13 Mares Want to Demote “The Boss”

The GSR has an impressive history of gathering the best of the best in a wide variety of divisions.  This weekend, they’re giving the turfy mares a chance to shine in the G1 GSR Mares at a mile in lovely Ireland. 

The horse to beat is Speedzone1’s The Aus Boss and good on him for breeding such a superb mare by an Aussie sire, Danehill’s son Nothin Leica Dane.  She has won 8 of ten starts, including all five turf efforts and three G1s this  year alone.  She fell a bit flat in her last outing, though fourth in a G1 would be a great race for most, but that was on the dirt and she’s switching back to the grass here.  That should cheer her up and perhaps give her a bit of a boost.  Ace jock Z Kentucky is expected to hold her just off the early lead and take over at the top of the stretch.  Expect her to be very tough to outrun at 9/2.

Heading back to the inside post, we see It’salock’s I Can Hear You, currently sitting at 7/1.  This mare seems to specialize in Minnesota’s head-to-head competitions with other residencies.  Though quite capable of winning graded races, she has a history of running poorly in big fields and we have a full complement this weekend.  She’ll try her best to steal the race from the front, but I just don’t like how she handles fields of this size. 

Bezza14’s Hey Bezza is our longest shot at 18/1.  Though she’s capable of getting a piece in a graded race, she’s only managed a 3-digit speed fig once this year.  That’s just not going to cut it.

Lil Cindy Slew Who (Theprofit6 at 8/1) gets my vote for cleverest name in the field.  Generally a sprinter, she’s been in a slump her last few races and it looks like her connections are trying to shake things up a bit by routing her. She scored third in an ungraded turf route last time out, but she’ll need to really step it up to be a factor here. 

Ossstables is sending 16/1 PJ Seven Seas to the gate.  She’s been on the board in 9 of 10 turf routes, but this is a good step up from the ungraded stakes she’s done so well in.  She’ll also find herself in a bigger field than she’s used to.  She’ll need to run her absolute best to get a piece, but don’t write off a mare this consistent.  At this price, she’s worth a second look.

Godmother’s Beautiful Buda has run beautifully indeed in her last two races, hitting the board in graded company.  She likes to run at or near the front, where she will have a lot of company, but she’s found a terrific jock in E C Doyle who should help keep her out of trouble.  She’s been absolutely terrific lately and I think she has a very good shot at hittin the board this weekend.

Arion’s Marie is a Grade 1 winner who has won half of her 20 turf starts.  So why is she at 12/1?  Unfortunately, it’s because she’s totally fallen apart since her dominating win in the G1 Princess Di.  This mare’s really a heartbreaker — she was among the best and has inexplicably taken a nose dive ever since.  She’s shortening up just a bit here from the longer races she’s been running – her connections can only hope that will perk her up a bit.

Northern Darncer will be saddled by Corza3 and goes off at 17/1.  The Aussie-bred mare is taking a big step up from the allowances she’s been running and her previous foray into graded company was a disappointing 12^th.  They can always surprise you, of course, but I’m not expecting too much from this mare in this tough field.

Graywolf’s Never Get Married has shown herself to be a very talented allowance horse, but hasn’t shown the talent to compete with the graded girls.  Probably not her best spot to shine.

Next spot goes to The Aus Boss, who we’ve already talked about, so…..next!

Sadfly’s Dubai is an a groove these days, winning 4 of her last 5, including a G3 score.  She’s versatile enough to come from several lengths back or go right to the front, though in this race the former would probably be smarter.  But, uh-oh,  “Putrid” Jetter is going to be in the irons and that 1% win rate isn’t encouraging anyone.  She’d need a strong race in a field this strong and I doubt Jetter can get it out of her.  If she can ignore him, though, she might get up for a piece.

Buxpasser is sending Tippytoe Toni G to the post, but 17 /1 is probably even a little generous for her.  She hasn’t done much winning of late, even in allowance company.  To give her credit, she ran a nice race and came close last time out, but that was an allowance and she was still third best.  Just outclassed here.

Tresstable’s Spice Girl, on the other hand, is on fire.  She’s coming off a Grade 3 win and has been running consistently big races.  This is another step up, but she’s acting ready for it.  A Jones is a respectable jockey with an 11% win rate – don’t consider him either a big positive or negative.  She hasn’t been great in Grade 1s in the past, but she’s got a nice confidence booster behind her.  Don’t love that she wants the lead, since there are many others like that here, but she’s got a real chance at hitting the board.

Buronga Prospector will be respresenting Woodsmen at 11/1.  She’s been a solid contender in ungraded stakes, though she was a disappointing 6^th in her most recent graded effort.  She followed that up with a rough race in ungraded company, so I’m a bit concerned about the direction she’s heading in right now.  She’s also going to find a lot of company if she tries her usual frontrunning style.  Still, she’s a speedy girl and with a top effort, she could find herself on the board.

On the outside will be Madhibby5’s unpredictable but talented Rock of Miswaki, sitting chilly at 12/1.  She’s run some huge races here and there, but is coming off a couple of layoffs as well as an inexplicably dismal race in her last outing.  Speedball will have a lot of company on the front end and I think it may just be too much for her after a couple of months off and that lousy last outing.  She has tons of talent and if she gets it together everyone better beware, but I like this race better as a tuneup for her than as a time to expect her best.

It’s a field full of talent and while there’s an obvious horse to beat in The Aus Boss, there’ll be plenty of opportunity for surprise and fillies ready to take advantage if she should show any weakness.  Should be a fun race.  May everyone’s fillies come back safe and sound.