Grade II Rose Garden In Jamaica
The Rose Garden Handicap (Jamaica) (1) VALDESARCH (KY) Odds: 13/1 Owner: Fernando Empire Valdesarch hasn’t really had a long break from the races since way back in 2010. She threw a 114 speed figure in January of 2012 in a 9-furlong allowance win in Iowa, but she really hasn’t done a whole lot since then. Her best recent finish was two starts ago, when she finished third in the 9-furlong Well Heeled Dirt Mare Route listed stakes, again in Iowa. She comes in here with three triple digit speed figure races in her last six starts, dating back to February. But if Valdesarch can somehow dig deep and find that 110-114 speed figure range she was running in early in the season, she could be really dangerous here. (2) DIOCESE (KY) Odds: 6/1 Owner: Lilbitfarm Stables Diocese is a five year old daughter of Pulpit, who is out of the Wild Again mare Neighborhood. She has been running in some pretty classy company lately. Back at the end of last season, she won the $1.5 million Grade 2 Delaware Distaff on Del-Penn Champions Day. Since then, she has run third in the Grade 1 Original Margaritaville Invitational and fourth in both the Grade 3 Bringing Up The Rear Classic and the Grade 1 Very Vane. She was beaten only two lengths in that Grade 1 Very Vane in California on July 7. Last time out, she finished well beaten in the Grade 1 Delaware Park Stakes in the Equinics. It was the first time she has thrown a sub-100 speed figure since June of 2010, over two years ago. She had a remarkable string of 26 consecutive triple digit speed figure races, up until her last start. That’s pretty amazing. But that was a monster field she was facing in the Equinics, and it’s likely you’ll see Diocese jump back up into the triple digit speed figure range this weekend in Jamaica. And if she does that, she can be pretty dangerous here for Lilbitfarm Stables. (3) ZA RED (NZ) Odds: 35/1 Owner: Zoomr Stables Za Red, a three year old daughter of Zabeel, is one of the most lightly raced horses in the field at 35/1. She’s only got 15 career starts, and only nine of those were on the dirt. Two starts back, she ran the only triple digit speed figure race of her career, when she ran third in the Grade 1 Sister Hen Stakes. That was pretty impressive considering she was 18/1 that day, and she was running against a pretty impressive bunch of three year olds. She was brought back down to earth last time out, when she finished well beaten in the Players’ Club National Oaks. She’s got one good thing going for her here. She drops back down to 9 furlongs, the distance of the Grade 1 Sister Hen. She’s also got one bad thing going for her here. She faces off against older mares for the first time ever in her career. She’s 35/1, but that’s only because of her speed figures recently. No one expected her to finish in the top three in the Grade 1 Sister Hen, but she did. She could jump up and surprise here, with the cutback in distance. (4) DESK JOCKEY (KY) Odds: 14/1 Owner: Sicko Stables Sicko Stables sends in Desk Jockey, a four year old daughter of Street Cry. She’s 14/1, and if her name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you remember her from the 2011 Chestnut Stakes. She won the Grade 3 Davola Dane South down in Florida, before she stumbled a bit in two of the three Triple Tiara races last season. She hit the allowance trail after that, before she got back into stakes company this season in January, when she won the 8.5-furlong Nimble Dlyer Dirt Mare Memorial listed stakes in Wyoming. It was the first triple digit speed figure race of her career (105), and it started a string of five such races. She’s been in graded company twice this season. In her last graded start, three races ago, she finished third in 8.5-furlong Grade 3 Fort Lostinthewoods Misery Stakes. She flashes a lot of early speed in her races, that’s for sure, so you can probably look for Desk Jockey to be on or close to the lead in this spot. (5) BRAVE THE STORM (KY) Odds: 13/1 Owner: Twoofus Stables Brave The Storm, a five year old daughter of Henrythenavigator, popped a 110 speed figure last time out, and if she can repeat that performance here in Jamaica this weekend, that might just be good enough to win. She’s only had five triple digit performances in her 35 career starts. Five of her last six starts came at 10 furlongs, and she should appreciate the drop in distance here to 9 furlongs this weekend in the Rose Garden Handicap. Brave The Storm is also blessed with some pretty impressive early foot, and you’ll probably find her pushing the pace early on this weekend. Can she hold on at the end? That’s the question here for the entry from Twoofus Stables. She hasn’t seen stakes company since October of last season, but that 110 speed figure last time out stand out on Brave The Storm’s resume. She can run with this bunch, that’s for sure. (6) SIREN SERENADE (JPN) Odds: 7/1 Owner: Hornedfrog Stables The four year old Japanese-bred daughter of Afleet, Siren Serenade, comes in here to Jamaica this weekend off a very impressive second place finish in the Grade 1 Go For The Gold Stakes on August 4. She was on the Triple Tiara trail last season as a three year old. In her last five starts, she’s never finished out of the top three, and she’s thrown triple digit speed figures in five of those six starts. The 111 speed figure Siren Serenade threw in the Grade 1 Go For The Gold Stakes represents a career-high number for her. She’s won a little over $400,000 for her connections, Hornedfrog Stables, and she should be taken very seriously in this spot this weekend, based on her finish last time out. She steps down in class quite a bit here, and that could make all the difference in the world between her finishing second (like she did in California) and winning (like she should this weekend here in Jamaica). (7) GO DOWN SWINGING (KY) Odds: 9/2 Owner: Bigrick Stables The five year old daughter of Birdstone comes in here as the 9/2 morning line favorite in Jamaica’s Grade 3 Rose Garden Handicap. This is career start 39 for her this weekend, and she shows no sign of slowing down with age. She’s thrown speed figures of 107, 111, 111, 105 and 109 in her last five starts. She was on a five-race winning streak before her last two starts. She’s been in three graded events in a row, including a fourth-place finish last time out in the Grade 1 Go For The Gold Stakes. The last time she won was three starts ago in the Grade 3 Poor Mona Lisa Handicap in Arkansas on June 2. While she was sixth in the Grade 1 Very Vane and fourth in the Grade 1 Go For The Gold, she was only beaten by four lengths in each of those starts. She was right there, and she can definitely run with this bunch. She has shown the ability to run on the lead, and she’s shown the ability to rate off the pace, if need be. She’s extremely versatile, and she should be really dangerous in this spot. (8) QUEEN OF MY LIFE (GB) Odds: 10/1 Owner: Pisanof Stables The British-bred Queen Of My Life is a daughter of Dubawi, and boy is she one strong mare, or what? Look at her past performance charts. Since June 16, she’s been running approximately every two weeks or so, and she¡¯s been making money. She’s 10/1 here, and she was running against some pretty heady company this year. In a span of a little over two months, she ran in FOUR graded stakes races, including the Grade 2 MD Distaff (where she finished second) and the Grade 1 Steadhemp Handicap in New York (where she finished fourth). She has run in ten races in a period of about six months, since late February, and her speed figures are no worse for it. She popped triple digit numbers in five or her last six starts, and that should serve her well coming in here. Granted, Queen Of My Life’s last win came in October of last year in the Grade 1 Last Ditch Handicap, but she did finish second by a neck in the Grade 3 Dirtydirtdishragyou Stakes in April. Her last start wasn’t so encouraging. She was badly beaten in the Grade 3 Chubby Visa Stakes on August 11, and here she is, two weeks later, going after another graded field. This girl won’t give up, and if she can put together a race resembling last years form, she might be one to watch here for Pisanof Stables. (9) NOW WOULD BE NICE (KY) Odds: 15/1 Owner: Otistaylor Stable Group Now Would Be Nice is a five year old daughter of Tiznow. Her scratch breeding includes the speed influence of Carson City and Deputy Minister back there in her pedigree. It¡¯s been a little over a year since Now Would Be Nice has raced in graded company. The last time she appeared in graded events were when she ran third in the Grade 3 Poor Mona Lisa Handicap, and right after that she ran in the Grade 2 D-Day Distaff. Since then, it’s been strictly allowance company for the Tiznow progeny–up until her last start, that is. She finished second in the 9.5-furlong Fuzzy Fuzz Dirt Mare Route in Louisiana, and right before that, two starts ago, she threw a 108 speed figure in a 10-furlong allowance event in Louisiana, where she won. She comes in here fresh, off a six-week since her listed stakes in Louisiana. She’s taking a big step up in company here, but she’s seen these types of horses before, quite a long time ago, when she was on the Triple Tiara Trail. This mare could be fresh and ripe for this race this weekend in Jamaica, and at 15/1, she could be a very good play in this spot. She tuned up for her recent upturn in speed figures with a six-furlong allowance race three starts back, in a local-bred allowance in Kentucky, and that seems to have give her quite a lift. (10) TIZ ASHES (KY) Odds: 16/1 Owner: Natural Wonders Stables Tiz Ashes is a lightly raced four year old daughter of Tiznow. She’s also a scratch-bred with Dayjur and Tentam in her pedigree. She’s only faced graded company once in her 18 career starts. In fact, she’s only been in one stakes race of any kind, and that came last time out in the Distorted Wife Dirt Mare Route, where she was pretty soundly beaten. But that race was 9.5 furlongs, and she might just like this drop in distance she’ll see this weekend in Jamaica. She’s been running in an awful lot of 8.5-furlong allowances and listed stakes, and she’s done well at that distance. And the last time she ran 9 furlongs (the distance she’ll see here) was back in January of this season, where she was gaining ground late at the end, only to finish a close second. Tiz Ashes might be one of the few in here who really appreciates this distance, as she goes for her first graded race–and her first graded score. This could be her time. Keep an eye on her. (11) GETTIN OUT TONIGHT (KY) Odds: 10/1 Owner: Natural Wonders Stables This is the second entry from Natural Wonders Stables. Here’s a sire you don’t see very often. The five year old daughter of Lewis Michael is out of the Mineshaft mare Shut Yo Mouth, who’s also got some Northern Dancer back there in her pedigree. Her sire, Lewis Michael, is a son of Rahy, which might make you think she would like grass, but she’s done extremely well on the dirt. She’s got a ton of triple digit speed figures on her past performance charts dating back to July of last year. Her last two starts have been particularly impressive. Two starts back, she won a ten-furlong allowance event in West Virginia, and she popped a 103 speed figure there. Then last time out, she finished second in the 9-furlong Grade 2 Northern Lights. She came from pretty far back in that race, and she just missed by a 1/4 of a length at the wire. That was pretty impressive for this daughter of Lewis Michael. And, remember, that was a $300,000 race she ran in. This was no off-the-beaten-path stakes race in the middle of nowhere. That Grade 2 Northern Lights Stakes was right there in Kentucky, the middle of bluegrass country. Despite the fact she comes in here with only 101 and 103 speed figures, don’t take this daughter of Lewis Michael lightly. She last raced in mid-June. She’s fresh, and she’s ready to roll. (12) AWESOME WASSIE (KY) Odds: 11/1 Owner: Pgpg Stables Awesome Wassie is an extremely well-bred daughter of Awesome Again, out of the Storm Cat stakes-winning sprint mare Arriverderci G. Awesome Wassie comes out of the Equinics mile event for older females, the Grade 1 Shatin, where she finished pretty well beaten. Two starts back, she ran more like her old self, when she threw a 110 speed figure in a 9-furlong allowance event in North Dakota. She steps back up to that nine furlong distance here this weekend, and this field is definitely a step below the speedy mares she was facing in the Equinics. She was coming off a two-week rest before the Equinics race, so you can toss that one. Draw a line through that race. She was running on short rest, and she really doesn’t like the 8 furlongs she saw there. This race, and this group, is much more to Awesome Wassie’s liking, and at 11/1, she’s getting quite a bit of respect in this field. Right before that 110 speed figure she threw two starts ago, she ran a 109 speed figure, and if she can put together any kind of a race resembling those two speed numbers, she’s a very live shot in this race. (13) CLEVER HAACK (KY) Odds: 8/1 Owner: Otto Haack Venezuela There are always two things you can count on when you see a horse from Otto Haack Venezuela Stables in a race. It’s going to be well-prepped and probably sharp as a tack for that race, especially a graded event. And it’s also going to be well bred. And Clever Haack, a five year old scratch-bred daughter of Ghostzapper, who’s got Nijinsky II and Mr. Prospector back there in her scratch-bred pedigree, is definitely well prepped and well bred coming in here to Jamaica this weekend. She comes off a very sharp allowance win in Louisiana, where she threw a 106 speed figure and timed out the 9 furlongs in a crisp 1:48 1/5. That was on July 21, so Clever Haack is well rested coming in here this weekend. She’s a closer, so you can probably toss that off the board finish in the Grade 2 MD Distaff in Maryland three starts back. Clever Haack has thrown triple digit speed figures in seven of her last eight starts, dating back to December of 2011, and the reason for her sharpness at five is because her connections laid her off for about three months last season, sending her into the 2012 season well rested. Look for a great performance here from Clever Haack this weekend. (14) ANGRYVILLE (KY) Odds: 10/1 Owner: Gobidon Stables Gobidon Stables sends out this lightly raced daughter of Dynaformer, the four year old Angryville. The entry from Gobidon brings a seven-race winning streak in here to Jamaica this weekend. This is also her second graded start ever in her 12 career tries. She’s been racing since July of her three year old season, so she’s really a baby when it comes to this whole racing scene. Two starts back, she won the Grade 3 Vogue Handicap, right here on the same track she’ll be racing on this weekend, and she threw a 110 speed figure while doing it. She ran that nine-furlong race in pretty blistering 1:47 3/5. She’s also got a couple of listed stakes wins sandwiched around that Grade 3 Vogue win, so it’s not like she’s been facing slouches or rolling in here with easy races. If Angryville can score here, she might just stamp herself as a pretty serious contender for the Breeders’ Bowl Distaff the rest of this season. And with seven consecutive wins under her belt, I really don’t see why she can’t end up in Kentucky come November. She’s been campaigned well by Gobidon Stables, and she’s been gradually stepping up in class, and she’s never faltered. Watch out for this one this weekend, and also watch out for her the rest of the year. This is a pretty serious filly that Gobidon has nurtured along here.
Grade III
Distance: A mile and one eighth, Or 9 Furlongs, Or About 1800 Metres
Surface: Good Dirt
Purse: $100,000
Conditions: Fillies and mares, 3 years old and up