They’re back!!! Juvenile fillies return to Virginia for the Super Turkey Special

Virginia turns the track over to the juvenile fillies this week for the Super Turkey Special. A $50000 purse awaits at the end of this six furlong sprint. The turf is rated firm for the race. The challenge has drawn a field of six fillies, all with some experience under their belt. Half the field has prior stakes experience, and the other half steps up to stakes level for the first time. The oddsmakers had to resort to their dartboard for this one, and ended up assigning co-favorites at 5/2 odds, with the longshot going off at a mere 7/1 mark. The turf experience is split down the middle too, but all comers have raced turf at least once. This one will be a shootout, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the whole field in the mix at the wire.

PP 1) Aptifee Sired by Aptitude, Trained by moonshines. Aptifee makes her tenth career start here, and steps up to stakes level for the first time. In her first nine starts, she has garnered a 2-1-4-0-0 record, with a best speed of 74.8, coming in her last race. That race was her second career start on turf, and she bested a field of eight by three quarters of length in an A*50 at six and a half furlongs in Maryland. That was her second win in her last three starts. Her speed jumped five points over her previous best switching back to turf and she seems to like the surface. Her first start wasn’t really indicative, since it was run on an off track. She has never been beyond six and a half furlongs and seems comfortable in a sprint. Her pedigree tends strongly towards dirt rather than turf. She gets a lot of sprint talent from has dam line, with his sire line lending a bit more stamina. She starts as a midpack closer, but she has yet to find herself more than two and a half lengths at the half. Her close has been moderately consistent, but the races have been so tight in the second half, that she has found herself trying to close in a crowd. She may have a bit deeper close in her, and may like a bit longer distance.

PP 2) Dixie Town Hall Sired by Dixie Union, Trained by jakematt3. Dixie Town Hall makes her sixth career start here, and her four straight in stakes. She has one career stakes win. In her first five starts, she has a mark of 2-0-0-0-1 with a best speed of 67.9, earned in her last start. She comes of an eight length pasting in a stakes at this distance in Maryland, on an off track. She hasn’t faired well in her last two, losing by nearly fifteen lengths combined, after breaking her maiden then grabbing a stakes victory both in nice style in her second and third starts. Though first starts are rarely the best a horse has to offer, it looks like she has a definite turf preference, with her speed jumping impressively upon switching surfaces after her debut. She has never been beyond sprint distance, and looking at her running style, it appears this would be her best distance range. She has strong sprint influences on both sides of her pedigree, though both lines also so a fairly prominent dirt preference in their progeny. Her break from the gate has been at a stalking pace, but thus far she has fared best with a piece of the early lead. She might want to go full out from the gate and try to hold on. While juvenile speeds have been rising as they mature, her speeds seem pretty static. She is going to have to find something more to stay competitive at this level.

PP 3) Joe’s Loop Sired by Seeking A Home, Trained by ajr13. Joe’s Loop comes into this one as one of the co-favorites. She is making her fifth career run here, and comes in behind back to back victories. This will be her first stakes try. In four starts, she has compiled a 2-1-1-0-0 record, with a best speed of 82.9, earned in her maiden victory two starts back. She comes off thrilling wire to wire victory where she just hung on to win by a quarter in an A2L run at this distance in Texas in her last start. She has never been off the grass, and with four top three finishes in four starts, and excellent speeds for a juvenile, there hasn’t been a reason to move her. She has run in some longer sprints, and and may have more distance in her, though she has proved to be a more than competent sprinter. She has strong sprint influence from both sides of her pedigree, and her sire line has had it’s best success on turf. She has wire to wired her last two starts, and had a piece of the lead in all four starts. Her starting speeds would normally put her at about mid pack. She has been building up big leads with enough left in the second half to hold on. She has shown little inclination to close in the second half if she ends up off the pace. Look for her to start this one out front too, and to be in the battle at the wire.

PP 4) Hamilton Pool Sired by Rock Slide, Trained by austin. Hamilton Pool is the other co-favorite in this raise, making her second stakes start in her ninth career start here. She earned her way into her first stakes start last out by virtue of back to back impressive wins. In her first nine starts, she galloped to a record of 2-1-2-1-1, with a best speed of 78.7, earned in her allowance victory two starts back. In her last start, a seven and a half furlong stakes right here in Virginia, she fell to third after leading the pack into the stretch. After making her first five starts on dirt, she switched to the grass, earning a bump in speed and three straight top three finishes, all in longer races than she faces here. She has never run this short on turf, and this distance might benefit her, with her running style. She gets a strong turf influence from her dam side, and sprint speed from both sides of her pedigree. She is a fast starter, and likes a speedy break from the gate. If not pushed from the start, she has a tendency to breeze and extend her lead slowly over the course of the race. When pressured she has a tendency to press hard and open as much of a cushion as she can. With the speed she faces here, she could fall to the closers.

PP 5) Mmm Grid Girls Sired by Minardi, Trained by fil. Mmm Grid Girls makes her fifth career start here, and steps up to stakes competition for the first time. In her first five starts, she has gone 2-1-0-0-0, with a best speed of 70.9, earned breaking her maiden, three starts back. She comes off her first turf start, an A1x effort in Missouri at six and a half furlongs, where she grabbed a thrilling win at the wire under jockey Z Pride. Her turf speed in her one start is comparable with previous speeds on dirt, so surface doesn’t seem to bother her either way. Six and a half furlongs has been her longest start, and she shows signs that she might want a little more real estate. Her pedigree doesn’t show a consistent distance preference, and she gets strong dirt influence from her sire side. On the dam side, there have been some quite good turfers, but it’s not a consistent preference. She’s a midpack closer, and her close has been fairly consistent, seeming to improve as she lengthens out. With the early speed here, she is going to find herself further off the pace than she is used to, and she is going to have to show more speed than she has so far to be a factor in this race.

PP 6) Moon Approval Sired by Malibu Moon, Trained by glfstrmdoc. Moon Approval makes her seventh career start here, and her second straight in stakes. She carries 1-2-0-1-1 record into this start through her first six. Her best speed of 76.7 was earned in an A2L field two starts back. In her last race, she earned a fourth pace finish in a seven and a half furlong stakes in Puerto Rico. Her career starts have been evenly split between dirt and turf, and she has fared better an the green, and her speeds have been improving since the switch. She gains her turf influence through the dam side, and gains stamina through both sides of her pedigree. Her sire seems to alternate strong sprint crops with strong route crops. She starts as a midpack closer, but her close has been spotty at sprint distances. Could be she is looking for something a bit longer. She appears to have faced some faster fields than a lot of the horses here, and she could have more than she has shown so far. She will need her best close to be in the mix at the wire in this field, though.