of Duke of Marmalade, she has only raced on the turf and hasn’t hit the board. This Saltire residency entrant will be racing in her first dirt race, her first sprint race and making first stakes appearance. This doesn’t necessarily add up to a first place finish. She’s quite the underdog in this event and makes me recall the movie Cool Runnings which featured the Jamaican Bobsled team. They didn’t win, but they sure as heck had a good time. Look for the same here.
11. 11/1 BONZAI will be the runner from Comedy Central in this event. She is sired by Any Given Saturday and has won 4 of 11 races and is ranked 844th in the 3-year old female sprint class. She has been on the board in seven of these starts which equates to four races where she failed to land in the top three spots. These all came in her last four starts while competing in the graded level, with the majority coming at a distance over a mile. She pulls back a bit in distance and her speeds have averaged 96 in those graded stakes. Hard sell off of these efforts.