A Changing of the Guard for 3 Yr Old Fillies?
The Hello, Goodbye Stakes
Grade II Stakes
A mile and one eighth on Fast Dirt
$250,000
Fillies and mares, 3 years old
Is there a more beautiful setting in racing than at Fraser Downs in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada? We are here to watch the Hello, Goodbye Grade II Stakes Race named for the classic Beatles tune of the same name. And what a perfect song for a horse race. You remember the lyrics…” You say yes, I say no, You say stop and I say Go, Go, Go!” This mile and an eighth $250,000 Stakes race for all three year old fillys should be a fast race as the weatherman has promised those beautiful blue skies that we are hoping for. We’ve got a nicely matched field and they all look ready to…”Go, Go, Go!” . Let’s take a look:
1 – BROADWAY ANGEL ODDS OWNER WIN% JOCKEY WIN% TOP SPEED AVG SPEED RANK 9/1 TheLeague 15.0% F.Feller 0% 89.2 87.3 77
This Vindication offspring has laid off a month after her best outing to date. She has steadily improved and won the Pleasant Ginger Bonanza stakes in that race. She seems to be rounding into form and may be tougher as a 3 year old than as a juvenile. This Angel can fly and wants to get 2006 off to a good start.
| 2 – PRO DUBAI | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/1 | Capsized | 26.7% | A.Rolling | 24% | 93.0 | 88.7 | 2 |
This Breeders Bowl winner has slipped just a bit since that wonderful day. Her last outing in the Movieland Starlet GI she ran a lackluster race and finished in the middle of the pack. Trainer Capsized has got her back on training schedule and she looked good in workouts this week. Is the big brown E Dubai filly out of Pro Cat back to claim her spot in the rankings? Rolling in the saddle will help as he is the best jockey out there.
| 3 – RAVISHING RUSSKIE | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/1 | Ladyeve2 | 9.2% | P.Bickett | 38% | 92.8 | 92.8 | 58 |
Another horse that has turned it around is this Great Notion filly. She is her Daddy’s only Stakes winner and want to make him proud. Her past two have been Stakes wins with nice speed figures. She loves the lead and the inside post will help out here. This will be her first Graded race and she has only run this distance once but with good results. She could surprise this field.
| 4 – ATHENS | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19/1 | Mardigras | 14.9% | J.Harty | 15% | 86.3 | 83.2 | 175 |
It’s all Greek to this Awesome Again filly. She has been moving from dirt to grass and back again and from sprints to classic distances with good but not great results. Trainer Mardigras wants to get a handle on where to point this nicely bred three year old. She and Harty need to run as one and not let her fight her jockey all the way around.
| 5 – ICEPRO T | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/1 | Shanx | 8.4% | R.Jacobson | 0% | 86.1 | 82.0 | 49 |
Another case of a filly that has recently been disappointing. The Septieme Ciel out of Cap Improve offspring finished ninth and eleventh in her last two after a sparkling rookie season. Her times as well have suffered and you know that trainer Shanx is pulling his hair out trying to figure what is going on with his prized filly. She likes it near the front and that may be in the sights of a couple of horses in this race so she may have problems again. Jacobson up is looking for his first win this year as well.
| 6 – ZYTOWN | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/1 | Zyro | 19.5% | C.Bortz | 22% | 98.6 | 94.7 | 11 |
This Speightstown filly out of Zystreet is sitting in the catbird’s seat this week as the two horses ranked above her in this race have been faltering lately. She could move up the charts with a bullet here and trainer Zyro knows how to push his horses to wins. She has won two Graded Stakes in a row and four of her last five Stakes races. She likes to come from way back and track the leaders so don’t look back if you are in front at the top of the stretch.
| 7 – MOON QUEEN(SAF) | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/1 | Sprinter | 16.2% | U.Greenleaf | 0% | 92.9 | 87.4 | 7 |
South African bred Moon Queen is a Victory Moon filly out of Irish bred Cause I’m Queen. She is looking forward to a New Year because at the end of last year, like many of us, she forgot how to finish things up. Her final two races of 2005 she was up at the front in her characteristic spot and seemed to lose interest and fall back. Trainer Sprinter has to be concerned with this trend and will work with jockey Greenleaf to get it done.
| 8 – UPSETTER | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/1 | Mikehusker | 17.2% | A.Porcher | 22% | 82.9 | 78.6 | 163 |
A.P.Indy’s son Golden Missile was the sire on this well defined filly. A multiple Stakes winner but she seems to prefer the sprints to this distance and may be stretching out as much for training for the shorter races as to compete here. Trainer MikeHusker has a good reputation around the paddock area with these young fillies and he has Porcher in the stirrups who has been red hot this young season. She likes to jump out to the lead and there will be traffic here to contend with.
| 9 – WAVE GOODBYE | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18/1 | Albarace0 | 2.8% | F.Atwater | 0% | 88.2 | 82.4 | 81 |
This pretty chestnut filly just missed winning her first Stakes race last outing when Red Wings held on by a nose. It was a blow to trainer Albarace0 as it was her best race to date speed-wise. She is going to have to take it up a notch higher to compete with this crowd. Jockey Atwater needs to bring her up a bit faster than last race.
| 10 – WHIP SMART | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/1 | Wistful | 19.8% | B.Bauder | 14% | 94.6 | 90.9 | 12 |
After a disappointing ninth in the Breeders Bowl, this Stravinsky out of Crooked Buda filly nearly bounced all the way back last outing, losing by a gnat’s eyelash in the GII Boca Stakes to A.P. Sadler. She ran her best time to date in that race and should be a force to be reckoned with here. She’s now only won once in her past five races but is too good a horse to let that go on for long. She and young jockey Bauder are both ready to come out of it.
| 11 – HOSE BLOWER | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1 | hansg | 13.8% | Z.Kidder | 20% | 90.1 | 83.4 | 40 |
This pretty little chestnut filly is trying to three-peat as she has won the last two including the St Opal Special Stakes. She is a late bloomer but she has some speed and a good jockey up in Kidder. That can be a deadly combination and her last race SPF was enough that it wouldn’t be a huge step to the winner’s circle again. A girl could get used to that.
| 12 – SEEKING THE BAND | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20/1 | Graywolf7 | 14.1% | T.Buzz | 0% | 78.2 | 76.7 | 63 |
This Saarland out of Jaded Gold filly hasn’t won anything in six months. She started off like a house a’fire and finished the year like a house band. Trainer Graywolf7 is seeking something here as well as he tried the grass last outing with negligible results. She was running high 80’s SPFs but hasn’t seen 80 in five races. Jockey Buzz has his hands full with this big brown filly.
| 13 – DESTINED | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18/1 | Super24 | 22.1% | C.Warrick | 0% | N/A | N/A | 475 |
Definitely an interesting entry as this is a top 100 horse on turf. She hasn’t been winning lately though and trainer Super24 wants to know what you have done for him lately. He is pointing this Rahy out of Baylee’s Dreamer filly onto the dirt for the first time to see what she can do. Sometimes a change of surface can do wonders for one of these youngsters and now may be the time to try her out.
| 14 – WHY DID YOU STOP(IRE) | ODDS | OWNER | WIN% | JOCKEY | WIN% | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/1 | Unreal | 21.5% | K.White | 0% | 85.8 | 85.8 | 307 |
Irish bred Swain filly that is the most lightly raced filly in the field with only three forays so far. She has two wins in those three but this is her first Stakes competion. She seems to be a bit out manned on paper but that is why they run the races. You can’t win on paper! Jockey White is winding down a 17 year career and hasn’t won yet this year.
Morning Line = 6-10-2-7
Yoss Tipsheet = 6-10-3-8
Paz Picks = 6-3-8-2
A fairly even race with some really nice looking fillies, I like PRO DUBAI to finish fourth. I may regret this but I worry about the distance for WHIP SMART so I’m taking her off my board. A couple of semi-longshots at 9/1 that will probably be up front all day, I like UPSETTER to upset a few in this field for third and RAVISHING RUSSKIE to hold on for second by a neck. The young lady that is ready to make a statement to the racing world this week is ZYTOWN. She’s on her game and I don’t see anyone beating her.
Good luck to all runners!
Paz