Girls Fight Satur-Day in Saturday Night Girl

The dirt marathon scene shifts to Italy on Saturday, and the female set gets together in the Saturday Night Girl. Five of the seven entrants come in from graded dirt distance stakes either in the States or in Europe.  All are at least graded-placed. You can root for the improving sophomores (POINT SAVER, K’S LOCAL SUSPECT) or the top-ranked mare in the category (EVIL LIGHT), but I recommend you watch out for two 4yos who appear to have just reached to top of their games: NURICEAN and SHADOWGOD.  Here’s a little more about the group:

The aforementioned world leader in this kind of race, EVIL LIGHT, has really made an impression this year as a 5yo in the division, crisscrossing the globe to find top races.  She won the Grade 1 Thumb Route and Grade 2 in wire to wire style, and placed in the Scottsdale Stayer as well.  She had the lead late in her most recent race too, Virginia’s Rocky Top Oaks, but we’ll leave what happened there for later in this article.  Suffice it to say, she has the speed to put all the other speedsters into the ground, but she will have her hands full trying to take down the win.

SUNSET OF A DREAM has raced on these shores before, but not since August 2010, when she won the Grade 2 King Classic while in the midst of an amazing nine-race win streak.  In 2012, however, she has been based stateside.  She has established more at classic distances than these super-long ones, and while she has stretched out well late this year up to 12 furlongs, the full two miles could be challenging.

Improving 3yo POINT SAVER came overseas this summer after a nice showing in the Saint Paul in Minnesota at the distance.  Her first euro race was a smashing win in a two-mile stakes, followed by a late-closing score in the Grade 3 Kegstand.  Last time in the Radiant, she did not seem to have her best late oxygen, coming home only fourth.  It was her first time out of the trifecta since her debut race, so she could circle back to something better.  But she was clearly beaten in the Radiant by two more accomplished horses who also race today.

NURICEAN was the winner on the day in the Radiant, sitting off the pace and coming home four lengths in the clear.  We should have seen that performance coming after her eye-opening second in the Grade 1 Great Dane back in September, outfinishing her 16-1 odds.  In fact, she has now posted four straight 100+ speeds after not achieving that level in her prior career.  She has the look of a now horse to fear.  

K’S LOCAL SUSPECT had nice form while running in Germany earlier this year, but only when pygmalion2 shipped the 3yo to the U.S. this fall did she take a major burst forward.  She tallied a 111 speed in her american debut, followed by a sheer frontrunning victory in a 12-furlong stakes. Chances are she’ll have to prove another step forward in class if she hopes to wire this bunch at a longer distance.

EVIL LIGHT came into the Rocky Top Oaks a proud top horse in the division, but it was SHADOWGOD who came charging by to win that fray by three widening lengths.  The roan Medaglia D’Oro product did that in her stakes debut, no less, after two huge wins in marathon allowances.  She has taken to the longest routes with a ferocity that heralds her as an up-and-coming star.  My top pick.

SURF THE SHAMAR is the #2 turf marathon mare, a position well-deserved after her place performance in the Grade 1 Millwood Cup November 3rd. She too ran in the Radiant last out; she had run a 67 in her only dirt race, so it was a gutsy move on trainer woodsmen’s part (and on the oddsmakers’ to make her 9/2).  She validated the confidence, coming home second, but no match for NURICEAN.  This race might set up well for her to repeat in the exotics.