Feisty Fillies Featured in Red Tejas

Feisty Fillies Featured in Red Tejas

New Jersey – The Grade 1 Red Tejas drew a field of 13 two year old fillies that will do their part to help make this one of the best days of racing offered by Simulated Sports.  This will probably be the last time these fillies run as a 2 YO and many will g et a short break for some much needed rest and relaxation before starting on the Bluegrass trail.  The Red Tejas offers a purse of $500,000 and will be run at seven furlongs on the recently re-seeded turf course here in New Jersey.  I spent all day Thursday wandering the backside of the racetrack trying to get up close to some of the contestants and their trainers.  Here is a look at the field by post position.

Coral Hipster (11/1) is a muscular brown daughter of Came Home.  She is ranked # 38 and is trained by Knightness.  She was on the track early for a light gallop and was a picture to watch as she had the flat knee action that is so prized in a turf horse.  She has three wins from nine starts but is 7/8 in the money on the grass.  She likes the front end and has been headed only once in her last eight starts for the first three calls and that was in her only dirt try when the ground broke away from her out of the gate.  Her last win came two races back in the Lady Frankenstein.  M. Bussey will handle the riding chores and he is clipping along at a 9% rate.

Trainer Million sent the In Excess filly, In Time (16/1), out for a morning, down the lane breeze on Thursday.  The dark bay filly was full of run and galloped out a mile, scarcely drawing a deep breath.  She has won three of her last eight including an owner restricted stakes and the Wild Minstrel, both in Pennsylvania.  She finished third in a Grade III but did finish up the track in the other graded races she tried although to be fair they were at a longer distance.  Top jockey M. Harrison will be in the saddle on Saturday.

The morning line longshot will be MMM Grid Girls (38/1), a blood bay daughter of Minandi with a kind eye, trained by Fil.  She has two wins from six tarts and has won on both surfaces.  She was third last time out in the Super Turkey and will be ridden by low percentage rider N. Hamilton as she tries seven furlongs for the first time.  Although she will need her best on Saturday she is training well and was attacking the hay net with gusto when I saw her on Thursday.

Carbon Quest (9/1) was out on the training track for a morning jog when I saw her.  By Ransom O’Wa (who?) the dark bay filly has four white socks and a bald face making me wonder if she wanted to be a paint.  A nice mover, she has three wins from five starts including her last the Sparkey Hill.  According to trainer Viperthree she likes the distance and can be rated which is always a help as it gives one more options for instructions.  Top rider P. Perabo will be aboard this well traveled filly.

I caught Oostende3 walking his filly Brundle Hollandia (7/1) around, letting her graze on some of the hearty New Jersey grass.  She is by Officer and looks very much like him.  A well built bay with a couple of high socks behind, she has won four of six races and is ranked # 31.  “Brundle” will be looking for her third win in a row having already captured the Together Bark Special at 5 1/2 furlongs and the Forty Force at 6 1/2, both on the grass.   Ten percent rider C. Hargain will be in the irons on Saturday and with her improving numbers and a savvy trainer, she might be one to watch.

Woodman is represented by Only A Kiss (9/1) and the comely dark bay filly is trained by Aalusive.  I watched her get her morning bath and was impressed by her maturity as she stood like a statue, even though the wind blew a big plastic garbage sack right under her nose.  She is very lightly races and has only started four times and she won two of those.  If this race was called Buda something, I would tell you to put all your money on her nose as she has won every ‘Buda’ race she has been entered in.  She went wire to wire in her very first start, The Alias Buda Stakes and then proved she could rate by coming from mid pack to win the Affair With Buda.  Her only defeats have come at distances over a mile and she will be one to watch since this race is only seven furlongs.  M. Goldyn who is riding at a 9% clip will take the reins.

This might be RC Indy Go’s first and only stakes winner and a nice one she is.  Auction Baby (13/1) is a copper chestnut with a big star on her face.  Horsemen believe that fillies with stars are runners and this one is no exception.  She is ranked # 11 and is 8/9 in the money with four wins.  She has never been off the board on the grass since she broke her maiden.  Trainer 3gs thinks highly of her chances as we watched her gallop by in a two minute lick.  She won the Strange Case, the Driving Home, and the Snow’s Chance Ball, all at six furlongs.  A stumble that almost unseated her rider in the Chronic River caused her only bad placing (4^th) in her last eight starts.  She is one to watch with R. Case, one of the very best handling the riding chores, at very attractive odds.

Prabha (5/1) is breaking from post eight and is a chestnut daughter of Testa Rossa.  Ranked # 8 she has four wins from nine starts.  She is one of the few in this race that has had any luck with the class jump to the graded level.  She won a Grade III and placed in a Grade II, however, her last win came two back in the Carson‘s Colony.  She was being hand walked, with protective bandages up to her knees by trainer United.  G. Oliver will be along for the ride on Saturday.

Eomer sent out the pretty roan filly Blue Smoke (8/1) for an easy gallop on Thursday and she was quite fractious wanting to do much more than the slow gallop that had been prescribed.  She hasn’t won a race in her last four outs but did capture the Surpassingly Bow in good fashion on May 7^th.  She may be rounding back into form with improving speed figures and hope around her barn is that she is setting up for a big score.  The daughter of Smoke Glacken is ranked #26 and has two wins from seven career starts.  The better of the two Squitier brothers, M will be in the saddle.

Super20 paid through the nose for this daughter of Seeking The Gold, Super Gold (5/1).  And what a nose she has – big, roman and covered in white.  But she can run and is the top ranked juvenile turf filly.  A dark bay, she was in her stall when I came by, munching on lunch and she is pleasant to look at – if you can get by her nose.  “Yes, it isn’t very pretty,” said Super20, “but it is quite useful in close finishes.”  She has won five of six starts including two Grade I’s and although she fell flat in the breeder’s Bowl she has been given a short rest and is expected to rebound on Saturday.  Old friend and the essence of experience – J Benize will be in the irons.

Skip The Cat (7/1) is a grey daughter of Skip Away and out of one of the top mares to grace a Sim racetrack, Queen’s Cats.  Queen’s Cats made 100 starts, won 33 times including many graded and made almost $4 million dollars.  Trainer Slewsback knows his filly has some big shoes to fill but she has won four and is the only filly coming into the Red Tejas looking for her third win in a row..  She parked to the field in the La Plumber last time out at 7 1/2 furlongs and has won at shorter so the distance won’t be a problem.  Her only drawbacks if you can call them that –  is that she could do no better than 4^th in her only graded try and the worse of the two Squitier brothers will be astride on Saturday.  

Diesel Teddy T (10/1) came by with the pony and her trainer Shanx, and the dark bay filly was certainly feeling playful.  By Diesis, she jumped and kicked and was quite a handful.  “Teddy” has two wins from seven starts including the Seventh Heaven at Saturday’s distance and she has just returned to the US after racing twice in Europe.  B. Schock (2 %) was assigned the ride by the Racing Office when no one was named by her trainer.

James Boags (15/1) will break from the far outside and is a bright bay daughter of Johar.  Trained by Cjt2, this rangy built filly is ranked # 14 but that number is a holdover from early in her career.  She won four of her first six races including the Paris Lass and the La Sword both at seven furlongs.  She was asked to step up and in her last two starts she has only managed to beat a total of three.  I only saw her in her stall and she was done up in bandages so I couldn’t tell if there was a soundness problem or she just isn’t going to be able to make the class jump.  She had a bright and lively look to her but you could smell the Numotizene sweat.  M J Stone, one of New Jerseys under achievers will be in the saddle.

Since anything can happen in a two year old race, I would hesitate to give the winner a name but I think you can get good value on any filly in the race.  If I was a betting person I think I would go with Skip The Cat and Coral Hipster – but I don’t bet and there is good reason why not.